Thunder - Willow Summers Page 0,13

look that promised death. “That has nothing to do with this situation.”

“Is that why you chose Sam?” Colton asked, leaning away before he shook the cocktail.

Questions crowded her mind. Why did it look so manly when he did that? Would those biceps break out of his suit sleeves? What did he look like naked?

“What?” she yelled, jolting herself out of the whirlpool of unwise questions.

Janie looked at her askew.

“Oh right. Sam.” Madison edged away, forcing her mind to clear. “I chose him because he had a real first name, for one, and two…” Madison shrugged, her eyes stuck on Colton’s bicep as it wrestled with his jacket. “Two…” Thoughts weren’t sticking as well as they should have.

The shaking stopped and the bicep relaxed as his arms straightened out.

“Two?” Colton asked politely.

“Sorry,” she said, reaching up to drag her fingers through her hair.

“Don’t!” Janie yelled as a cold and impossibly strong grip snatched her wrist. Electricity jolted through Madison’s body, heating her up from the inside out, boiling her blood.

“Good catch, Colton,” Janie said with an approving nod. “Stop her if she tries to rub her face, too. She’s not used to looking like a pageant princess.”

“I apologize.” Colton’s fingers unpeeled from around her wrist, his gaze intense. “I didn’t think you’d want to mess up your hair before you got there.”

Despite his skin’s chill from mixing drinks, the place where he’d touched her tingled as if kissed by flame. She dropped her hand to her side, breathing hard without understanding why.

“No problem,” she managed.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped my boundaries.” His eyes roamed her face and a small crease formed at the bridge of his nose.

“No, no. Do you know how much hairspray the hairdresser used on these natural-seeming loose curls? A lot. I would’ve looked like I rolled in hay. Thank you. You helped out. Really.”

“Time is winding down,” Janie reminded her. “Also, I’m Janie. Since we haven’t properly met.”

“Hello.” Colton bent to shake her hand, but she waved him off.

“You don’t need to be so formal here.” Janie handed over her glass. “I doubt this is like your normal gigs.”

“Yes, so you were telling me about tonight.” Colton glanced at Madison before pouring Janie’s drink. “He was your first love, and I gather from a few things you’ve said that it didn’t end well.”

“He made a public display of dumping her to cement his friendship with the cool crowd,” Janie said.

“Puberty was kind to him.” Madison scoffed, returning to her seat. “I stayed a nerd.”

“She didn’t hit her stride until college.” Janie sipped the freshly made martini. She nodded approvingly. “We might have to hire you to bartend so I don’t always have to do it.”

“If you’d just accept a beer every once in a while, we wouldn’t have this problem.” To Colton, Madison said, “I can open a mean beer.”

“You were long past puberty when you left high school, so what changed?” Colton asked, back to his power stance.

“Two people can make a martini glass look manly.” Janie held up a finger. “You.” Two fingers. “James Bond. I’m impressed. Go on with your bad self.”

Madison frowned at her friend. Then ignored her. “I started working out and eating well, which made me feel better about myself. The rest was doing well in school and achieving, I guess. I came out of my shell.”

“Why?” He took a sip of his drink, his focus acute. It was making her nervous.

“Why what? Did I start getting healthy?”

“Why did you finally come out of your shell? Was it because of confidence, or because you were tired of hiding?”

Janie looked her way, clearly interested in the answer.

Madison was interested, too. She’d never really thought about it. “Maybe both?”

His smile really suited him—it made a handsome guy into an irresistible heartthrob. Or, more accurately, an irresistible heartthrob into a sex god. “It’s not a test, Madison,” he said.

“Feels like it.” She shivered and barely stopped herself from running her fingers through her hair again. “I still don’t think this is going to work.”

“Get over it and hurry this up. You guys have to leave soon.” Janie glanced at her watch.

“You’re her roommate?” Colton asked Janie.

“I’m her friend who randomly stays over. I’m not staying at present, though. I’ll be leaving shortly after you guys do. Just FYI.” Janie waggled her eyebrows and lightly drummed her fingers on the counter.

“She’s being an idiot,” Madison rushed to say. “There won’t be any overtime, I promise. Also, I’ll be staying at the hotel, so you can