Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Jameson: You didn’t have to send these, but my stomach is grateful that you did.
Madison: Excellent. Think of me when you’re running off the extra pounds Donut Boy.
I laughed out loud at yet another nickname. The woman seemed to have a knack for creating them.
Jameson: When my six-pack turns into an eight pack, I’ll be sure to name them Madison and Rae.
Madison: How do you know my middle name?
Jameson: I run background checks on every woman privileged enough to share my bed.
The phone rang within seconds of that message, so I smiled and answered on the first ring. “Calling to deny it?”
Instead of answering she let out a loud, snorting laugh that would have been obnoxious coming from anyone else, but from her I could only join in. “Wasn’t much of a privilege, though, was it?”
Ouch. I didn’t get the feeling that Maddie actually wanted to sleep with me. I clearly hit a nerve by turning her down after the wedding reception. “Maddie,” I began, and she spoke over me.
“It was just so…forgettable. I’ll be sure to spread the word next time someone asks how you are in the sack. Jameson is utterly forgettable. I don’t even remember our night together.”
“You remember winning five hundred bucks, don’t you?”
“That cowboy said it was beginner’s luck!”
I laughed at her quick answer, the same one she’d given two times before rather than give me credit for helping her win. “And my skills had nothing to do with that?”
“No way. Craps requires zero skills, Jameson. Remember those words, huh?”
“Damn, woman, you got a memory like an elephant.” Did she forget anything?
“Thanks. It’s one of my best features, but let’s keep it between us, yeah?”
“Uh, sure.”
“Great. Ava Rose is about two seconds away from a fit so I have to go. Enjoy the donuts. I sent you enough to spread the wealth, remember that.”
I stared at the phone for a second and laughed. “Trying to help me make friends, Maddie?”
“No,” she said on an annoyed sigh. “It’s called sabotage, Jamie. Let them gorge on donuts and then you can beat them at PT. Every little bit helps, or some recruit keeps telling me. Later gator!” And then she was gone, just like the whirlwind she was.
Somehow, over the course of my time at the Police Academy, Madison had become not just my closest friend, but also my confidante. She was a good listener and asked great questions, and not just for the sake of filling the silence. She seemed to give a damn, and I still hadn’t figured out what I’d done to deserve a friend like her, but I planned to savor it and treat it like it was precious to me.
As soon as I graduated the Academy, at the top of my class.
“Yo, Ellison! You gonna daydream about that mystery girl or you ready for PT?” Mark Robbins, my suite-mate and friend stood in the doorway with his arms folded and a knowing smile stretched across his face.
Shit. I glanced at my watch and realized I had just fifteen minutes to change and get down to the field. “Two minutes. I’ll be ready in two minutes. Have a donut while you wait.” I smiled at the way he quickly made his way to the box, knowing Maddie would get a kick out of me sharing.
“Mystery girl?”
“Not a mystery,” I reminded him and stepped inside the bathroom to change into our required physical training uniform. “She’s a friend. Nothing else.” Madison wasn’t the only one who constantly thought about that night, or the consequences of my rejection, which was at first an uncomfortable boner and then a damn fun night.
“I have friends and they don’t send me donuts. Or candy. Or my favorite burger. Hell, I’m not sure even my own mother knows how I like my burgers.”
“Maybe you need better friends.”
Mark laughed. “Maybe you ought to lock down that friend before someone else does.”
“Now you sound like my ma.” She was determined that Madison was exactly the kind of girl I needed, despite her connection to the Ashby family, and she refused to hear any talk of the platonic nature of our friendship.
“Then don’t tell her about all these friendly little care packages she’s been sending. Regularly.”
“I won’t and neither will you.”
Mark laughed. “I got more important things on my mind, like beating your two-mile run time.”
“Keep dreaming, Robbins. Now are you done gossiping so we can go?”
He glared at me and then flipped me the bird. “Dick.”
“Can’t compete there either, but no one needs to know that.” I gave him a shove and took off running. “Last one to formation buys dinner tonight.”
“Dick,” he grunted after me and that was the last thing I heard before I cranked up the speed and ran like hell.
CHAPTER THREE
Madison – Present Day
I shouldn’t have been so nervous about dinner tonight with Jameson, but I was. I hadn’t laid eyes on the man in over six months, but without Molly around, he was my closest friend and confidante.