Chapter 273

Madison

I shook my head with a smile as I closed the bathroom door behind me. The shower hissed to life, steam quickly filling the small space as I stepped under the hot spray. Water cascaded down my back, and I closed my eyes, letting it wash over me.

Of course, my mind immediately drifted to Alexander.

His words from last night echoed in my head, mixing with the steady drumbeat of water against the tile. What did he mean by “more”? More time? More control? More... us?

I scrubbed shampoo into my hair with unnecessary force. The man was infuriating. One minute, it was all business; the next, looking at me with those intense eyes that made my knees weak. And now he wanted to make our arrangement public? Absolutely not.

“Just a contract,” I reminded myself, rinsing my hair. “Just business.”

But business deals didn’t usually involve meeting mothers or late-night whiskey conversations or the way his hand felt at the small of my back.

I gr