Chloe dropped her duffel and pulled her leg back in the window before sinking down to the couch in relief. “I don’t want to be your friend anymore.”
Madison didn’t even blink at the callous reply. “Don’t be silly. Of course you want to be my friend. Who wouldn’t want to be friends with a famous French Kiss model?” She pulled a bag out of her huge leather purse and tossed it to Chloe. “A model who can get her friends the newest line of lingerie before it even hits the stores.”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “Would you please stop with the lingerie, Maddie? My drawers are stuffed full already.”
“A girl can never have enough lingerie…or diamonds…or furs.” She sat in the chair and waited with an expectant look until Chloe finally opened the bag. She rolled her eyes again when she pulled out the nightshirt.
Madison clapped her hands with glee. “Isn’t it cute? It’s the newest casual sleepwear from the Romeo Collection.”
“I think anyone could figure that out.” Chloe glared at the word written across the front. Romeo’s. The possessive noun made chills run down her spine…and not in a good way. After Zac, she certainly didn’t need to be another man’s possession. Not that Grayson wanted to possess her. In fact he didn’t even want to paint her. She folded the nightshirt and placed it on the coffee table, already deciding that it would be something she left behind.
Madison must’ve read her distaste. “I should’ve known that you wouldn’t like it. Nash’s collection is more your style, while I’m a Romeo girl through and through.”
“”I hope you don’t have a thing for Grayson,” she said. “Since he got back from Paris, he doesn’t seem very stable to me.” Chloe realized her mistake when Madison’s gaze narrowed on her.
“When did you see Grayson?” After only a second, her eyes widened. “You came to Eden’s wedding after all, didn’t you? I knew you couldn’t resist.” She held a bejeweled hand to her chest. “Wasn’t it so romantic? I mean Eden’s beautiful gown and the way Nash kissed her at the end and swept her up in his arms, carrying her down the aisle just like a prince and his princess. I swear I thought I was going to swoon. And speaking of swooning, I don’t think Grayson looks unstable. I think he looks hot.”
“You can’t tell me you like the beard?”
Madison shook her head. “It’s not the beard. It’s something about the look in his eyes. He left looking sweet and innocent—sort of like his lingerie collection—but he came back looking dangerous and…”
“Desperate.” The word just popped out, but it was accurate. Grayson did look desperate.
“I was going to say sexy. But as sexy as he is, Grayson and I are just friends. Unlike Natalia. I just left a lingerie fitting, and all Natalia could talk about was Grayson. I guess he kissed her in the elevator and now she’s in love with him—of course, she was in love with Nash six months ago. I think it’s that hot Russian blood.”
Just thinking about the elevator kiss annoyed Chloe, and she wasn’t sure why. “Well, maybe she can take care of Grayson’s wild desperation.”
Madison laughed. “I doubt it. Natalia doesn’t seem like his type. And since he was gone for six months to Paris, you have to wonder if he didn’t find someone there that changed him.”
The theory made sense. A woman would explain why Grayson’s personality had changed so drastically and why he had lost his painting mojo. Love could really screw a person up. Chloe was a perfect example. After falling in love with Zac, she had turned into the worst form of herself imaginable.
“Do you have any chocolate?” Madison got up from the couch, but froze when she noticed the duffel bag by the opened window. Her eyes zeroed in on Chloe. “Are you taking a trip? Because if you’re taking a trip when you refused to go with me to Cancún for the modeling shoot, I’m going to be so-o-o mad at you.”
A lie would make things so much easier. Unfortunately, she couldn’t think of one good lie. So she told the truth. “I’m leaving, Maddie.”
Madison looked more than shocked. She looked as if Chloe had just drowned an entire sack of kittens. “What? But why?”
Chloe reverted to the tough, belligerent kid who had survived on the streets. “Because I’m sick of this town.”
“But I thought you loved San Francisco.”
Chloe did love San Francisco. She loved the bridges with their towering heights and glittering lights. She loved the smell of the sea on the cool breezes coming off the bay. She loved the bell-ringing trolleys that glided over the hilly streets. And the resiliency of a city that had rebuilt itself after numerous fires and earthquakes. But she couldn’t say that. “Maybe at one time, but I need something a little more exciting. And I’m not talking about Scrabble Night with you and Eden. I’m talking about real excitement.”
Madison’s eyes reflected her hurt. “You don’t like Scrabble Night?”
Just that quickly Chloe lost her tough facade. “Okay, so Scrabble Night was fun, even if you always try to cheat with pig Latin words. But you’ve got to realize that I’m only twenty-one. I need to be around people my own age and…party.” She threw her arms wide to emphasize her point and ended up knocking over her peace lily. Potting soil spilled all over the floor. Never one who liked messes, she quickly got up and hurried to the closet for the hand vac. When she turned, Madison had her duffel bag open and was holding the picture of them at the Bay City Marathon.
“I’m not buying the entire excitement thing,” Madison said. “You are the oldest soul I’ve ever met, Chloe. I don’t know how many parties I’ve invited you to, or how many modeling photo shoots in exotic locations. And you always would rather stay home with your flowers.” She put the picture back in the duffel and zipped it closed. “But I get it. You aren’t ready to tell anyone your secrets. Just like I wasn’t ready to tell anyone mine until I met you and Eden.”
Madison’s secrets were nowhere close to Chloe’s. Madison had grown up in a large family with a mother who switched out fathers like underwear. Chloe had only one father. At least that’s what she’d thought until she turned fifteen.
“But once I confided in you and Eden,” Madison continued, “it was like this huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I suddenly realized that I was selling myself short by being an escort. I’m worth more than just a fur coat and fancy baubles.” Her eyes turned dreamy. “Although I do love fur coats and fancy baubles.” She shook her head. “Anyway, I just want you to know that, whenever you want to confide in someone, I’m here for you.”
It was hard to keep tears from filling her eyes. But Chloe knew that if she let one fall, Madison wouldn’t let her go. So she clicked on the hand vac and knelt down to clean up the potting soil. Once she was done, she picked up the peace lily and placed it back in the plastic pot, then filled the pot from the bag of soil she kept in the corner.
“Here.” She handed it to Madison. “Maybe you can get the stupid thing to bloom.”
Madison accepted it with sad eyes. “Is there anything you need before you leave?”