Phil and Liam had cocktails in front of them and talked with each other as if Madison wasn’t there. It should have been nice to see them having a good time, but it somehow felt as if she wasn’t really part of it. That would change. Now. “So, what’s up?” she asked, interrupting their conversation about some guy called Henry. “Anything I missed?” She almost had to scream to be heard above the loud music.

“A few minutes ago, Phil had a quickie at the restrooms with that guy over there.” Liam pointed to a guy who strangely resembled Prince Charming from Shrek.

“I don’t give a shit who Phil is hooking up with. Tell me something interesting that I missed.”

A waitress approached. Madison didn’t even check out her cleavage as she usually did and just ordered a double Bacardi on the rocks. That would help her relax. The whiskey sour hadn’t improved her mood.

Phil chuckled. “Well, Liam got this rash on his—”

“Phil!” Liam leaned forward and covered Phil’s mouth with his palm.

A chick in a mini skirt chose that moment to swagger past them. With a clearly rehearsed movement, she threw her long blonde hair back over her shoulder and winked at Madison.

“Don’t even think about it,” Phil said as soon as Liam had lowered his hand. “She’s got STD written in big letters all over her.”

Madison tore her gaze away from that delicious ass and turned to Phil. “You think so?”

Liam giggled.

Come to think of it, this was the perfect time to let the show begin. “I wasn’t interested anyway. I…I’m taken.”

Phil had shoved a piece of pineapple from his cocktail into his mouth. He pulled the stem of his little umbrella slowly from between his lips. Without swallowing, he asked around the piece of fruit, “No shit?”

“Is it Kristy?” Liam asked.

Phil waved dismissively. “Nah, that stewardess wasn’t Mad’s type. Not for more than a bit of fun, anyway.” After a pause, he asked, “Right?” Before she could answer, he continued, “Or is she the reason that you’re crashing at my place and why didn’t you tell me until now? How long has this been going on?”

Kristy? Ah, so that was her name. “Nope. Um, she was the last attempt to forget Sherry.” Oh, yes, that sounded good. “I’m so much in love. She is great and, um, because of her I had to get away from home for a bit. The whole moving-in stuff was too stressful for me and, um, I…I didn’t tell you guys because I was unsure how to do it.” At least the last part was true. Hopefully, all that rambling sounded more convincing to them than it did to her.

Liam tilted his head. “You really have a girlfriend? Like really? You?”