Stone Cold Surrender - Brenda Jackson [62]
“I forgot to ask how you want your—”
Madison stopped talking in midsentence when she saw that Stone had literally passed out on her sofa. Quickly walking over to the linen closet she pulled out a blanket and crossed the room back to him. She touched his shoulder. “Stone, you’re tired,” she said softly. “Go ahead and stretch out on my sofa and rest for a moment.”
Glazed, tired eyes stared at her. “But we need to talk, Madison,” he said in a voice that was heavy with sleep and weighty with exhaustion.
“And we will talk,” she said softly, quietly. “As soon as you wake up from your nap. Okay?”
He nodded as he stretched out on her sofa. She placed the blanket over him and moments later his even breathing filled the room. She sighed. He was intent on talking to her and she didn’t want to think about what he had to say. He probably thought, considering the affair they’d shared, that he owed her the courtesy of letting her know that things were over between them and he was moving on.
She didn’t want to think about it and decided to take a shower and relax and try to forget he was there until he woke up and made his presence known. But as she looked down at him she realized that, even if he didn’t make a sound, she would know that Stone was within reaching distance and for her that was not good. It was not good at all.
Stone slowly opened his eyes as soft music drifted around him. He immediately recognized it as a piece by Bach. When Delaney had been around eight or nine, she had taken music lessons for a short time and he distinctly remembered that same classical number as being one she had relentlessly hammered on the piano as she prepared for her first recital. He slowly sat upright and gradually stood, folding up the blanket Madison had placed over him.
He sighed deeply. He had come all this way to talk to her and instead he had passed out on her. He stretched his muscles then decided to go look for her. He needed to let her know how he felt about her and hoped she felt the same way about him.
Stone found her standing on a balcony that extended from her bedroom. She had changed out of the slacks and silk shirt she’d been wearing to a long flowing skirt and a matching top. She was standing barefoot, leaning against the rail with a glass of wine in her hand as she looked at the city below. He was sure he’d been quiet, that he hadn’t made a sound, but still she turned and looked straight at him. Their gaze held for several moments and when a small smile touched her lips, his stomach tightened in response to that smile. “How was your nap?” she asked.
He covered the distance separating them and came to stand beside her. “I didn’t mean to pass out on you like that.”
“You were tired.”
“Yes, I guess I was.”
“And you’re probably hungry. I can order room ser—”
“We need to talk, Madison.”
She turned back to look out over the city. “You know you really didn’t have to come, Stone. I understood how things were from the beginning so you don’t owe me an explanation.”
Stone lifted a brow, wondering what she was talking about. “I don’t?”
She turned and met his gaze. “No, you don’t. You never misled me or implied that anything serious was developing between us. In fact you were very honest from the beginning in letting me know how much you enjoyed your freedom and that you never planned to marry.” She inhaled deeply. “So you’re free to go.”
He gazed at her for a moment as if enthralled by all she had said, and then asked, “I’m free to go where?”
She shrugged. “Back to New York, Montana, on your European book tour or anywhere you want to go. I guess you figured that, with your uncle marrying my mom, we should end things between us in a proper way so there won’t be any hard feelings and I just want to assure you that there won’t be. No matter what, Stone, I will always consider you my friend.”
Stone took the glass of wine from her hand after suddenly deciding that he was the one who needed a drink. He looked at the