Mollie blew out a long breath before she opened the front door to Fig & Olive and stepped inside. For the hundredth time she wondered if she should have warned Jackson what she was doing—that she was coming clean.
Ultimately she’d decided against it. What she and Jackson had was important, but right now it was about her and Maddie.
About the fact that she loved Jackson and her sister. And they both deserved more than lies.
Mollie stepped into the restaurant.
“Hi,” she said, forcing a smile at the hostess. “I’m meeting someone here at noon. Madison Burke?”
The young woman glanced down at her screen. “Yes, of course. The rest of your party is already seated.”
Great. Fantastic. So much for having a few more minutes to gather her thoughts, to figure out how to tell her sister that she’d been bumping uglies with her ex.
Madison grinned in greeting as Mollie approached, her smile so warm and friendly that Mollie’s stomach twisted in dread.
“Oh my gosh, that blue dress looks amazing on you,” Madison gushed, standing to give her a quick hug.
“Hey, Maddie,” Mollie said, hugging her sister maybe a moment longer than necessary.
“Ugh, that nickname makes me feel twelve again,” Madison said as they sat down. “Although, come to think of it, I wouldn’t mind going back in time. I found another gray hair today. And I’m officially addicted to Botox.” Madison gestured at a mostly perfect forehead.
Mollie smiled. “You look beautiful. You are beautiful.”
“You’re twenty-eight,” Madison grumbled as she picked up her menu. “Just wait until you’re creeping up on thirty-five. Stuff’s sagging and creasing all over the place. Soon the boy who was once wildly in love with you becomes the man who can’t wait to boot you out of his office.”
Mollie paused in the process of taking a sip of her water. She’d thought she’d have at least a bit longer before the conversation turned to Jackson, but then, that was the entire reason Madison was in New York. For Madison, it was always about Jackson. Even though they were no longer married, he was still front and center.
“Did Jackson mention that I dropped by?” Madison asked, shutting her menu and leaning forward.
Mollie took another sip of her water. “He mentioned it.”
Madison shook her head. “It was weird. It’s like he’s intentionally holding himself back from me. For a minute there we were connecting. We felt like the old Madison and Jackson. But then he kept looking at his phone, acting all weird.” She shrugged. “Any ideas?”
The server came over to get their drink order, and Madison caught Mollie’s eye and lifted an eyebrow. “Wine?”
Hell yes, she could go for some wine. Or tequila shots. Whatever would make this conversation easier for both of them.
They both ordered a glass of white wine, and Madison picked up the conversation the second the waitress moved away. “So talk to me, Mollie. What the heck is going on over there? I thought he and I had reached a turning point when I made him dinner, but now I can’t get him to even respond to my text messages, much less meet with me. I keep thinking if I could just get him into bed, maybe have some angry-ex sex, he’ll remember how good things are.”
“Why do you want him back?” Mollie blurted out.
Madison blinked, looking surprised at the question. As though it should be obvious, she replied, “He’s my husband.”
“He’s your ex-husband. You filed the papers.”
Madison rubbed her temple, as though the conversation was beneath her. “Mollie, we’ve been over this, like, a hundred times. You don’t understand—”
“Right, I know, I’ve never had a big love like yours and Jackson’s,” Mollie said, not bothering to keep the impatience out of her voice. “But it’s just…hell, Mad, did you cheat on him? Early on, I mean, before everything got broken?”
Madison’s head snapped up. “What?”
Mollie fiddled with her fork but forced herself to continue despite her sister’s furious gaze.
“Jackson said he saw you. With Tyler. Said you guys were…you know.”
The anger had faded from Madison’s eyes and been replaced with cold shock. “He told you that?”
“Well, yeah.”
“That ass,” Madison hissed. “That was his and my private—” She broke off as the server brought their wine over.
“Ready to order?” their perky waitress asked with a wide smile.
“A few more minutes,” Madison said, her voice all sugar as she smiled prettily at the server. “Still deciding.”
Mollie felt a tiny stab of disdain. Had Madison always been like this? So easily able to go from furious to sugary sweet? And had the sweet part ever been genuine?
“He shouldn’t have told you that,” Madison said, her smile disappearing the moment the waitress walked away.
“So it’s true,” Mollie said a little sadly.