Madison

I was a heartbeat away from canceling.

And I would have, too, if Emily hadn’t sent me a text right before I walked out the door.

EMILY: I got us a great table off to the side. Our favorite one.

I had ridden the elevator down with Quinn and Kade. I’d just left them to go to my car when the text came in.

My fingers hovered over the keys as I watched the two men get into Quinn’s car. 

Going to the same place was not a good idea.

But Quinn was driving Kade over to the tarmac before going up to the bar, so I had time to get in and maybe get out before they showed up.

ME: I’m on my way.

The Skyhouse was close enough that I could have walked, but that would have meant crossing six lanes of Houston traffic. Never a good idea.

Driving across six lanes of traffic was bad enough. Fortunately, Texas was u-turn friendly, making it not so bad.

It had been about six months since I’d seen Emily. Way too long.

The Skyhouse wasn’t crowded tonight. There were just enough people to give it a little buzz of energy. Mostly businessmen waiting for their flights or having airport meetings.

I recognized one pilot sitting at the bar. Probably just landed. 

Emily waved when I walked through the door. But she was right. She was sitting at our favorite table. It was off to the side giving us a perfect view to people watch.

I gave her a quick hug and we picked up like we’d just seen each other yesterday.

“You cut your hair,” I said.

Emily might not be a natural blonde, but the color suited her perfectly. Her straight hair swept her shoulders.

“Thanks,” she said, turning her head to show off her hair’s healthy bounce. “You like?”

“I like very much.”

Emily looked good no matter what she wore or how she wore her hair.

But she looked especially good tonight.

Where I was still wearing work clothes, she wore her red dress. The one that showed off her slim figure perfectly. 

“And you’ve been growing your hair,” she said.

I nodded. “I know you remember what happened when I tried going short.”

Emily scrunched up her nose. “Couldn’t forget. It looks good,” she said as the bartender set our drinks down. “I ordered for you.”

“Thanks.” I slid the dirty martini with extra olives toward me. One thing about Emily. I could always count on her to tell me the truth about everything from hair to clothes to boys.

I glanced toward the door. “I can’t stay long,” I said, hating the disappointment that swept over Emily’s features.

But she shrugged it off. “Got a date?” she asked.

“No,” I said. “I don’t have a date.” I had the opposite of a date. I was in avoidance mode.

And I should probably just tell her because she’d figure it out anyway.

I sipped the drink. The Skyhouse had THE best martinis. Hands down.

“There’s something I should probably tell you,” I said.

“Hey,” Emily said, peering past me toward the door.

My stomach dropped.

I knew what she was talking about before she even said anything.

“Is that…?” She looked back at me with a look of accusation that should have been humorous.

But I had a hand over my cheek, my head turned away from the door.

I didn’t say a word, but I didn’t have to.

“It is,” she said in a stage whisper, though no one could have heard her anyway. “And you didn’t tell me.”

I laughed. “Emily,” I said. “I just got here and I was just about to tell you.”

Emily sat back, holding her drink in one hand. “You didn’t know, did you?”

God. That’s what happened when you stayed best friends with the same person from Kindergarten all the way to age thirty.

It was like we shared brain waves.

She took a quick sip of her drink and leaned forward. “So… catch me up.”

I waited as Quinn and Kade took a seat at the bar. I wasn’t watching them. Wasn’t going to watch them.

“There’s nothing to tell,” I said. 

But Emily watched the men.

“Stop it,” I said. “They’re going to feel you watching them.”

She waved a hand. “That’s not a thing. You can’t feel someone watching you.”

I narrowed my gaze at her. “Are you really going to go toe-to-toe with me on this?”

“Alright,” Emily said with a smile. “Dr. Worthington. If you say it’s a thing, it’s a thing.”

But she kept staring.

And just as I predicted, Quinn turned around and looked in our direction.

I turned my face away. “See. I told you.”

Emily held up a hand in greeting. Something had happened between her and Quinn, but oddly enough, she’d never told me about it. 

And I didn’t press her, because, well, he was my brother and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know. 

She put both hands on the table. “So what’s up with you and Kade Johnson?”

I shook my head, but Kade was looking this way.

Kade

The Skyhouse was an upscale bar right across the street from the Worthington’s private terminal.

It wasn’t very crowded. According to Quinn, that was typical.

It was baffling to me that Quinn didn’t know who I was. 

That I’d dated his older sister in college. 

But—and I dealt with his type all the time—he was more focused on meeting and greeting than anything else.

Hell, if I hadn’t known better, I would have thought he was a politician.

He knew a third of the people in here. Mostly men.

He was in mid-sentence, saying something about training schedules that I was more familiar with than he would ever be, when he stopped talking.

He was staring over at a private booth I hadn’t noticed before.

There was a woman with short blonde hair sitting there. She held up a hand in greeting. 

Quinn, just finished off his drink and shoved the empty glass aside.

Then I saw the other woman. 

It was Madison.

Just seeing her seemed to set my whole system on fire.

It was like she had some kind of magnetic pull on me.

I still didn’t know how I’d just let her walk away eight years ago.

The stupidness of youth.

Now it seemed that fate had brought us back together.

But she wasn’t looking at me.

Her friend was. Her friend looked at me and said something to Madison.

Madison shook her head. 

So that was her previous engagement?

“Who’s Madison’s friend?” I asked. 

Quinn, who had been so talkative and open about everything else just shrugged. “Nobody. Look,” he said. “I need to head out. Can I give you a ride across the street?”

The Worthington building was just across the street, but with traffic like it was, I could see why they didn’t walk. That was unfortunate. 

It would have been fitting if Noah had put this Skyhouse on the top floor of his building. It made me wonder…

“Sure,” I said. “Just give me a minute.”

If Quinn left without me, I’d find my way back to my car.

Crossing a few lanes of traffic was nothing for a seasoned pilot like me.

But he just shrugged and ordered another drink.

“Want one?” he asked.

“No. Thanks. One’s my limit. Gotta drive.”

I kept my eyes on Madison as I walked toward the girls’ table.

That’s when I realized I knew that blonde.

It was Emily. Madison’s childhood friend.

Unlike Madison, Emily had changed a lot. She looked… jaded.

But she wasn’t my concern.

I stopped at the table.

Madison straightened and looked right at me.

“Hi.” She smiled, looking a bit guilty. Or maybe I just imagined it. 

Either way, that innocent smile nearly took my breath away.

“Hi,” I said. “Hello Emily.” I added, acknowledging Madison’s friend.

Emily didn’t say anything. Just sat back and watched.

I started to ask Madison for her phone. But a phone was too impersonal, no matter how modern.

So I asked for her hand.

Pulling a pen out of my inside coat pocket, I held out my hand. 

I clicked the pen with a little smile. 

She just looked at me.

I smiled. “Your hand. Can I borrow your hand?”

“You—” But she stopped herself and held out her hand. 

I held her hand palm up. I hadn’t prepared myself for the feel of her skin against mine.

For the onslaught of memories that my whole system had to deal with. Not the least of which was the hardness that reminded me of so many other things. Right on cue. 

Using careful pen strokes, I wrote my phone number across the palm of her hand.

Still holding her hand, I grinned at her. “In case you need private tutoring,” I said.