Page 53 of Say You Remember Me
But since I wasn’t ready to dive into what he’d said about Maddie being better suited for me than my previous flings, I looked out to the balcony instead where my breakfast still sat and said, “I guess my omelet is probably too cold to finish now, isn’t it?”
“Probably,” Maddie said. “But I can reheat your plate if you like.” She tilted her head, smirking. “I know fancy billionaires like yourself probably don’t have to use these strange contraptions called microwaves that us normal folk use and love, but I promise it’ll still taste pretty good reheated. I eat second-day scrambled eggs all the time.”
“Well, in that case...” I laughed, liking her playful mockery of my pampered lifestyle. “I’ll let you handle it. I never learned to use a microwave, anyway. All those buttons are just too complicated for a spoiled trust-fund kid like myself.”
She laughed at my comment, giving me a teasing grin as she grabbed my plate and gingerly put it in the microwave. “Now, just watch me make some magic happen,” she said before making a big show of pushing a few buttons and pressingstart.
“Amazing,” I said. “What witchcraft did you just perform? Whatever would I do without you?”
“Probably call room service for a new omelet,” she said.
And I couldn’t help but grin because she was exactly right.
As my food warmed, Maddie’s gaze went back to her left hand. And after playing with the ring with her thumb, as if checking the fit, she said, “I’m glad Mr. Calvin got my size right when he was picking rings to bring. Because with a diamond this heavy, I’d hate for it to slip off my finger and lose it.”
“Yeah, that’s a big diamond.” I nodded, looking at the size of the rock on her finger. Then, suddenly worried it may have been too extravagant, I asked, “Do you think it’s too much?”
“Too much?” She raised an eyebrow, her blue eyes going wide like my question surprised her.
I pointed at the ring. “I mean, if you were picking out an engagement ring for real, would you go for something like this?”
“A four-carat, custom-made diamond ring?” Her eyes glimmered with humor. “Yeah, I doubt any man interested in marrying me could ever afford a ring like this, Ian. This thing is huge.”
“Fair enough,” I said, laughing. “But if you did happen to meet a wealthy guy and fall in love, would you get a ring like this? Or something different altogether?”
“I don’t know…” She looked down at the ring again, her eyes seeming to watch the way it sparkled as she tilted her hand this way and that. “I guess if money wasn’t an issue, I’d probably be happy to wear a ring like this. It’s gorgeous.”
“Did you pick out your ring when you got married before?” I asked, suddenly curious what her ex had gotten her. “Or did your ex surprise you?”
“I actually never got a ring,” she said. She must have noticed my confused expression because she added, “Jaxon and I never actually got married.”
“Oh…I thought…” I let my words trail off, realizing I wasn’t sure if she’d ever actually said she’d married her son’s father. Trying to recall if she’d ever mentioned being divorced, I finally said, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed.”
“It’s fine,” she said with a slight shrug. “I think most people would assume something like that, especially since we share a kid and were together for so long.” She took a deep breath, and her shoulders seemed to sag as she let it out. “But Jaxon never asked. And after so many years, it just…wasn’t a priority. We were too busy raising Grant and keeping our heads above water to worry about planning a wedding.”
I watched as her gaze drifted, a faraway look in her eyes, and I guessed that there was probably some disappointment there. Most little girls dream of a wedding day, and Maddie had never had hers.
I shifted, rubbing the back of my neck. “If I’d known this was your first time wearing an engagement ring, I would’ve put a bit more effort into the proposal.”
Her eyes brightened at my attempt to lighten the mood, and she let out a little laugh. “Well, since none of this is even real, I guess I’ll let it pass.”
The microwave beeped, and Maddie pulled out my plate, studying it for a moment before looking back at me. “Normally, I’d poke a finger in the middle to check if it’s hot enough, but I’ll spare you that.”
“How thoughtful of you.”
She smirked, handing me the plate. “I do try to be thoughtful now and then.”
Taking her suggestion to heart, I poked the center of the omelet, feeling it was warm enough. “Looks like your trick works,” I said, wiping my finger clean. “Might even come in handy if I ever crack the code on using a microwave.”
She laughed, settling into the chair Mr. Calvin had vacated, crossing her legs and watching me. “Now the real test is whether these reheated eggs are still edible.”
I took a bite of the omelet. “Not bad,” I said when it didn’t taste too much different from the bites I’d taken earlier. “It’s actually better than I expected.”
“Told you leftovers rock,” she said with a wink.
“Do you have leftovers a lot?” I asked, curious.
She shrugged. “Sloan and I share kitchen duties these days, but back when I was in Ridgewater, I doubled recipes just to have leftovers. It saved me from cooking every day.”
