Page 112 of The Encounter
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Maddie woke up a ball of nerves. After her movie night with Kayla, she went back to her room and laid in bed attempting to sleep. She played every probable scenario out in her head, trying to decide what the best route would be.
She knew Kayla was right. If she decided whether she could live without Jace, that would be her answer.
Most of the night, Maddie rolled around in bed, wishing Jace was beside her. She wondered what he was doing. If he was sound asleep or if he lay awake as well.
Eventually, she gave up on sleep and went downstairs to make herself a cup of coffee. She considered texting Jace, but knew it wouldn’t be a good idea. She needed to wait until they saw each other later that night.
Maddie stirred her spoon in her mug as she stared aimlessly at the swirls of cream that mixed with her drink. She sighed. The Christmas tree in the corner of the room caught her attention, and she left her mug at the table to plug the lights in. When it lit up, she stood back and stared at it. Kneeling down, she looked at the small gathering of presents that already sat beneath the tree. A gift wrapped in shiny red paper with white ribbon and bow sat among the other presents, but it wasn’t for her or Kayla. Jace’s name had been scrawled neatly on the tag in her handwriting.
She picked it up and brushed her hands over the ribbon. So much thought and time had gone into this gift. It was hard to shop for a man who had everything and wanted for nothing.
And suddenly, she knew exactly what she wanted.
Maddie’s handsshook when she showed up at the restaurant, where Jace asked her to meet him. She stepped inside the doors and looked around. The place was empty except for the host, who waited near a podium.
“You must be Maddie?” he asked.
“I am,” Maddie said.
“Can I take your coat?”
“Sure.” She set her purse down, with the gift resting on top of it, and tugged off her coat, handing it over to the host. He hung it on a coat rack and gestured for her to follow him.
She picked her purse and the gift back up and followed him into the dimly lit restaurant to a single table in the middle of the room. The restaurant was entirely decorated with Christmas decorations and the table had a white tablecloth draped over it with a silver runner. A silver reindeer sat in the middle of the table with a candle and a small vase of red roses.
But despite the beautiful decorations, what took her breath away was the man standing beside the table. Jace wore a black suit with a red button-up shirt and a silver tie. He smiled timidly at her and waited for her to approach.
She walked over to him, and the host excused himself at Jace’s nod. Suddenly, they were alone.
“Hey,” he said softly.
She smiled. “Hi.”
He took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “I’ve missed you.”
Her heart twisted in her chest. “I’ve missed you, too.”
He gestured to her chair and pulled it out for her. She took a seat as he scooted the chair in and went around to his side. Once he was seated, he didn’t waste any time.
“Maddie, I want to work this out. I know Samantha has been a pill, but I’ve taken care of it.”
Maddie tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“I went to her boss and threatened to never allow their newspaper into any events involving my family or my companies, and to never give them exclusive interviews again.”
“You got her fired?”
“Well, no. Not exactly. She’s just not allowed to ever write about any of us ever again. And the next reporter they assign to cover my family is not allowed to report anything negative regarding any of my friends.”
She stared with her mouth open. “Wow.”
“Samantha won’t bother us again.”
She blinked at him. Perhaps that was true temporarily. But Samantha could always get a job with another newspaper and it could start all over again. Or a new reporter could start it up. Just because Samantha wouldn’t for now, there was no stopping a future reporter from another tabloid from doing it.
“It’s not really about Samantha, though. Yes, she is petty and mean, but she’s not the only reporter out there, and Celebrity Status isn’t the only tabloid out there.”
