Her ditzy laugh floated through the hallway, and she brushed her thick, blond hair out of her face. “Oh, Nicky, you’re so cute!”
“If I would have known Ashley’s replacement would be so beautiful, I would have gotten dressed up,” Nick flirted. From Madeleine’s vantagepoint, he appeared to be hypnotized by Loryn’s perfect body and beautiful face. Tears sprung to her eyes, and she frantically pressed the button on the elevator. Why was the damn thing so slow? Finally, the door slid open, and she threw herself in and began to bawl.
Five minutes later, she collapsed on her bed in a new fit of tears. Nick had told her he was in love with her, and now he was all over some other girl. As much as she hated to admit it, Brian had been right. Nick was definitely not dating material. A soft, lilting female voice interrupted her cry. “What’s wrong?”
Madeleine didn’t even look up to see who it was. She just shook her head. “Guys are so stupid!” she wailed.
The woman walked over and began to rub her back lightly. When Madeleine looked up, she gasped. It was Leighanne! That must have been Brian’s surprise. “Does this have to do with Brian, if you don’t mind my asking?”
Despite her instincts to snap at Brian’s fiancée, Madeleine was too weak. “Nick’s an asshole!”
“Oh, so it’s Nick. Brian filled me in a little on what happened with you and him, and I personally think my fiancé is wrong, if that’s any help.”
“Thanks, but I’m starting to agree with him. He told me Nick isn’t a very exclusive dater, and though he says he’s in love with me, chances are he isn’t,” Madeleine recalled. “I didn’t believe Brian at first, but I just saw Nick talking to Ashley’s replacement dancer, Loryn, and they were all over each other. A week ago, he was telling me how much he loved me and how I was the most beautiful girl he had ever met.”
“I can’t really say that I empathize with you. I don’t know how that feels. The best I can offer is that my heart has been broken several times before, but your brother mended all that,” Leighanne said. “Guys can be so dumb, can’t they?”
“I guess Nick doesn’t love me after all. That was just a line he used on me,” Madeleine said, more to herself than Leighanne.
“Maybe he was just being gentlemanly with Loryn,” Leighanne offered.
“He didn’t act that way when he first met me.”
“Yeah, but your older brother was standing right there. He probably wasn’t comfortable with it.”
“I hope you’re right because I really fell for him.” A few moments of silence passed, and Madeleine thought about it and realized that Leighanne wasn’t that bad. In fact, she was pretty cool. “Thanks.”
“No problem. Just let me know if you ever need someone to talk to.”