Laguna Nights by Kaira Rouda Page A

want to – ”
    “It’s fine,” Madison said, turning to look down the beach, spotting Dolby walking out of the surf, bright blue board under his arm. Was he walking towards them?
    “Who is this fiancé of yours?” Annie said. “How dare you take Madison out to dinner and not mention the fact that you’re engaged.”
    “Look, that’s what I’m trying to explain. Madison, please,” Josh said. She felt his hand on her shoulder and it sent an electrical current through her. She turned to face him, away from Dolby. He’d taken off his sunglasses and his blue eyes were the color of the ocean, staring into her heart. “She’s not my fiancée, never was, never will be. She’s just a girl I dated for a while, who I let move in to help pay the mortgage on my ‘gorgeous Hollywood Hills home’. She thought we were more than we were.”
    “Obviously,” Madison said, breaking eye contact and looking down at the sand. Next to her, Annie stirred trying to get comfortable despite the beach ball in her stomach.
    “Well, if you’re not going to say it, Madison, then I am,” Annie said. “You use women to get what you want, Josh. It’s the same thing you did with Laura back in high school and then on the spin off show, right? Are you going to tell Madison that didn’t mean anything either? I’m sort of sick of your excuses Josh and I haven’t even seen you in fifteen years, except on the small screen.”
    Josh didn’t turn to look at Annie. Instead he kept his gaze locked on Madison, and she could feel it, even though she still was staring down at the sand. “I told Madison what happened, we talked it through at dinner Friday night. But I’ll tell you, too, Annie. The Laura thing was scripted. There never was anything between Laura and me until Madison stopped talking to me. That’s the truth.”
    “Why didn’t you tell her that back then? Tell Madison that slimy producer made you act like a cheater,” Annie said. Madison looked up, watching as her best friend defended her.
    “He tried, Annie. I wouldn’t talk to him, I never had until he walked into the lobby Friday afternoon,” Madison said, brushing her hands together to remove the tiny grains of sand clinging to her palms. She glanced down the beach and saw Dolby closing in on them. He’d seen her, too.
    “Well, you two definitely need to talk then,” Annie said as she stood up shaking the sand from her sunny dress. “I’ve got to get back home, so I’ll leave you to it.”
    “Hey Annie, Madison,” Dolby said as he walked up to them, casting a shadow over Madison and Josh. Madison didn’t feel the same tingling she felt with Josh. There may be feelings, but definitely not as intense. Nowhere near.
    “Hey, Dolby,” Annie said. “That’s Josh and those two need to talk. Walk me to my car?”
    Madison looked up at Dolby, his blond hair dripping, his tall thin body tanned and toned and perfect. His kind gray eyes were taking in the scene, including the fact she was sitting very close to Josh. She knew they had to talk, too. She’d forced him to watch Laguna Nights, and he had. He knew who she was now, who she’d been. But they hadn’t spoken since.
    “It’s alright Annie. I need to talk with Dolby,” Madison said, torn between her past and the guy she’d been spending most of the present with. Madison stood up, and Dolby gave her a kiss on the cheek, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. It was a possessive move, completely unlike him. Josh had dropped his sunglasses back over his eyes, Madison noticed. Josh stood up on the sand, and the two men were eye-to-eye, their height being the only similar characteristic in their frames - Josh’s broad and muscular, Dolby’s lean and fit.
    “Wait you’re the dude from that show. I just watched the episode where you cheated on Madison,” Dolby said, dropping his board in the sand, hands on his hips. “She had a total breakdown the next episode, man. That was awful. How do you do something