“And Dee?” she questions.
I can’t help the wince at the mention of the other woman.
“That bad, huh?” Madison can’t help but let out a little snigger, covering her mouth in an attempt to hide it.
“Yes and no.” I cringe.
She raises a brow.
“Dee told me that she would stay away for now, ‘let me have my fun’, and then she’ll be back.” Those hadn’t been her exact words, which I’m sure Madison can figure out.
“She thinks you’re playing with me?”
“You know that’s not true, right?”
“Of course, I know that, but Dee obviously doesn’t.”
“Dee won’t be outshined by someone young enough to be my daughter.” I sigh. “I don’t want her.” I tug Madison from the chair into my lap and wrap my arms around her. “I only want you, and that’s all I’ve wanted since we met.”
“I know.” She brushes a kiss across my lips. “I guess we’ll be seeing her again, huh?”
“More than likely.” I do feel as though I led her on, even though I was straight with her from the beginning. Dee knew I wanted a friendship only, even if to begin with, I’d led Madison to believe otherwise. I should have known better with a woman like Dee.
Madison senses the end of that topic, steering the conversation away from Dee, she sighs. “I think this is my favorite place.” She rests her head on my shoulder looking out to the horizon. “I love the peace and quiet, and the view is something else entirely.”
“It means more to me now that I have you to share it with,” I admit, and laugh. “Corny, huh?”
Her eyes fill with excitement. “No. I feel the same way.”
“It doesn’t have to be temporary,” I whisper.
Madison lifts her eyes to mine and holding my gaze, she nervously licks her lips. “What do you mean?”
I softly smile and stroke a finger down the side of her face. “Exactly what you think I mean. I want someone to share my life with someone who wants me to share hers. This between us, started months ago, even if I’ve only just seen sense.” I caress her lips with the tip of my finger and focus on her reaction as her lips quiver, and the wet tip of her pink tongue sneaks out, licking me. “I don’t want to frighten you away, so we won’t go in to detail right now, but I need you to know that I’m serious—very serious about being with you in every way.” Resisting her lips, I kiss the tip of her nose. “I thought you should know.”
“So, what you’re saying is that you want me to live here with you?” She sits up. “I need it spelling out, so I don’t get the wrong idea.”
So much for not going into detail. “Yes.” I change the subject, “I’ve met your family, and I think they like me, right? But that was before we were together.”
Madison rolls her eyes and moves back to her chair, finishing her lunch. She munches on a sandwich looking thoughtful. “They like you. They also know how much I’ve fallen for you, especially my hardheaded brother, Dylan.” She grins. “Don’t worry about their reaction. They’ll love you.”
“Isn’t your brother at school with your cousins?”
“Yes, although Rachel and Paige have graduated now. Dylan and Jaxon have one more year, which they’re dreading. I think he’s had enough of school.” She sighs and sits back in the chair, kicking out her feet. “Rachel is now happily married to Alexander, and Paige is still having treatment with Seth by her side.”
“Seth?”
She chuckles. “Seth is Dylan’s best friend. Apparently, he’s always had a thing for Paige, and vice versa, but it wasn’t until Paige got sick and was in the hospital that everyone found out just how much Seth liked her. I think he’d really surprised Paige too. He hasn’t left her side since and he’s taken her to his family’s beachfront property. I like him and I’m glad she has someone to look out for her other than family.”
“Ramon and Noah don’t mind her traveling with someone else, while she’s sick?” I frown, knowing that I’d want to keep Tanner close if he had been as sick.
“They mind, but Paige is strong and knows what she wants. I think at the end of the day as long as she’s happy, and they know that they can visit her whenever, then they’re happy.”
“You have a good family, Madison.”
“I do.” She laughs. “We all grew up together because we’d always be around our grandparent’s ranch house. We’d ride the horses and just mess around. Plenty of time during the summer months would be spent at the pond, swimming and goofing around. It was great fun. Charlotte and Michael are the oldest and then it’s Alexander and Sirena. So, we’d sometimes spy on Michael and Alex when they’d have a girl over. Mainly Michael though. I think Alex had a thing for Rachel for a long, long time before he even knew himself.” She shrugs. “They’re so cute.”
“I enjoy being around your family. Until Tanner had fallen in love with Charlotte, it had always just been the two of us. I get overwhelmed sometimes because of that, but I enjoy watching the interaction between everyone. No one is uncomfortable, and the teasing can be harsh, but it’s amusing.”