“How do you even know where I live?”And why,I wonder to myself,did Lionel let her up here without buzzing?Honestly, I could really do without his editorializing.
Madison tosses her hair over one shoulder and huffs out an impatient sigh, like she can’t believe I’m wasting her time with such a ridiculous question.
I lift my chin. “You know what? I think I’ll pass.” I try to swing the door shut, but Madison extends her arm, pressing her palm against it.
“Lexi, please.”
Now it’s my turn to sigh. I wish I had the willpower to slam the door in her face. But at this point, curiosity has gotten the best of me.
“Fine.” I open the door just wide enough for her to slip through. “You have five minutes.”
Madison slips past me. Her expression curdles with distaste as she surveys the stacks of moving boxes. “Charming little place you’ve got here.”
“What do you want, Madison?”
“Can I sit?” When I glare at her instead of answering, she struts over to my sofa. She perches right on the edge, putting as little of her body as possible on the cushion, like she’s worried about contracting a communal disease from my furniture. Her fingers tighten around the handle of her pink Celine bag as if drawing strength from its designer properties.
“Look,” she says. “I came here to apologize for what went downbetween me and Jake. It was very uncool of me to pull a Baroness Schraeder on you.”
I blink at her. “Excuse me?”
She rolls her eyes impatiently. “You know. Trying to gaslight you into breaking up with the man we both love.” For a long moment, I stare at her disbelievingly, and it occurs to me that under a different set of circumstances, I might actually like this woman.
Madison stares back at me through her lash extensions, and for once, her expression is devoid of confidence, filled instead with genuine remorse.
“What I did was wrong. I never should have kissed him.”
“You got that right.” I gesture toward the door. “Well, you’ve done your due diligence. Now you can head off to goat yoga with a clear conscience. Goodbye, Madison.”
“Will you stop being so stubborn and listen?” Madison’s voice, now devoid of all pretenses, rises an octave. “It’s not what you think. I only kissed him because I thought that’s what he wanted.”
My eyes narrow. “Why on earth would you think that?”
Madison’s gaze shifts to her lap as she twists a finger around one long, red lock. When she speaks again, her voice is softer.
“Because that’s what Vinny told me.”
“He… what?”
“I’m not even sure why I believed him. Anyone with half a brain cell can see Jake only has eyes for you. I guess… well, I guess Iwantedto believe it. Because I was maybe, kinda, you know, like… jealous.”
I scrunch my forehead, trying to make sense of what she’s telling me. “What are you talking about?”
Madison rolls her eyes again. “Look,clearlyI don’t have any trouble finding men. I’ve made a whole career writing songs about them. Songs that happen to be masterful, award-winning works of art that Billboard once described as ‘permanently embedded in the cultural lexicon.’” One corner of her mouth ticks upward and Ican practically see her mind’s eye taking inventory of her Grammy collection. Then she blinks a few times and straightens in her seat.
“But Jake is not like other guys. Especially not the ones in the industry. He doesn’t have a list of acceptable color schemes for his dressing rooms. He’d never contractually banned an employee from making eye contact or refused to go into a recording studio before its aura was cleansed. Once, when we were on tour, he stopped the show mid-song because a little girl in the front row was covering her ears and he was worried the music was too loud for her! Who does that?! Do you know who the first person on his speed dial is? Hismom. I mean,god! I’d kill to be with someone as pure as him.”
She levels her gaze at me. “I’ve had this body since I was twelve years old, which means I’ve been getting attention from men since middle school. Never once have they ever seen me for anything besides princess hair and a great set of tits. Once I got famous, I was also a meal ticket and a magnet for spotlight hunters. Even my ex, Oliver, was only interested in me when the cameras were around.” Her mouth turns downward. “But Jake is different. He was the first guy who ever treated me like a person, like he really saw me. And I so desperately wanted to be with someone like that, even though he was already taken, because he’s one of the best people I’ve ever met. Andyouwould be a complete moron to let him go.”
I cross my arms. “Yeah? Well, it’s a little late for that.”
Madison continues as if she hasn’t heard me. “I was so enamored by him that I let myself get completely blinded to what was happening right in front of me. After so many years in the business, I’m kind of embarrassed I didn’t realize sooner that Vinny was playing us. Not only was he lying to me about Jake, but he was also tipping off the paparazzi whenever he knew we’d be in the same place. He even hired a photographer to follow us around Shawn Mendes’s party so the press could get a photo of us together. I guess he figured rekindling rumors about our relationship woulddrum up publicity for the concert and Jake’s new album. He knew Jake would never go for it, so he did it behind his back. But obviously, that backfired spectacularly.”
“What do you mean?”
Madison squints at me. “Once I figured out what Vinny was up to, I told Jake everything. He fired Vinny on the spot. Didn’t he tell you?”
“No. I haven’t been taking his calls.”
