Chapter Forty-Five
MAVERICK
(earlier that day)
Iwalked down the hallway holding a dozen roses in my right hand.
I hadn’t exactly planned any kind of speech in my head or anything like that.
This was simply having Madison open the door, see me with roses, then letting me talk.
I knew I was going to tell her I loved her.
That part she already knew.
Everything else was just up in the air.
This was actually my first grand gesture of romance for a woman.
This type of thing never interested me.
I never understood it.
The idea of being so attached to another person, all their flaws, issues and baggage, scared me. Like the willingness to get suspended from your eight-figure paying job. Or the willingness to demand getting traded to get away from anything that reminds you of that same person you were about to say you wanted to be with for the rest of your life.
If your head is spinning, so is mine…
I stepped up to Madison’s door and lifted my right hand.
That’s when I heard voices.
Of course Madison wasn’t going to be alone right now.
She was with Zoe and Eva.
She was getting dressed and ready to attend Coach’s wife’s event.
That was another reason I stood at her door with roses.
I wanted to tell her that I was proud of her for going to the event. And that I would be at her side, that I had her back. The event would be emotional for her for many reasons.
I just didn’t want her to feel alone.
Even if we weren’t together.
The voices on the other side of the door were murmurs.
For a second I caught myself turning my head, wanting to press my ear to the door so I could hear what was being said.
Now that would be idiotic, Maverick.
That was the line for me.
Love, romance, whatever you wanted to call how I felt about Madison, standing at her door with my ear against it, just to hear her voice…
I touched my forehead and shook my head.
This moment proved the exact reason why enjoyable one-night stands were the correct choice. They came. They went. Life moved forward.