Page 22 of The Cinnamon Spice Inn (Maple Falls #1)

“I’ll cheers to that,” she said finally. Madison lifted her glass and clinked it with his before tipping the rest of it back.

The whiskey should’ve burned her throat, but she felt nothing but the ghosts of her past circling around, of what they were, and everything they had left unsaid and unfinished.

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes until Madison looked over and saw Zach smile. She was about to ask him what was so funny when he said, “You remember that time Liam challenged you in the hot wing eating competition?”

Madison laughed at the memory. They were the hottest wings she’d ever eaten in her entire life. An entire platter of them. “And I won!” she said proudly.

“He claimed it was because he’d just had a burger…” Zach started to say.

“But we all know he can’t handle much spice,” Madison finished with a grin. She always did like her wings with an extra kick.

“Hey! It was because of the burger,” Liam called out from across the bar.

“Sure, sure,” Madison replied. “Anytime you want a rematch, just let me know!”

Liam laughed and Madison could hear him retelling the story to Emily and Zoe. Not that they hadn’t been there that night.

“Do you still like your hot wings with a side of fire?” Zach asked.

“You know me, the hotter the better,” Madison replied with a smile.

“Did someone say fire whiskey?” Liam asked, coming back.

He motioned to the bartender. “Sir, five shots of your best fire whiskey,” he said in a highbrow voice.

Madison thought it was a very bad idea, but she couldn’t very well back down now.

“To Liam,” Emily toasted, raising her glass. The rest of the group followed suit. “And to Jackson,” she added. There was a collective nod. “Hope you have the best of birthdays. Cheers!”

“Cheers!” Madison clinked her glass and downed the drink, letting the slow burn fill her senses.

Liam, Zoe, and Emily walked back to their table, talking about getting in one more round of darts, leaving Zach and Madison at the bar.

Zach leaned in slightly, close enough that she could smell the warm spice of his cologne and feel the heat of him in the small space between them. The air was charged and her mind betrayed her.

She imagined leaning toward him, closing that small gap, feeling his hand find her waist, his mouth slant over hers like he used to. Deep, possessive.

She wondered if he would still kiss her the same way. If his hands would still slide into her hair, fisting just enough to tilt her head the way he liked. If he would still murmur her name against her skin as he explored lower, lower, until she was gasping beneath him.

Could he still make her come undone with his mouth as he laid her back and watched? The things that man could do…

Stop. Madison gripped the edge of the bar. She wasn’t running anymore.

She cleared her throat. “You know, the last time I saw you in this place, there was another girl hanging all over you. While we were still dating.”

Zach’s head snapped up, eyes narrowing. “What?”

“Yeah. I’d flown home to surprise you. For our anniversary,” she said, bitterness edging her voice. “And I saw you. There you were, drinking with her, letting her touch you like?—”

“I—Madison, I had no idea. Why didn’t you tell me? I didn’t know you were coming home. And that girl, that was nothing. Nothing happened.” His voice was sharp but shaking. “She tried to kiss me, but I wouldn’t let her.”

Madison’s eyes were narrowed, incredulous.

“I was drunk, Mads, because I thought you’d forgotten about us. You had barely been in touch with me for weeks. Then on our anniversary you didn’t pick up, you didn’t call?—”

“My phone was on airplane mode,” she shot back, “because I wanted to surprise you. I wanted to ask you to come to New York with me.”

They stared at each other, the air heavy with all the years and words they hadn’t said.

“Did you really not do anything with her? What would have happened if I’d seen you push her away?” Madison whispered after a long pause. “If I’d stayed, if we’d just talked?”

Zach swallowed, voice raw. “I don’t know. Maybe I would have come with you. Or maybe we would have found another way. But I sure would have fought for us, Madison, if I’d known you wanted me to.”

The silence between them ached with the realization that their reality didn’t have to be this way.

Neither of them moved, both afraid that if they spoke, it would break whatever fragile thing was holding them in this moment of honesty.

Zach’s fingers tapped once against the side of his glass, almost absently. Then he set it down with a soft clink, cleared his throat, and said, voice low and rough, “Come on. I’ll walk you home.”

Madison blinked, her brain short-circuiting for a half-second.

He shifted slightly, almost like he regretted the offer, but he didn’t take it back.

“I’m heading that way anyway.”

For one breathless second, she almost said no, almost let fear of what might happen win out.

But then she caught the flicker of something raw in his eyes. It was as uncertain as it was protective, and heaven help her, she wanted to know what it meant.

“Sure,” she said, keeping her voice light as she slid off her stool, grabbing her sweater. “Lead the way.”

They stepped out into the cool night air. The stars were hidden under a thick layer of clouds, but Madison knew they were up there, shining down on them, waiting, watching to see what would happen.

And all she could think was that the distance between her and Zach had never felt so small, or so dangerous. Like the atoms between them were about to explode.