Thunder - Willow Summers Page 0,1

mission accomplished.

She threw up her hands. No use kicking a dead horse. Though she did actually want to kick Frank. “Fine. You win. You’ve done what you came to do. Go on, then. I’ll figure something out.”

“I really think this is best,” Frank repeated, his attempt at an apologetic expression ruined by a look of lingering confusion.

She picked up her fork and knife, but hesitated when he didn’t get up to leave. She quirked an eyebrow, wondering if he thought a last supper was in order.

“There’s one more thing,” he said in a placating voice. She narrowed her eyes at him. “Since you fought so hard to keep your old apartment, for just such a situation, I gather, it’s probably best if I keep ours. It’s only right.”

The dirty little—

Madison worked at simmering down again. Of course he’d bring it around to that. He always did. They’d fought about it constantly. He’d never accepted that it had nothing to do with him. Or them as a couple.

She’d had no choice but to keep the apartment. It wasn’t like she’d ever used it. And given that she’d always paid more than half of their expenses as a couple—plus the rent for the old apartment on top of that—he had no right to complain. That he would turn around and throw that in her face now was…distasteful. Disrespectful. A real dick thing to do.

She schooled her facial expression. There was no point in going into it. Clearly she’d made the right choice in keeping it. At least she had somewhere to go.

“Don’t worry, though.” He patted the table as though patting her hand. “I’ll help you move out.”

She noticed he didn’t mention giving back the deposit she had paid in its entirety. Or all the effort she alone had expended to get that apartment in the first place. He certainly didn’t mention the money he still owed her for all the debts she’d helped him pay off.

Anger sizzled just below the surface. This man was tap-dancing on her last nerve.

“And how did you plan to afford the apartment?” she asked in a light voice, cutting into her overdone, dried-out steak. Normally she would never, ever order a New York strip steak from a greasy hole-in-the-wall diner, expecting exactly the sort of dish she’d been served. But Frank had magnanimously offered to pay this time, something he never did. She’d seen the writing on the wall, and had therefore ordered the most expensive thing on the menu. She’d eat it all, too. At least while he was watching. Then take his cheapo pasta dish for good measure. She just had to chase him out first.

That shouldn’t be too hard.

“Will the new girlfriend pay more than her fair share to keep you afloat, like I did?” Madison raised her eyebrows in question as she popped the piece of steak into her mouth.

The guy sitting at the table next to them jerked. His sideways lean spoke volumes. He’d just found a live soap opera to pass the time.

“Or did you get a promotion you never mentioned?” Madison chewed, a lesson in jaw strength and patience.

Frank’s smile flash-froze. Alarm bled through his gaze. Madison didn’t know if it was because of the promotion, which had been a total guess—he better not have gotten one and failed to mention it!—or the new girlfriend, who wore a startling shade of pink lipstick and a truly pungent variety of floral perfume. Frank was slow to do laundry. The writing hadn’t just been on the wall. It had been on the shirt. And button fly.

“She’s not… I don’t have… I mean…” He trailed off.

So this was about the girlfriend. Thank God. Madison had been about to hang him upside down by his ankles to shake the extra money out of his pockets.

“You didn’t think I knew?” Madison smiled. “How could I not? For months my monogamous relationship has been with my vibrator. Of course I knew. Suddenly I was having orgasms.”

The guy next to them sprayed food all over his table in an unfortunate spit take. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and coughed to hide his shuddering laughter.

“Anyway. It doesn’t matter. I don’t need help moving out. I’ll just grab the few things I need. You can keep the rest. Since I have my own place, and all.” She scowled at him before swallowing the lump of steak that refused to be chomped any further.

“This really is for the best,” Frank said with a red