Choosing Happy (Madison Square #2) by Samatha Harris

asked.
    “Yeah.” I smiled. “She’s been in Paris for the past few years studying to be a chef.”
    “Wow, Paris. Sounds incredible.”
    I glanced back toward the kitchen. I was proud of the little punk, but I’d missed her like crazy. Em and I were thick as thieves. Growing up, she leaned on me a lot. Our asshole father looked at us as more of a burden than family. As her older brother, I’d taken on the role of her protector, which more often than not meant standing between her and Dad’s particular brand of parenting. He never once laid a hand on us, but emotional scars ran just as deep.
    “Our mom had a chance to go, but life and well…I happened, so she had to give it up.” My chest hurt just talking about Mom. I cleared my throat to get rid of the tight ball of emotion that was building there. “She never had any regrets, though.”
    Madison reached across the table, covering my hand with hers, and I watched as her long, delicate fingers slid across the top of my hand. I turned mine palm up and threaded my fingers through hers, bringing our clasped hands to my lips, and pressed a soft kiss to her knuckles. She smiled, and that pink tint I loved so much crept into her cheeks.
    “Did you decide?” Em asked, appearing out of nowhere. Madison jumped and quickly pulled her hand from mine. She sat back in her chair and picked up her menu, her eyes searching over the options like it was life or death. I laughed and shook my head.
    “What’s good here?” Madison asked.
    “Do you trust me?”
    Her brows drew together as confusion flashed across her beautiful face. She reluctantly nodded her head, but I went with it.
    I handed Em our menus and smiled up at her. “We’ll have the special.” She nodded and headed off to the kitchen.
    “What’s the special?”
    “You’ll see.”
    “You’re not going to tell me?”
    “Nope.”
    “What if I’m allergic, or don’t like it?”
    I frowned, feeling a little stupid that I didn’t think about that. “Are you allergic to anything?”
    “No,” she said with a shy smile, “but you didn’t know that.”
    I smiled at her. The sass was back, and I reached for her hand again. “Then we will just have to have faith.”
    She smiled as I traced circles into her hand with my thumb. Everything seemed to be going well. She was relaxed and seemed to be enjoying herself, then all at once she changed. She looked down at our joined hands and pulled away quickly, dropping her hand into her lap. My smile faltered at her reaction, but I decided not to dwell.
    I leaned back in my chair and studied her as she nervously bit her lip and turned to look out the window. She was pulling away, and I had no idea why.
    “So,” I said. “Tell me about yourself.”
    “What do you want to know?”
    “I don’t know,” I said, leaning my elbows on the table. “Something fun.”
    She looked down at her hands, still resting in her lap. “Fun isn’t something used to describe me.”
    “I doubt that, beautiful.”
    “Margot says I just need to come out of my shell.”
    “Your shell?”
    Madison nodded. The sad look in her eyes made my heart clench in my chest. “She says I’ve led a sheltered life.”
    “Have you?”
    She shrugged. “Maybe.”
    I leaned closer and grinned. “Maybe we can change that.” Her lips turned up almost on their own, making my own smile brighten at her response.
    “What about work? Liam said you work in finance?”
    “Corporate finance, mostly small startups looking for the capital to expand.”
    “Interesting,” I said.
    “I know people think what I do is kind of cold and analytical, but I love it. I love the look in my client’s eyes when the deal goes through and all their hard work finally pays off. It’s a great feeling.”
    Her face lit up as she talked about her work. I could see the passion in her eyes. “Sounds rewarding,” I said. “Most people in your position just get off on playing god. You know, letting the power go to their