11. Madi

Chapter 11

Madi

Iwas flying high after Cole and I finished lunch and said goodbye. There was no denying he was flirting with me this time. He kissed my hand! He called me amazing. And no matter what he said to deny it, he was sweet.

I walked the short distance back to my apartment with a spring in my step that had been missing for—gosh, a few years now.

Cole was the amazing one, and I knew it for sure now. He was everything Gigi had ever said he was.

The smoldering hot guy vibes that had intimidated me before had disappeared in a puff of imaginary smoke when I realized he was an undercover sweetheart. He felt my forehead to check for a fever—my father had never even done that, for eff’s sake. And he made me toast, and it was delicious.

Memories of being carried up these stairs by Cole this morning clouded my mind as I walked up to my apartment. I spun in a circle and held the hand he’d kissed up to the hallway light once I reached the top. It was a good thing I had a fresh manicure.

It was happening.

I was officially crushing on Cole.

He was hilarious and delicious, and I was about to spend all kinds of time with him.

My phone went off with a text notification at the same time Noah, my across-the-hall neighbor and driver of Hubers, stepped into the hall.

“Hey, Noah.” I grinned at him.

“Hey, Madi. You look happy.”

“Thanks! I’m feeling good today. What are you up to?”

I took a glance at my phone.

Riley: We have to talk about Ross. I’m coming over this weekend with Abigail. We’ll all have dinner together and have a good chat.

Shit.

Dejected, my face fell.

They probably wanted me to take him back. They were the ones who introduced us, and he was part of their circle of friends. It must have been awkward for them, considering how I broke up with him at our anniversary dinner and hadn’t spoken to him since.

I was hurt and angry, and it was ruining my mood.

“Bad news? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I—uh, you know what? I’m not fine, and I’m pissed off all over again. I came to Cozy Creek for two reasons: to help Gigi and to forget about my ex. Breakups just fucking suck.”

“You got that right. I’ve been there. Sometimes, it hits you out of nowhere.”

“Yeah. I want my good mood back, damn it. Not this crushing sense of doomed reality that has plagued me off and on ever since I got here.”

“Fuck that guy. Seriously. I don’t know him, but I know you deserve better. Don’t let him ruin your day.”

“You’re good people, Noah.”

“Tell that to—never mind.”

I tilted my head questioningly. “Fuck that girl?”

“I wish.”

“Ahh, gotcha.”

“But in a nice way,” he clarified with a grin. “A respectable way.”

“You’re a true gentleman. All a lady wants is a respectable fuck and someone to make her days better.” I made jokes whenever I was upset. It could not be helped.

He burst out laughing. “Well, I hope you get what you want.”

“It’s not going to happen today, that’s for sure. Later, Noah.”

“See you around.” Since he was going and I was coming. I waved goodbye before entering my apartment.

The rest of the week was going to suck now that I knew my sisters were coming to drop some bomb on me about Ross. And knowing them, they wouldn’t tell me over the phone—the drama queens.

Whatever. I didn’t want to hear their opinions anyway.

These situations are what books and wine were for. And cats, I had cats to love now. I’d think about everything later, including Cole.

Or maybe it was best to only think about Cole when I had to spend time with him, like during the next meeting we had scheduled to finish planning the fundraiser.

Now was not the time to catch feelings for someone. I was clearly not over my breakup—I was definitely over Ross—but the leftover feelings of resentment about all the time he had stolen from me and how I had let him take advantage of me were still there. I had some shit to work through. I would be nobody’s doormat ever again.

It was probably best to stick to strictly business with Cole, especially since I’d be returning to Colorado Springs after Gigi’s ankle healed.

Kenny greeted me with a plaintive meow as I headed into the living room to plop on the couch. “Come here. I forgive you. It wasn’t all bad. I found out I could still climb a tree. And I was carried up the stairs by the hottest man in existence—which I’ll be writing all about in my journal later, and I owe it all to you.” I scooped him up and settled him on my chest, remembering how it felt to have Cole taking care of me in here earlier today.

“Damn it, Kenny. I like him too much. Make it stop.”

Victor raised his head from the chair by the fireplace to acknowledge my presence, then promptly fell back to sleep with a soft, trilling snore. “Good to see you too.” He was sweet but mostly uninterested in me unless I was filling his food bowl or bribing him for attention with a cat treat. He reminded me of Ross in that way. Rude.

Sage hopped up and nudged her body between Kenny and my neck to rest her head on my chin. Her golden-yellow eyes glowed into mine, and I couldn’t help but feel a bit judged.

“Well, what do you want me to do?”

She placed a paw on my cheek and purred.

“Okay, fine. Spending the rest of the day moping around the apartment is a bad idea. I guess I could go back downstairs. Kenzie is always good for a laugh.”

I swear Sage meowed her approval. It was almost like she was a tiny, wise old lady trapped in a cat’s body, not just a simple creature Gigi had rescued from behind the dumpster.

I loved cats, but some of them could be totally creepy.

I narrowed my eyes and studied her expression. “I’ll go change.”

She jumped off me to land on the ottoman as if she understood, then smacked Kenny on the head and hopped up to the windowsill with him following behind her.

After donning my best jeans and little black T-shirt combo—I didn’t do uniforms, which Gigi agreed to before I got here—I threw my hair into a messy bun, put on my Converse, and left. No more dressing up to impress Cole. I had been playing with fire earlier by wearing that dress, and I should have known better. And I needed to quit it with the high heels. My feet were freaking killing me.

A couple of hours left before closing meant that much less time would be spent being stuck in my head tonight. Yay.

Plus, Sage was right. I’d done enough moping around over men. I needed a new outlook on life. Which was what I was supposed to be working on this entire time, damn it.

A rueful laugh escaped as I pushed through the door to the bakery’s kitchen. “Kenzie, where are you hiding?” Gigi was already home for the day.

“Oooh, you look pissy.” She popped out of the walk-in refrigerator and then eyed me up and down. “Tell me all about it.”

“I’m fine. I came back down to help out.”

“No need. It’s under control, as you can see.” She swept an arm out, and yeah, she had it covered.

I sighed and didn’t elaborate, even though she could always read every emotion on my face.

“I can see you’re upset. I have two working eyeballs and the sixth sense of a psychic, don’t I? Do you want me to comfort you? Or bring you treats and leave you alone?”

“Both.”

“Ahh, this requires chamomile and your favorite petit fours. Today, we have strawberry cream and chocolate peanut butter. Which would you like?”

“Both.”

“I see. Is Ross getting you down? Or possibly the emergency taco lunch with Cole at Tres Chicas that has you all stressed out and grumpy?”

“Both.” My lips shifted up into a grin.

“You’ll spill your guts, and I will make you feel better. One-word answers will not suffice.” She eyed me speculatively. “Listen, I have a date tomorrow. Can I borrow your pink cashmere sweater and brown leather bomber jacket?”

“Fine, respect. You got me. I’ll talk. But I won’t start ranting about clothes right now, no matter how funny you think it is.” I never let anyone borrow my clothes. I’d learned my lesson in high school when Abigail ruined my first designer little black dress by spilling red wine all over it. It was gorgeous, and I loved it. I’d saved up for months to buy it. I didn’t loan out my books for the same reason. I was generous with other things—things you couldn’t break. Except for my heart, I’d been generous with that, and Ross hadn’t cared one bit.

“Ha! I got you talking. Two things to consider. One—Ross is a giant douche, and we hate him. It would have been a shut-up ring if he proposed to you that night—like a ‘will you marry me and shut the fuck up about it’ kind of thing. He would have been one of those wedding reception cake-smashed-in-your-face guys, Madi. It wouldn’t have been holy matrimony; it would have been holy shit; what was I thinking? And you know it. You did the right thing by dumping his ass and running away. You dodged a huge bullet.”

“Don’t hold back. Tell me how you really feel.”

“I’m glad you’re here. That’s how I feel.”

“I’m glad I’m here too.”

“Two—Cole is something else entirely, and I’m intrigued. Tell me all about your lunch with him.”

“He—”

She held up a hand. “Wait. Let me gather the supplies. Go, grab us a table, and I’ll be right there.”

“Oooh, the petit fours. I need a lot, Kenzie. Like, too much.”

“Got it.”

I stared out the window, letting my mind wander, until I heard a throat clearing beside my table. I turned to find a tall drink of hot guy, who told me his name was Andrew, standing there.

“So, Andrew, what can I do for you?” He seemed shy. He was giving me non-creeper vibes, so I smiled at him.

“You’re Kenzie’s cousin, right?”

I sat up, narrowing my eyes. “Maybe.”

He shook his head. “I’m not here for anything nefarious, or stalkery, or—” Frustrated, he ran his hands into his hair and let out a low growl. “She’s driving me crazy. I just need her to talk to me.”

“Yeah, I can see that. Driving people crazy is one of her superpowers.”

He laughed, dry and cynical. “Why won’t she listen? Are running and hiding her other superpowers?”

“No!” I turned to see a rage-filled Kenzie stomping through the Confectionery. “Uh-uh. Nope. You don’t get to be here. Get lost, Drew.” Kenzie set our food down and glared at him before turning to me. “We dated a few months ago. Zero stars. Do not recommend.”

“Oh.” I perked up. “This is Drew. The Drew? He said Andrew, and I didn’t make the connection. I remember now. Hi.” Kenzie had told me all about Drew—the man who had cheated on her and broke her heart—over a wine-filled phone call not long after it happened.

“I just want to talk to you—” he told her.

“No. I don’t talk to lying, cheating, scumbag men.”

“Will you give it a rest and talk to me, please?”

“You give it a rest, asshole. And now you want to talk to me? Fuck that, you had your chance, and you didn’t want to talk. Plus, that’s my cousin you’re hitting on. You have a lot of nerve.”

“She thinks I cheated on her,” Drew informed me. “And I did not.”

“Yeah, right.” Kenzie was practically apoplectic, but she also looked sad.

Beneath the anger and bravado she was hurting, you’d have to know her as well as I did to be able to tell. Plus, she’d never been serious about a man before. I wanted to hug her. I wanted to take her upstairs and make it all better with a glass of wine and maybe a movie to veg out over. But I knew better. Getting mushy would only piss her off more.

“Leave. Now,” she yelled at him. “I’m going to hurt your feelings or your face, Drew. It’s up to you and totally depends on what you choose to do next.”

“Fine, I’ll go.”

“Good. Leave. Bye.”

“Great. Perfect. I’m out.”

“What the hell, Kenzie?” I hissed as she sat and shoved two petit fours into her mouth.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m in love with him,” she mumbled while chewing. “I’m so stupid.”

“You’re not stupid. You’re breaking my heart, Kenzie. Can I hug you?”

“Ugh, no. I don’t want to talk about it. What’s the deal with Cole? You have to talk to me now. Tell me all the things. I need a distraction so I don’t go running after his stupid ass.”

“Um, okay. I like Cole. Too much, and I need it to stop.”

“I can help with that.” She nodded emphatically. “I got this. Men, in general, are huge disappointments in most areas. Case in point, both of our fathers, Ross and Drew, Riley’s ex-husband—you get the picture. Ask him what his favorite book is. Or his favorite dish to cook. Ask him for laundry tips. Tell him you need to get a grease stain out. And you’ll like him a little less when he can’t come up with a solution for you, right? He doesn’t know about laundry, Madi. None of them do.”

“That’s not a bad idea. Well, he can make good toast. His coffee was pretty good, too.”

“Toast is not food. And any idiot who wakes up in the morning can learn to make a decent cup of coffee. Those are basic life skills. Come on, Madi. Just get him talking. The more words that come out of his mouth, the dumber he’ll probably sound. Then, boom. Your crush will be deactivated.”

“It’s worth a try. Can I help you with Drew?”

“Nope. There’s no more help for me. I’ve given up on men, especially that one.”

“I think I have to.”

“No, not you. You can’t give up. It’s not too late for you.”

“Yeah, I think it is.”

“Madi, no. You have a big heart and a lot of love to give. It was wasted on Ross. You’ll get your hope back once you move out of the pissed-off phase, unlike me, who will be pissed off for the rest of eternity. No one cheats on me and gets away with it. I’m bitter. I’m jaded as fuck now, and it’s never going away.”

I sent her a side-eye. She was mad, and she’d get over it, but arguing with her was useless. She was the most hardheaded person I’d met in my entire life.

“If Ross can trigger me with just a random thought and whatever news—that I don’t even know yet—coming from my sisters, then I’m a lost cause. I don’t want to put myself out there anymore. I don’t want to get hurt.”

“I beg to differ. Take that yellow dress you were wearing earlier today. I was with you when you bought it, and I know what it’s for. It’s a take-it-off-me-dress. You wore it for Cole, right? That equals subconscious hope, which means you still have it.”

“Maybe. Okay, I wanted to look cute in case I ran into him. But I didn’t want him to take it off. I don’t know what I want from him, and that’s my problem. Therefore, I now want nothing. It’s logical. If I can’t have love. Then I want logic.”

“Logic, shmogic—don’t be boring. You have plenty of time to decide what you want. But listen, I am the true face of hopelessness. Don’t be like me. There are no take-it-off dresses in my closet anymore, and cute undies are a thing of the past. I’m wearing granny panties right now. I have no hope, and I’m all out of time, patience, and the will to tolerate any more bullshit from some dumb-ass man. I used to be like you—wearing cute clothes all the time, and cute undies too. But that was back when I thought getting laid was a possibility. Now I’m like, sweet, these come in a six-pack, and I get two more pairs for free. And I’m thinking these thoughts at Costco, Madi. I’m going to die alone. Just me and my jumbo-sized jar of cheese balls, sitting around in my granny panties, binge-watching Bridgerton on my couch. All alone. I’m done with love.”

“Oh, girl.”

“I know. It’s bad. Don’t let yourself turn out like me. You dumped your bonehead, and you’ll move on eventually. I’m still⁠—”

“Pining?”

“Fuck yes, I’m pining. But it will never work out with him. I can’t be with a cheater. And I can’t stand liars.”

“No. You’re right, and both are unacceptable. Did he really cheat, though? Are you sure? He seemed pretty earnest.”

“Thongs do not lie. Men do.”

“Yeah. I guess you have a point about that.”

“Plus, he won’t explain anything. He says he doesn’t know how it got there and expects me to trust him. Like, hello? Do thongs grow in Corollas? Do they pop up between the seats like freaking spring flowers? I think not. Thongs generally only find their way into a back seat when they’re bodily removed from someone’s tush, in this case by a horndog, lying cheater. Am I right?”

“I mean, probably…”

“Good. We agree. Back to Cole.”

“Oh god.”

“I think Cole might be a good guy for real. One of the very few left in existence. He’s always in here, and I’ve gotten to know him and his kids. But I get not being ready to move on. I accept your reasoning, and it’s sound. I even agree with it. I’ll help you avoid him whenever he’s in here. There will be no more teasing. No more pressure. No more nothing.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that.”

“Not until you’re ready.”

“Oh, I won’t be.”

“But you will.”

“I won’t. I’m done too. You can come to Colorado Springs with me when I go back. We’ll be roomies; we can shop for caftans like Gigi’s and eat midnight cheesecake whenever we’re stressed out. I’ll bring the cats—the only men we need in our lives are Kenny and Victor. It’ll be great.”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay. We’ll see.”

“Yeah, we will. We’ll see me, still single as a Pringle when Gigi’s boot comes off, and you with your anger issues under control because we’re gonna work on that—riding off into the sunset to Colorado Springs. Together. Me. You. Three cats. Pow!”

“Enough, there is no way I’m moving to Colorado Springs. I am Cozy Creek for life. Born and bred, baby. I’m never leaving.”

“Okay…”

“As your friend, it’s my duty to comfort you. But as your cousin and blood-related family member, it’s also my duty to kick your ass into gear too. You got hurt, Madi. You can’t keep it all inside. Feelings fester if you don’t let them out. They’ll rot you from the inside. I don’t want that for you.”

“You’re trying to tell me about what’s healthy? Hypocritical much?” Ignoring her excellent advice, I focused on something I could argue with. “Are eternal granny panties and cheeseballs good for you? Binging Bridgerton is completely healthy, so I’ll let that one pass. But you said it yourself; you’ve given up. That is not healthy at all.”

“Are my feelings a mystery?” she shot back. “Do you ever wonder how I feel? About anything?”

“No, you’re an open book, Kenzie. But I’m not like that. I don’t want to talk about Ross with my freaking sisters or you. What’s wrong with that?”

She heaved out a sigh. “When you’re ready, I’m here to listen. But the longer you wait, the more alcohol we’re going to need to get through it, just saying.”