Page 56 of Mad for Madison

“There he is,” Luca said, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “The man of the hour. You ready for this?”

“Not even a little,” I admitted, though my smile was genuine.

Luca chuckled, handing me a glass of champagne. “You’ll be fine. Just remember—you worked hard to get here.”

Bradley stayed close as we made our way through the crowd. He didn’t say much, but his presence was steady, his hand brushing against mine every now and then as if to remind me he was there.

The night passed in a blur of handshakes, compliments, and questions about my work. At some point, Sylvia Reed pulled me aside, her sharp eyes glinting with approval.

“This is just the beginning,” she said, her tone confident. “You’ve got something special, Madison. Don’t forget that.”

By the end of the night, my nerves had given way to a sense of pride and gratitude. This wasn’t just a milestone—it was the start of something bigger.

Back at the studio, the quiet was a welcome relief. I collapsed onto the couch, letting out a long breath.

“I think I’m officially drained,” I said, tilting my head back.

Bradley sat beside me, his knee brushing against mine. “You should be. You just had the night of your life.”

I turned to look at him, my heart swelling. “Thank you for being there. For everything.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” he said, his voice soft.

“I do,” I insisted. “None of this would’ve happened without you. You pushed me when I needed it. You believed in me when I couldn’t believe in myself.”

Bradley’s hand found mine, his fingers threading through mine. “You did this, Madison. All of it. I was just lucky enough to watch.”

I leaned into him, my head resting on his shoulder. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know I want you there for all of it.”

He turned his head, pressing a kiss to my temple. “I’m not going anywhere.”

The promise in his voice was steady and sure, and as we sat there in the quiet of the studio, I felt it sink into my bones.

We had come so far—both of us. And while the road ahead was still uncertain, I knew one thing for sure: we’d walk it together. One step at a time, we would find a place to live together, us and Lily. We would visit Dorothy for Sunday lunch like a real family. She would babysit Lily whenever I took Bradley on a date, I knew. Slowly, our lives unfolded before my eyes. Slowly, I saw us all together, always growing older, wiser, better. My heart grew so much and so quickly that I simply couldn’t hold it in my chest any longer.

“I love you,” I said, the words simple but full of meaning.

Bradley smiled, his eyes bright. “I love you, too.”

It wasn’t the first time we’d said it, and it wouldn’t be the last. But tonight, it felt like the beginning of something new. Something extraordinary.

Want more? If you’re curious about Parrish and Levi or Austin and Luca, their stories are told in Destructive Relations and Explicit Transactions, and they’re Kindle-melting hot.

The End.