Page 48 of Real Forever
Jake whipped his head around to face Madison, whose jaw was now hanging open.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
“You’re moving to Calgary?”
Adeline’s eyes grew wide, and she leaned back with a smug smile. “Oh, you didn’t know, dear?”
“Mom.” Jake glared at her before turning back to Madison. “Yes, well, sort of. I mean… Look, I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about this sooner, but—”
Madison raised her hand to cut him off. “No. No, it’s fine. Really. It’s totally fine. But, it sounds like you guys have some important business stuff to talk about here,” she stood up, “and I should be on my way, anyway.” She turned to Adeline and Eric. “It was really very nice to meet you both. I hope you enjoy your visit.”
“Thank you, Madison. It was nice to meet you too,” Eric replied quietly. Adeline gave her a tight-lipped smile.
“Madison,” Jake started.
“Enjoy your visit.” She snagged her purse from the kitchen counter and pulled her boots on without tying the laces.
Jake let out a forceful breath and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Umm, yeah,” Zach chimed in, “I’ll get out of your way too.” He grabbed his bowl of cereal and headed off to his bedroom, closing the door behind him.
“Wonderful. Now that we’re alone, we can get down to business. Is the coffee ready yet?”
Jake opened his mouth to snap back at his mother, but no words came out. What was the point? Instead, he stood up and shuffled to the kitchen to prepare their coffees.
I should have known this would happen. Madison is probably never going to talk to me again. And why would she? I’m so stupid. I should have told her about Calgary earlier. But I never thought anything would ever happen between us. And now I’ve fucked it up.
21
Madison
“Good morning.”Madison dumped her purse and jacket on the desk.
Agatha set her wooden spoon down beside the bowl of coleslaw she was preparing and turned to greet Madison. “Well, good morning to you too, but you sure don’t sound like you’re having a good morning.”
“Sorry,” Madison replied flatly, not lifting her eyes from the apron strings she was tying in a bow at her belly button.
Agatha squinted at her. “Something on your mind, Madison?”
“Agatha, it’s fine, okay?” She slammed her palm down on the butcher block countertop. She squeezed her eyes shut. “Shit.” She peeked her eyes open to a wince. “I’m sorry, Aggie. I’m a terrible person and I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. I’m really sorry.”
“Okay.” Agatha returned her attention to the coleslaw. “Listen, you don’t have to talk to me. But you can. You always can. You know that, right?”
“I know.”
“Is this about the very handsome young man I met at Lauren’s?”
Madison sighed. “Yes.”
“Figured.” Agatha continued to stir. “You like this one, don’t you?”
There was a lengthy pause before Madison replied. “Yes.”
Agatha nodded her head and continued to stir. “But there’s a problem?”
Madison rolled her eyes. “He’s leaving. Surprise, fucking, surprise.” She dropped her forehead to the countertop. Agatha wiped her hands on her apron and walked around the large island to rub Madison’s back.
“Where’s he going dear?” Agatha’s voice was calm and measured, but concerned.
