“You don’t believe in soulmates?”
“No. I think a game is on. Do you want to go watch it?” Madison suggested.
Dante cocked his head to the side with a confused look on his face. “Sure.” He pushed back from the table. “Let’s clean up real quick, and then we can go catch the game.”
They worked side by side and then went into the living room.
Chapter 12
Dante sat next to Madison on the couch. They touched from hip to thigh. It was like as if neither wanted to be far apart from the other. He held her hand in his lap and rested it on his thigh. He didn’t want her to feel how hard he was, although he guessed she could tell.
She kept side eyeing him. If he didn’t know better he would think she wanted to fool around instead of watch the game. But he knew she wasn’t looking to have penetrative sex while she was on her period, which was fine by him. He never wanted to do anything to make her uncomfortable.
He wasn’t watching the game, but instead processing what had happened over breakfast. He had opened up to her, and he had been comfortable talking to her, and he knew deep in his heart that she would never reveal what he said or throw it back in his face like Monica did when he told her he wanted to do something different.
But he also couldn’t believe that Madison didn’t believe in soulmates and didn’t want to get married. It wasn’t something he had expected at all. He didn’t know where that left them.
“Aw, come on. That was a bad call,” Madison said to the television screen.
Her voice brought him back, and he focused his eyes to catch the instant replay. She had been right. She knew her stuff when it came to basketball, and they spent the rest of the day enjoying the game.
They were quick to prepare an easy and light dinner for themselves, and Madison went to the bedroom to change and get her dance bag that he had set down inside of his bedroom.
She came out in her standard club uniform and looked at him, then down at the floor.
“What’s up?”
“What are we going to do about my arrival? I don’t feel comfortable with people knowing we’re together.”
That hit Dante like a punch in the gut. Was she ashamed of him? So much so that she didn’t want people she knew to know. He knew she didn’t have a problem going out with him in public where there was no one that they knew.
But if there was a high probability of a friend or co-worker seeing them, she didn’t want to chance it.
“I don’t want any more rumors to start at the club or for people to think this is proof I slept with you and am sleeping with you to get the headliner position.”
Dante relaxed. It was more her reputation but still again, did that mean she assumed he would ruin her reputation? He got not wanting rumors. Because some people would take it to mean that she could be bought with money. Which he wasn’t sure if she could. There was the fact that she had slept with him after learning he was the owner of il Signore. And she had mentioned money and how expensive things were.
Madison was strong willed and loyal to a fault. He couldn’t believe she was still thinking of giving her brother a kidney when she was still in the running for the fashion competition and he knew she needed to spend all of her time there and not at his place with him.
She had still brought some sketch pads and pencils to work on at his place. He had gotten her a sewing machine so that they could spend more time together, but he had decided against giving it to her and had left it in the closet.
He didn’t want her to feel like he was trying to make her stay at his place when that wasn’t his intention. He wanted her to feel comfortable in his place and able to work on her designs when they were together, so she didn’t lose time on her project.
But would this be the first and last weekend she would spend with him at his place?
If she didn’t want to ride with him to the club or risk anyone seeing them that wouldn’t be good for him.
His place was much further away than hers from the club and he knew she didn’t have a car. Her trying to take public transportation would take her hours to get there when it wouldn’t if she was at her place or was comfortable going with him in the car.
“Maybe you can drop me off at the bus stop on the way in and then I can walk from there to the club?”
Dante didn’t want to say yes and that scared him. But he wanted to be able to show everyone that she was his. That Madison belonged with him and no one could tear them apart.
“Ok.” Dante shrugged his shoulders and whispered. He didn’t mean it or agree with it, but he understood it was her choice.
“Ok, great. I’m ready when you are.”
“Sure, let’s go.” He wanted to reach for her hand but worried she would reject him. He was feeling vulnerable in a way he didn’t like.
