Chapter 385

Madison

He waited until I was settled before pulling away from the curb, the car gliding forward with that expensive smoothness only German engineering could achieve.

I set the bags at my feet, staring straight ahead. The interior smelled like leather and that cologne. That same cologne that used to cling to my clothes after nights in his penthouse.

“Where to?” he asked.

I rattled off my address, keeping my voice flat. Professional. Like he was a stranger giving me a ride, not the man who’d once known every inch of my body.

“Nice neighborhood,” he observed after a moment.

“It suits me.”

“Better than Manhattan?”

“Much better.”

Silence fell between us, heavy and awkward. I watched the familiar streets pass by, each turn bringing me closer to home and further from this conversation.

“Who was he?” Alexander asked suddenly. “The man at the café.”

My jaw tightened. “I already told you. None of your business.”

“