I jolt forward, sloshing hot coffee over my fingers. “Shit,” I mutter.
“What?”
“Nothing.” But it would not have been nothing. The gym is on the lower level. With the pool and sauna... Christ. If she’d come down at five-thirty instead of six, if she’d walked past the sauna windows, if she’d heard. I mop up the spill with a napkin. “You were saying?”
“I was going to work out, but when I left my room, there was a cat in the hallway. He led me up here. Sat outside your door until I opened it, then just... made himself at home.” She glances at me, her eyes narrowing. “I didn't break in. The cat broke in. I just followed.”
“Damn, that stray doesn’t understand the meaning of outdoor cat. He loves to go places where he isn’t welcome,” I say, relieved down to my bones that she followed a cat instead of wandering toward the pool area.
Madison giggles. “Must be why he came to me.”
“Um, why’s that?”
“I go where I’m not wanted too.”
She’s joking, but I hear the vulnerability. And I’m shit at comforting words, so I follow her lead. “Marley, meet Madison. Birds of a feather, you two can flock together.”
“Wait!” Madison’s eyes light up. “Are you saying she can stay with me? Like in my room?”
That wasn’t what I’d meant. But the way she looks at that cat, like she’s finally found something in this house that chose her instead of tolerating her, makes the word stick in my throat.
I shrug. “Sure. I’ll have Patricia get a small litter box and some food. But if Marley wants to go back outside, you have to let him come and go.”
“Thanks!” Madison says with more excitement than Marley seems to like and hops from her lap, but when she stands and makes a clicking sound, the cat returns to her side.
But, instead of leaving, Madison reaches for the picture she’d been examining when I’d walked in. “You looked happy here. All three of you.”
“That was a long time ago.” I glance at the frame, refusing to let the memories pull me under. The photo was taken at Churchill Downs, maybe fifteen years ago. Before Dad pushed me from the CEO position. Before Sebastian’s ex. Before everything fractured.
Madison sets it down but doesn't step away from my desk. "Did you love him? Your dad?"
The question catches me off guard. Although I should be used to her directness.
"No. But I think I wanted to. When I was younger."
"Mom did." Her voice is soft, almost lost in the morning quiet. “Love him, I mean. Even though he never chose us. Even though we were his secret. She'd light up whenever he called. Pathetic, right?"
"Not pathetic. Just human."
She huffs out a bitter laugh. "I used to get so angry at her. Tell her to stop waiting for him. Stop making excuses. She'd say I didn't understand what it was like to love someone complicated." Madison's fingers trace the edge of the photo frame. “Ivy says you’re complicated, but worth the effort.”
My pulse kicks up, betraying me even as I keep my voice level. “Does she now?”
She nods. “For what it’s worth, I’m starting to think she might be right.”
The words land in my chest, unexpected and uncomfortable. What if they are right? What if I’m not the irredeemable bastard I’ve convinced myself I am?
Worse thought: What if I figure that out just in time to watch them both leave?
I turn to face her. “Careful. That almost sounded like a compliment.”
“Don’t let it go to your head.” But there’s the ghost of a smile on her face. “I’m just saying... you’re not as much of a jerk as you want everyone to believe.”
“High praise.”
“It’s a start.” She moves toward the door, then pauses at the threshold. And to my surprise, the cat waits. “I’m going to the gym.”
"Madison."
