But her mind wasn’t on business. It was on what had gone on between Alex and Rachel at breakfast. Her head pounded, and the small, windowless conference room they’d rented for the interview didn’t help. She felt as if the walls and her life were closing in on her. Although she hadn’t seen any sexual interest in Alex’s eyes when he’d looked at his one-time girlfriend, his remaining anger told her there were still feelings there. The thought hurt, but it was true.
She’d had to give him the freedom to explore those emotions and work through them in whatever way he needed. She hadn’t seen a ring on the other woman’s hand, indicating she was, at the very least, not married. Which left all the other woman’s options open too.
Madison’s temple throbbed, and she was grateful when Bill Akins spoke, ending the meeting. “Well, it was a pleasure meeting you both. I need some time to think about your offer. The travel involved will impact my family, so I have to run this by my wife before making any decisions.”
“We understand,” Madison said, gathering her things and placing them in her larger purse.
“And we look forward to hearing from you,” Alex told him. “Hopefully with a yes, you’d love to come on board.”
The other man walked out and shut the door behind him.
“Well, that went well,” Madison said. “Hopefully he’ll agree.” She hiked her purse over her shoulder. “I think I’m going to go back to the room and lie down. I have a headache.”
“Can I get you something for it?” Alex asked, concern in his voice.
“No, thanks. I’ll just go upstairs and rest.” She started for the door.
“Aren’t you going to ask what happened at breakfast?” His deep voice and that question stopped her.
As much as she wanted to know what had gone on with Rachel, a part of her dreaded the truth, fearing the other woman’s return would have to change things between her and Alex on some level.
She swallowed hard. “Sure, I’ll listen. If you want to tell me.”
“Madison.” Her name sounded on a low rumble.
“What?”
He held her gaze. “I didn’t think we played that way.”
Uncomfortable now, she fiddled with her bag strap and laid the heavy bag on the table. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Games. Distrust. I thought we were open and honest with each other.”
She nodded. But her thoughts were slamming around in her head at a rapid pace. The one that stuck out was her biggest weakness. When she’d rekindled this relationship, the one thing she’d promised herself was that she’d be the one to walk away first. She’d meant it then. Now it would be that much harder, knowing how deeply she was already involved. But if she got even an inkling that Alex was still interested in his old girlfriend, she would gather her pride and walk away, head held high.
She straightened her shoulders and met his gaze. “Fine. What happened with Rachel? I want to know.”
“Finally something honest.” He strode to the door and turned the lock, taking her by surprise. He then settled into the big conference room chair and pulled her into his lap.
“Alex—” She squirmed in his lap, but he held on tight. His body was warm and hard, his arms around her solid and safe. She wanted everything with him so badly. And she wanted him for a lot longer than a brief sexual affair.
Somehow she’d given him her heart, and she feared he’d break it again. Whether he meant to or not. She swallowed a pain-filled moan.
He eyed her warily, but he kept his hold on her firm. “You were right saying I needed closure. I realized all that anger I held on to was more about my bruised ego than hurt feelings. It embarrassed me to have given everything so freely and have her throw it all back in my face.”
She wasn’t surprised he’d come to a revelation. She’d wanted that for him so he could let go of the past for good.
“And Rachel,” he went on. “It turns out she’s always regretted that she didn’t have the guts when we were together to tell me how she really felt about my career and my future plans.”
Madison managed a laugh. “Yeah, well, you’re a pretty tough guy to go up against when you want to be.”
“I do try.” He grinned, a panty-moistening grin that had her shifting around in his lap. “I didn’t make it easy for her apparently,” he said, sobering. “She’d met my family by then, knew I was serious…” He shrugged it all off. “Anyway, I guess realizing it was more a question of my bruised ego than me nursing a broken heart helped me finally put it behind me.”
Unable not to, she looped her arms around his neck. “I’m glad. Is that what Rachel wanted too? To make peace with the past?”
He drew a deep breath, making all Madison’s nerves go haywire. “No. There’s more,” he said, confirming her fear.
Madison stiffened. “She wants you back?” She blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“No! Not that way!”
She let out a long, relieved breath. Of course, if she didn’t want him back, there was something wrong with the woman, Madison thought, unsure if she should believe Rachel didn’t have a hidden personal agenda.
Reminding herself Rachel had given him up willingly once before, she forced herself to focus. “Then what does she want from you?”
“She works at an entertainment company that is partnering with Sports and Entertainment Network. They want me to test with Allison Edwards for a sports show. National TV,” he said, clearly still surprised by the offer.
But according to the gleam in his eye, he wasn’t adverse to the idea. In fact, Madison guessed there was something inherently appealing about the exposure of a national television show to a competitive, driven man like Alex.
“What did you tell her?”
“She said I should take some time and think about it. I didn’t have to say much of anything.”
“Are you going to consider taking the job?” Madison asked.
The long silence that followed was answer enough.
He tilted her chin up, his gaze soft on hers. The intensity in his dark eyes made it clear he didn’t find this any easier than she did. Which didn’t seem to help her frayed emotions, and brought her close to the edge of tears.
He slid one hand to the back of her head, pulling her in close and kissing her. Not in the command-and-take-charge way that he usually did. He took his time, gliding his lips over hers and tracing them lightly with his tongue, back and forth, teasingly, before sliding inside. Whatever point he’d been trying to make was lost in the emotion of what should have been a simple kiss.