“Well, I’m not going to let that bother me.” Even though all the gossip and rumors was getting to her.
Madison turned around to pick up a crate of beer, she was done with the conversation and wanted time alone to process it. She wouldn’t get time alone, until later while she waited for Dante to wrap up, if she decided to stay.
She might just go back to her place and wait for him to come get her if it would help the rumors to die down. Anyway, by the time they had broken up, or went their separate ways, the rumors should have ended.
Madison shook her head. She always got sad thinking of the end of their relationship. But that was their whole arrangement. It wasn’t meant to last no matter how much she wanted it to, and she needed to remind herself of this. It was not permanent. It was a temporary arrangement; they only had less than two months left.
Madison pushed through everything and did her sets and helped out behind the bar, but she couldn’t shake away the gloom that sat on her weighing her down like a ton of fabric.
By the time the night was over, she just wanted to go home alone and eat ice cream and hide under the covers and cry.
She trudged up the stairs to Dante’s office and found it looked smaller than normal. It was filled with Enzo, Lucca, Gabe and Dante. “I’ll just come back later for my money, or I can get it tomorrow night.”
“No need. They were just leaving.” Dante gave a pointed stare.
“Give her the money. We’ll wait. We need to finish this discussion.” Enzo spoke as he stared at Madison.
She didn’t know which was better, Enzo who ignored her or this nasty look. It would be him ignoring her. It was like he was undressing her while hating her at the same time. It made her skin crawl and she wanted to go and take a shower.
There was some kind of standoff here and it was as if she had walked into a hurricane of tension. It was swirling around ready to destroy anything in its path. And now she had been sucked up into it.
Now she couldn’t leave. There was a power play happening between Enzo and Dante, and she was stuck in the middle. She knew if she left, Enzo would win, and she didn’t want that to happen so she stood there rooted to the spot.
“Fine,” Dante said. “Madison, come here please.”
She walked over thinking he had decided to send her away and he was going to give her the money and ask her to leave. She took a wide path around Enzo, her legs heavy.
Dante opened the drawer and added a stack of bills to another stack and handed it to her. She put it in her pocket and went to leave when Dante pulled her down onto his lap. She gasped and forgot the extra roll of money that was added.
“Dante.”
“I’m bringing Madison. We’re together. This discussion is over for me. Feel free to stay in the office and continue to talk, but I’m out.” Dante set Madison down off his lap and stood up. She tucked the money in her pants, and Dante reached for her hand. She took it and they walked out hand in hand and walked to his car.
Madison had not expected that to happen at all. It made her feel good that Dante wanted his cousins to know she was his and that they were together. She couldn’t keep the little skip out of her steps as she walked out the door with Dante.
She was in a relationship. She had never dreamed this day would come. But instead of putting her off, she was happy. In truth, she was ecstatic. It was as if fireworks were going off in her chest, and she was part of a big parade. She couldn’t keep the smile off of her face.
She was glad she and Dante held hands. If not she might float away.
****
Dante had been pissed when Enzo had tried to pull rank on him. Who did he think he was? And to use the family to do it. Lucca had come to warn him, but it had been too late. He had sat at the desk and read the edict from the Don.
He wasn’t to fool around with Madison anymore. If he wasn’t serious enough to bring her to Lucca’s engagement party then he needed to let her go and give Enzo a shot. What the fuck had that been? Enzo going behind his back.
He played on the fact that the Don wanted to see all of them married. But what Enzo still forgot was that Madison didn’t want him. Even if Dante and her weren’t serious, it didn’t mean Enzo could replace him. It was Madison’s choice who she wanted to date.
A choice he realized he took away from her because he assumed she wanted to be with him. He sat in the car next to her in silence, his mind spun until he couldn’t take it anymore. He turned toward her.
“I can’t believe we’re together,” Madison said. “I never—Never wanted this. Never could picture being in an actual relationship. Never would have chosen to put my heart in danger like this.”
Dante couldn’t believe how he’d taken it for granted that she wanted him when it was obvious she didn’t.
“I’m sorry for saying that—”
Her face fell from the beautiful full-on grin she had. “Oh. I thought you meant it.”
“No, I meant it. Of course I meant it.”
