Momentary Lapse (7 page)

Madison's heart sank. She gave up any hope of maternal sympathy stirring. “I don't want to apologize,” she insisted. “He slept with another woman.”

“I don't think you understand.” Patricia's voice sharpened. “We're not going to do any better than Logan.”

Madison was swamped by helplessness. Climbing the social ladder wasn't the total sum of her existence anymore. Last night with Cole had been the best of her life. For once, she'd forgotten about status and the number of zeroes attached to a bank account. All of the things that'd seemed important, up until now. Truth was, she had no idea of Cole's financial situation and it wouldn't have made one iota of difference.

She looked at the ludicrous engagement ring dominating her finger. Last night had shown Madison that happiness wasn't going to come from a marriage built on lies.

“I will do better,” she said quietly. “Because I'll be doing what's right for me.”

Her mother stopped, anguish whitening her cheekbones. “What have I done to deserve this?” She sank onto her knees in front of Madison, holding her head in her hands. “Everything I've done for you. Pulling us out of that horrible, dead-end town. Leaving all of my family behind. For you.” Her expression was bleak. Pained. “And now you're going to ruin it. You'll end up having to go back to that.” Her mother dissolved into tears, shoulders shaking. “I can't face the humiliation.”

“Please, Mom.” Madison shifted so she could wrap her arms around her mother's shoulders. Guilt wracked her. She wished she could go back and change what had happened. Maybe she had been hasty… “Please. Don't cry.”

“I don't know where I went wrong.” Patricia was beyond listening. “I've taken care of you, haven't I? You don't need to work?” She raised a tear-streaked face to her daughter. “No one cared enough to do that for me. Why do you think we pay Logan your allowance?” She peered into Madison's face. “So you don't have to worry about managing money. A beautiful woman like you.” Smiling tremulously, Patricia laid her hand against Madison's cheek. “I've taken care of everything.”

Madison closed her eyes against the truth that only told half of the story. If only she could believe her mother's words as much as her mother believed them. But there was more to Logan getting her money. He had a name for living outside of his means…that was what had attracted her mother's attention in the first place. It had all been part of her plan.

“Why don't you give me a chance to show you what I can do?” Madison pressed, knowing her only advantage lay in appealing to her mother when she was vulnerable. “Maybe I can go back to school. I could get a job and work my way up. Just like you did.” After all, she was proud of her mother rising from nothing, to become patron of no less than six different charities.

“You're nothing like me, Madison.” Patricia let out a small laugh as if the very idea was ridiculous. “And you don't have to be, not if you follow my plan.” She climbed to her feet. “You don't have what it takes to be like me. No. What's best for you is to go back to Logan,” she said firmly. “I'm sorry, but I'm not changing any arrangements, financial or other. He will continue to get your allowance until you go back to him.”

“What?” Madison's jaw dropped. “You're going to keep paying the man who cheated on me?”

Patricia's expression softened and for a moment there was a glimpse of true compassion. Then her lips pressed into a thin line.

“Grow up, Madison. We all have to make sacrifices and I've made more than my fair share for you. It's your turn.”

“But I—”

“We are
this
close to having everything we've worked for.” Patricia scowled, color mottling her perfect mask. “I'll take care of the wedding planner. Del Arco. You go home and make this right. Get even. Get revenge. Have a string of lovers if that's what it takes, but do
not
wreck this chance.” She glared hard at her daughter. “Because you won't get another.”

Madison shook her head. Her mother was wrong.

She deserved happiness and last night with Cole had proved that.

Chapter Seven

Cole picked up the newspaper he'd gotten with breakfast, compliments of the hotel. One look at the front page and he threw it down again. Bitterness stung his throat and he rested his head against the studded leather seat, trying to ignore the photo of Thomas Langford smirking at him from above the fold.

This was a bad idea.
Cole should have left for Wellsford two hours ago. So, why the hell was he sitting here waiting for Madison? His mall development had been his single-minded focus for the last three years, ever since Marcus had brought him in on a few fledging investments.

So how could he intentionally miss the meeting with the head architect?

And what about Jess? Another thing he was supposed to do today. Take her out for dinner in Wellsford. A stab of guilt had Cole reaching for his phone. Then he stopped himself.

He could still make it in time. After he'd talked to Madison.

A band of heat tightened around his balls as he remembered last night. At first, Madison had come across like delicate china. Pretty to look at, but fragile. Breakable. Yet she was unrelenting when it came to her own pleasure; her rapturous gaze as his cock pushed into her, the porcelain perfection of her face flushed with lust, her wild abandon as she'd watched them come together in the mirror… Yeah, she'd known exactly what she wanted last night.

Him.

And for once, Cole had forgotten about holding back. He'd given up the reins of control and let down his defenses. Just been himself.

And that was why he was here, right? Because remembering the proud, passionate woman who'd been in the bedroom last night…well, things didn't stack up with the Madison who'd blown him off this morning. She'd treated him like he was shit stuck to the bottom of her swanky designer shoes.

So, after he'd picked up his ego from the floor and finished congratulating himself on his lucky escape from the pampered rich bitch, Cole had stopped short of leaving. Thinking over everything that'd happened, he'd realized the expression on Madison's face when she'd ordered him to go hadn't been contempt. It'd been fear.

No way was he leaving now. Cole had made a few calls and set up in the lobby, telling himself he wanted to make sure Madison was all right. Because the more he thought about it, the more he became convinced something was off-kilter. Nobody visiting their mother for lunch should look like they were about to get teeth extracted with a rusty teaspoon.

Cole knew what went on behind closed doors of the rich and powerful, and he was worried for her. He'd borne the brunt of it once and his sister would always carry the scars. They'd lured him in with promises of bettering himself, then made him a scape-goat so
their
names would remain unblemished. Cole had learned nothing came free. When his uncle had called in his marker, he and Thomas had made sure to bury Cole right back in the muck they'd pulled him from.

And Jess. His chest tightened at the thought of his sister and the price she'd paid. All so Thomas Langford could stay above the fold in the newspaper.

His glance strayed back to his cousin's smarmy face and Cole almost missed the swish of the automatic doors opening. Almost. He stiffened at the sound of high heels clicking across the tiles. An indefinable quality in the air changed and the room slowed to stillness.

Madison.
He looked up and she froze mid-step when she saw him sitting there. Breath slammed out of his lungs. Her eyes flared, a range of emotions flashing across her face. Happiness, relief, wariness… Embarrassment. Resignation.

The world sped up again as Cole jumped to intercept her. Her pace quickened toward the elevators.

Running from him
.

Fuck.
Cole skidded to a halt in front of her as she repeatedly jabbed the call button. He could feel her distress in the wild beat of her heart, her uneven breath.

“What happened?” Panic thudded in his own chest now.

“Nothing that concerns you.” Madison twisted away, but there was nowhere for her to go. She raised her hands as if trying to create a physical barrier. “Please.”

It was the crack in her voice that made Cole all the more determined. He rubbed at his hair. She didn't want anything to do with him—okay, he got that—but he wasn't leaving until he knew she was okay.

“Someone's upset you. Your mother?” he pressed. Captain-fucking-Obvious.

“I-I thought you had a meeting.” A hint of desperation crept into Madison's voice and her eyes pleaded to be left alone.

Not likely.
The elevator dinged but Cole couldn't let her go. Not like this. He ignored her stiffening response as he touched her shoulder. It felt good to lay his hand on her. To reassure himself she wasn't hurt. She was okay. More than okay. Cole shifted his gaze from the temptation of her lips to her softening eyes.

“I do have a meeting. But I wanted to see you before I left,” he conceded.

The elevator opened at Madison's back, but she made no move to get in.

“Why?”

Cole took a quick look around, then tugged her along the corridor to the alcove they'd kissed in last night. He caged her in, bracing his arm against the wall behind her, hating the fact she instinctively flinched away when he went to smooth back a strand of her hair.

“I don't like how we left this morning,” he murmured.

Madison stared back at him. “Me either.” She gave in with a sigh.

Silence stretched as she continued to watch him warily. Being this close to her played havoc with Cole's senses. He cleared his throat, trying to find the words to explain why he'd put off the biggest project of his career. For her.

“Last night was…something,” he admitted.

The stain on her cheeks deepened. “It was just one night,” she said woodenly.

Cole gritted his teeth, not happy with how the conversation was going. Whatever happened over lunch had clearly shaken her. Maybe it would be best to let her leave.

Not an option.
He knew before the thought formed that he couldn't let her go. Something was going on. And seeing Madison now had reaffirmed every good reason why Cole
should
see her again.

He leaned in and the warmth of her sparked against his skin. “Does it have to be just one night?” he growled softly.

“Yes.” The line of her throat convulsed up and down. She didn't sound sure.

Cole's heart thudded harder. “Why?”

He trailed his fingers along the length of her jaw, knowing his touch moved her as much as her closeness did him. Her small sigh told him that. Her blood racing through her veins. It wasn't enough for Cole. He hungered for the heat of last night. For Madison to remember it as he did. Scorching. Passionate. Unfettered.

“The woman who brought me to my knees…she's still here. Wanting me.”

“She doesn't exist.” Madison shifted, subtly raising her chin until she met his stare. Defiant. “I'm not who you think I am.”

And just like that, the Madison Cole remembered returned. Despite her trying hard to hide it.

“Bullshit.”

He nudged her deeper into the corner, his thumb rubbing circles into her shoulder. He enjoyed the sharp thrill of victory when she didn't move away. His groin tightened as her sweet, cinnamon scent drifted across his senses and he wanted nothing more than to bury her mouth under his. Heat raced in a heartbeat, arcing through his veins as she leaned in, her hand fluttering to lay flat against his chest. Cole didn't know whether she meant to push him away or pull him closer. Either way, he couldn't let her go.

Until he saw the ring.

Air slammed from his lungs. He stumbled back, a sick feeling growing in his gut. No mistaking that monstrosity for anything other than it was.

“You're engaged?” Cole barely had breath to force the words out. How the
fuck
had he missed
that
?

Then he remembered.

“I'm not who you think I am.”

That was what she'd just said. Only Cole had never believed it could mean this.

Still, she didn't stop the act. Cole watched with shocked detachment as Madison glanced down at the ring, as if suddenly realizing it sat on her finger.

“No!” Her wide-eyed horror was pure award-winning Oscar.

She crossed her arms as if hiding the ring would make Cole forget the evidence sitting half an inch high on her finger. His lip curled. He shook his head, cold anger already icing over his heart, his mind…his libido.

“Sorry if I'm having issues with disbelief, but that is an engagement ring on your finger, isn't it?” For one brief moment, Cole dared hope he was wrong. That she'd laugh and say no…

“Yes.”

Cole's shoulder hit the wall. “Fuck.” The curse exploded from a place of deep regret. “Well, you can't get much clearer than that.” He straightened, brushing down his shirt. As if wiping it would remove the memory of her touch.

“It's…complicated.”

The hitch in her voice kept Cole in place a moment longer.

Hadn't he known something wasn't right? He huffed out a sigh, hardly believing he was about to do this. He should have left for Wellsford hours ago. “So. Uncomplicate it for me.”

Madison looked lost for a moment, then her expression changed, settling into hard lines of determination. Regret. Even as she opened her mouth to speak, Cole knew he wasn't going to get the answer he wanted.
Needed
. Still, he hoped for something—anything—to redeem her.

“I was engaged. But not anymore.”

Even Madison sounded like she didn't believe the lies spilling from her lips.

“Yet you wear a ring. Why?” The muscles in Cole's stomach knotted tight.

She faltered and he almost gave in over her pained expression. But Cole was desperate for the truth.

She closed her eyes as if trying to shut him out. “Because I wanted my mother to think I was still engaged,” she muttered. She pulled the ring off her finger and jammed it in her bag.

A chill wrapped icy fingers inside Cole's chest. “So you're just pretending?” he gritted out. “While some poor schmuck thinks you're still in love with him?”

“Yes. No. I…he cheated on me.” Her words overflowed with humiliation. And guilt.

But Cole was past listening. Last night—
that fucking, fantastic night when lights had exploded in his head
—had been revenge?

He straightened, his hands fisting at his sides. “So, last night was about getting back at someone?” His anger grew as the full impact of what she'd done crashed down on him. “Don't you think I deserved to know before you made me a part of it?” The last, sweet thoughts Cole held of their night disintegrated under the depth of his disgust. At her. At himself.

It had just been a fuck. A hollow, pointless fuck.

The little color Madison had in her face, bled away.

“It wasn't like that,” she whispered hoarsely.

Too late. It was all too late. Cole stood in front of her, feeling like the biggest asshole in the world. He'd missed his goddamned meeting for her. Last night had opened Cole's mind to the possibility he might have been tarring too many people with the feathers of his uncle's brush. That she was different. At least that was what he'd allowed himself to believe.

And the whole time, Madison had been one step ahead.

Of course she had. She was rich. She didn't care about anyone else. And she knew the game better than Cole ever could. Her
good
breeding gave her the edge, the power Cole would always be lacking. His jaw clenched so tight his teeth ached. He turned away, unable to look at the face of an angel, with the blackened heart of the devil.

“Save your lies for someone else,” he said. “I don't give a shit.”