I gave him a nod, passing by him. A semifamiliar girl with Khaleesi-blonde hair cornered me, chasing me the length of the studio.
“Mr. Black, wait! I just wanted to thank you again for convincing Sven to give me another chance. I don’t know if you saw my two emails . . . or flowers. I want you to know I don’t take it lightly at all, and I’m not going to blow my second chance.”
I hmm-hmmed. I had no idea who she was or what she wanted from me. My eyes were laser focused on my target—Madison Goldbloom, sitting at her station in a powder-blue dress with white swans printed on it.
“Maddie and I are totally bonding. We went to lunch the other day. I don’t know if she told you. We’re cool with each other.”
Now she was physically standing in my way, so I guessed I had to address her.
“Nadia, right?” I asked.
“Nina.” She smiled brightly. “Maddie said you guys are no longer together. I’m so sorry.” She put her hand to her heart. Yeah. She seemed about as sorry as Daisy after trying to impregnate poor Frank. “If you ever need anyone to talk to . . .”
I’ll seek professional help from someone who doesn’t want my cock in her mouth, I was tempted to finish for her, but I knew Mad would call me a jerk, and I really, really didn’t want her to see me as the devil incarnate anymore.
“Appreciate it.” I bypassed her, going straight to Madison, who was frowning at her phone. She looked up when she noticed me, grabbed her jacket, and gave me a distracted kiss on the cheek that almost made my fucking heart explode.
“Thank you. Anyway”—she smiled up at me—“I was hoping we could say hi to Ronan on our way back from the movie. I made him nondistressed banana bread.”
“Nondistressed?” I ducked my head to catch her eyes. She dodged the eye contact. Everything about the platonic shit was watered down, impersonal.
“Meaning I didn’t batter it. The outside looks subpar, but the inside tastes really good.”
“The outside looks better than you think,” I murmured, knowing it was sink-or-swim time and finally—finally—deciding to get my head out of the water.
It ended up being a pleasant evening, everything considered (things I considered: I had to see Julian’s sour-ass face again, and Madison remained fully clothed for the entire duration).
After the movie, we took Booger Face to see Dad and stayed for tea. When it was time to go, Madison stopped me at the door and put her hand on my chest. My muscles jerked under her fingertips like she was fire.
“He doesn’t look very good,” she whispered, rubbing my chest in circles. “Stay with him. I’ll take the train back home.”
Normally, I’d try to buy more time with her. Today, I knew she had a point. I kissed her cheek. “Thanks for killing my libido and possibly my retinas with that movie. I will never look at ball gowns and tiaras the same again.”
“Thanks for being a good sport about it.”
She lingered. Mom and Clemmy were in the living room, doing a puzzle together. Dad was in the master bedroom. I could lean in and kiss her, and she’d let me. Her eyes were burning with that something I’d learned to recognize. A carnal hunger.
But now wasn’t the time.
And definitely not the place.
I leaned back, flicking her nose with a smile. “Bye.”
“Bye,” she said, the word thick in her voice.
As soon as she was in the elevator, I took out my phone and messaged her, knowing the reception was crappy there.
Chase: I fucking love you, Madison Petal Goldbloom. So much it sometimes hurts to look at your face.
A minute later, she replied.
Maddie: What did you send and delete? I’m going to kill you for this one day, Chase.
Chase: Dad says the banana bread was just okay. Didn’t want you to get offended.
Maddie: You’re a jerk.
Chase: Someone has to be.
“Come in.”
Dad’s voice was hoarse from his lungs working at only 10 percent capacity. I pushed the double doors to his room open.
I pressed my back against the doors, hooking my thumbs into my front pockets. He lay in the shadows. Grant had explained to me that he was on a lot of painkillers but was still majorly uncomfortable. His breathing was so labored he sounded like an old car trying to spurt its last few miles before running out of gas. It had been both