Page 77 of The Encounter
“Yeah. She’s dumb.” Kailynn nodded once before dropping into her chair and sighing loudly. “Are you okay?”
“I guess. A little upset.”
“Me too.”
Maddie picked up her phone to find a message waiting from Jace.
You okay?
She typed back a message as soon as she could rein in her anger.
As well as I can be.
A knock on the front door sounded, and Kailynn walked out of the room. Her laughter from the other room had Maddie standing up and walking out, expecting to see Chase standing in the living room. Instead, Jace stood there holding a box of cupcakes from Maddie’s favorite bakery, and three containers of ice cream from the ice cream shop down the street.
“I thought we could all use a pick-me-up.”
Kailynn helped take the items from him and set them on the kitchen table. Maddie walked straight into Jace’s arms.
“Are you okay?” he whispered.
“I’m better now.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Well, I think I got everyone’s favorite ice cream.”
“How did you know mine was cookie dough?” Kailynn asked.
“I called Chase. He gave me your address, too.”
“Aw. Thank you for thinking of me.”
“It’s my pleasure. Samantha wasn’t particularly nice to you, either.”
“That little tramp will get hers,” Kailynn said before peeling the lid off the ice cream and shoving a spoonful into her mouth.
Maddie laughed and pulled back from Jace’s arms. “Thank you.”
“Anything for my girl.”
Kailynn looked at them. “You two are way too adorable.”
They laughed and grabbed their cups of ice cream before they all settled on couches in the living room. Maddie curled into Jace’s side.
“This is just what I needed,” she said.
When they finished their desserts,Kailynn told Maddie to take the rest of the day off. Maddie followed Jace back to his place. When they stepped into the elevator, he tugged her into his side and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“I’m sorry you’re getting pulled into the tabloids,” he said.
Maddie sighed. “It was bound to happen, eventually. I just didn’t expect them to attack me personally. At least not like that.”
“That’s just Samantha.”
The elevator opened into his place and they stepped in. He took her coat and hung it in the nearby closet before taking her hand and leading her to the living room. Roxy bounded over to them, wagging her tail uncontrollably. Maddie gave her a quick pet before they settled down on the couch. Jace pulled Maddie tightly against his side, and she laid her head on his shoulder, relaxing into him. Roxy moved to her dog bed.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “I know I sound like a broken record.”
She rubbed her eyes. After reading about herself in the newspaper, and to have Kailynn trashed as well, she felt drained.
