Taste of Love - By Stephanie Nicole Page 0,35

was there," she finally admitted, not really caring if he knew the truth. "You looked like you were busy, so we left."

"I was waiting for you," he told her in a petulant tone.

She couldn't help it. She let the short, indignant chuckle out of her mouth. "No, I really don't think you were waiting for me. It looked to me like you were fairly pre-occupied."

"Would you stop skirting the issue and tell me what's wrong?" Cameron was starting to sound annoyed.

Madison shook her head. "This is so stupid!" she muttered, running her hands through her hair in frustration.

"What's stupid?" he asked.

"You want to know what's wrong? I was there tonight. I don't know what I was thinking, but I was excited to be there, naive person that I am. And the first thing I saw when I found you was some girl sitting on your lap, with your tongue shoved down her throat, fondling her for the whole room to see. Did it bother me? Yes! Do I know why? No! All I know is that it felt wrong for me to be there, so I left. And now, I'd like you to leave." Though she had started out calm, she had ended up yelling at him.

Cameron looked up at her in shock. He couldn't deny that it had happened, because it had. But he had no idea that Madison had been there to see it. And worse, he had no idea why it would bother her. Wasn't she seeing Thomas, after all?

Cameron rose from the couch. "I have to leave anyway. My tour bus is waiting around the corner and we're leaving as soon as I get back on," he said quietly. He walked to the door with Madison following him.

He turned to face her. "I'm sorry about what you saw tonight, but while I'm gone, maybe you should work out why it upset you so much."

Madison looked at the floor and nodded. She knew that he was right, but she was still angry. Trying to find the reason she was upset was a great idea, but not something easy to do.

"Have a good tour, and be careful," she told him, finally looking back up at him.

"Thanks, I will." He smiled. "Don't work yourself to death while I'm gone. Take a break to enjoy life once in a while."

He watched her nod her head, tears forming in her eyes. He took her face in his hands, rubbing his thumbs softly over her cheeks. "Hey, I'll be back before you know it, and then you'll be wishing that I'd leave again."

A tear rolled down her cheek, and he leaned in and kissed it away. For good measure, he kissed her other cheek too. Then before either of them realized where they were going, their lips connected, their tongues passionately dancing together. Soon they were both lost in the kiss, only aware of the sweet sensation coursing through their bodies.

Reality hit them like a tidal wave when Cameron's cell phone began to ring. Madison backed away, quickly wiping her mouth, and again running her hands through her hair. Cameron answered his phone with frustration, then flipped it shut after a few, brief words.

"I have to go," he told her apologetically.

"I know."

"I'll see you soon," he whispered, touching her cheek again. Then he was gone, though she could still feel his touch on her face.

She sat down on her couch, letting the exhaustion engulf her. It was all too much for her to think about. She needed a good night's sleep before she could make heads or tails of any of it.

Over the next few weeks, the restaurant seemed to be busier than ever. Madison finished training her new staff members and opened the banquet room to everyday diners. She was pleased to fall back into her daily routines with minimal interruptions.

On occasion, she would go to the theater with Thomas, or attend a charity function with him, but for the most part, her schedules were back to normal. For that, she was grateful.

Her friendship with Austin was getting back on track too. For a while it had seemed he was annoyed with her, and her lack of presence at the restaurant. However, since Cameron's tour started, their friendship had begun to mend.

The one thing that bothered Madison about Austin lately was his need to bring tabloids to work with him. Every trashy magazine he bought featured a story about Cameron. Many had his picture on the front, exposing his latest flavor