Madison arrived at Starbucks at eleven. She hadn’t seen her friend in too long and was glad Riley had suggested they meet up this weekend. Riley’s appearances at work had become sporadic, and Madison worried about her friend. She arrived to find Riley waiting for her in the back, two cups on the table.
Madison headed directly for her friend. “Hey, stranger! How are you?”
Riley rose and gave Madison a hug. “I’m good. You?”
“I’m fine.” Incredibly horny, but fine. Her situation with Alex wasn’t something she was sure she wanted to bring up over breakfast.
They settled into chairs, and Madison took a long sip of her skinny vanilla latte. “Thanks for ordering. This is delicious.”
She glanced over to see Riley had a tea bag hanging out of her grande-sized cup. “Where’s the Chai Latte you normally love?”
Riley waved her hand in front of her face. “Don’t say those words. God.” She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply.
Madison narrowed her gaze. “What is going on? Are you okay?”
Riley blew out a long stream of air. “I’m pregnant.” Despite her paleness, her eyes gleamed with excitement.
Madison gasped in delight. “What? That’s so amazing!” She popped up from her chair and came around to give her very nauseous friend a big hug.
Riley hugged her back.
“No wonder you’ve been out of the office more than you’re in.” They resettled in their chairs. “Good thing the boss loves you so much,” she said with a chuckle before sobering at the all-too-pale coloring of Riley’s skin. “Is the nausea that bad?”
Riley grimaced. “I wake up, and I think I’m going to die or never stop vomiting. Some days I can see how Kate Middleton ended up in the hospital.” She placed a hand over her stomach. “The good news is that the doctor says I’m almost at the end of it. If I’m lucky.”
“How far along are you?” Madison asked.
“Twelve weeks. Hopefully by fourteen, I’ll start to feel human again. I really want to enjoy the experience, but man, nobody warns you about this.”
Madison took in Riley’s washed-out face. Now that she looked, it was obvious her usually curvy friend had lost weight, and Riley had a knock-out figure.
“I’m sorry. I hope you feel better sooner rather than later, but I’m sure you’ll bounce back.”
Riley managed a smile. “Me too.”
“So how does Ian feel about all this?”
Riley grinned. “Mr. Controlling is even more controlling. He doesn’t get that there’s nothing he can do to make this better for me. But he’s excited about the baby at the end.” She caressed her belly. “And so am I.”
Madison’s heart swelled for her friend. “I’m really happy for you guys.”
“Thanks. So enough about me. What about you? How’s the job?”
Since they’d already had the discussion about Riley blindsiding Madison with Alex at work, she let it go now. There was nothing to be gained by rehashing it.
“Well, I love the challenge of creating something new. And I have my first meeting with some of the players next week, so I’m going to be getting back into the people part of the job that I miss. So all’s well!” Even Madison heard the forced tone of her voice, but what was she supposed to say? She was conflicted and still wanted the man Riley had put her to work with?
“How is it working with Alex?” Riley, ever perceptive, asked.
“I suppose it’s too much to ask you to not bring up his name?”
Riley grinned. “No such luck.”
“You suck,” Madison muttered.
“That’s what best friends are for, to ask the tough questions. So … is he getting to you?”
Madison closed her eyes and groaned. Of course he was getting to her. It hadn’t helped that she’d seen yet another side to him the other night, a softer, giving side. And he’d apologized.
“Yoo-hoo!” Riley waved a hand in front of Madison’s face.
She blinked and refocused on her surroundings.
“Okay, I have my answer. That blush on your face and that unfocused look in your eyes tell me everything I need to know.” Riley clapped her hands together and squealed with glee. “So things are good?”
Madison swallowed hard. “I wouldn’t call things good. He seems different, but I can’t imagine trusting him that way again.” She caught the look on Riley’s face and rushed on, wanting to have her say first. “Look, I didn’t get into a relationship with him the first time expecting anything more than an affair. I knew his history, but there were moments when we seemed to be … more. And even if he wasn’t ready, how he broke things off?” She shook her head. “That I never expected, and God, it hurt.”
She placed her hand over her stomach and the remembered pain. There was something inherently gut-wrenching about feeling abandoned. It did something to Madison she didn’t know how to get over.
How could she? Any time she felt it, she went back in time. Her father had taken her to the mall for school clothes, a rare occurrence in and of itself because he could rarely afford new things. And then he’d left her there, never to be heard from again.
Her throat swelled at the memory, and she cursed Alex for bringing that horrific moment in her life back in Technicolor again. That’s how she’d felt when he’d dismissed her like she was garbage after she’d come to see him at the hospital. If he’d called her soon after, she’d have chalked it up to his own pain and disappointment over the events in his life and forgiven him. But he hadn’t.
“Hey.” Riley put her hand over Madison’s. “I’m not going to minimize what Alex did. I’m not going to tell you he wasn’t an ass**le, because he was. I’m also not going to ask you to give him another chance, because only you can decide if he’s worth it. What I will say is that I notice a difference in him too.”
“Really?” Madison hated the hope in her voice.
She hated that her feelings for Alex were still strong enough to put it there. “I thought I noticed small things in our short relationship that indicated he was different with me, but I realized afterward I’d been delusional. The stereotypical female who wanted to be the one to change a guy who couldn’t be changed,” she said in disgust.
“Unless the career-ending injury accomplished what you couldn’t back then,” Riley said carefully. “What if those things you noticed about the two of you were real and now he understands what he had—and lost?”