Free Mad Love: Madison by Lisa Boone

time, you know.”
    “I really don’t know. We’ve only known each other
for a few months. I don’t want to scare him away by getting him something too
big. Best to keep it casual at this point. After all, we’ve only had a few
dates.”
    “What do you mean by a few dates? Your first one
was last night.”
    Madison’s lips quirked up. “That depends on which
one of us you ask.”
    Sarah tilted her head as she gazed at her sister
with a quizzical expression on her face. “Huh?”
    “Never mind. I hate waiting until the last
minute. I wish I had known he’d be celebrating Christmas with us earlier. I’d
already have his gift picked out and wrapped by now.” Crossing her legs, she
leaned back against the bench. “Maybe I’ll get him cuff links.”
    Sarah gave Madison an exaggerated eye roll. “That
sounds inspired.”
    “What’s wrong with cufflinks?”
    “Nothing,” Sarah said rising to her feet. “I’m
sure Grandpa is going to love his, so why wouldn’t Ethan. What would be better
is if you could give them the exact same cufflinks.”
    Madison pursed her lips together.
    Sarah widened her eyes. “Hey, you know what? Why
stop at cufflinks, how about a tie too? I saw a couple of novelty ones in
Macy’s that just scream romance. There’s one in particular that I noticed with a
big giant heart running across the bottom. It would be perfect for Ethan. It
says I love you, but if you want to go, then feel free. No pressure.”
    “Is this your way of telling me I need to be more
romantic?”
    “Yes, please, for once in your life, try to turn
off that brain of yours and feel. Stop overthinking this. Be passionate. Be
spontaneous.” She planted her hands on her hips as she examined her sister
closely. “Surely, law school didn’t kill off all of your passion.”
    Madison hid a smile as she adopted a serious
tone. “There’s a fine line between passion and crazy.” Planting both of her feet
firmly on the ground and sitting up straighter, she wagged her finger at Sarah.
“There’s been many a sexual harassment suit—”
    Sarah tipped her head back and let out a groan
eliciting a few stares from some passersby. When she dropped her head back down,
she sighed mournfully. “I have the feeling I’m going to be the first one of us
to get married.”
    Madison held up her hand. “Whoa. Who said
anything about marriage? Mr. Parker and I have only just—”
    Sarah looked at her sister as if she was crazy. “Mr.
Parker? Who are you kidding? You’re head over heels for him. You’ve talked
non-stop about him for the last couple of months.” She flipped out one hand and
then another. “Ethan this and Ethan that. I haven’t even met the man yet and I
feel like I know him.”
    “Still, marriage is a very serious step,” Madison
said seriously. “Why I don’t even know what his feelings on prenuptial
agreements are yet.”
    Sarah buried her head in her hands.
    Madison grinned at her younger sister as she
leaned back against the bench. “I’m just playing with you. I have plenty of passion,
I’ll have you know, but that doesn’t mean I should throw all common sense to
the wind.”
    Sarah’s brows drew together as she tilted her
head to the side. “Do you not understand what the word passion means?”
    “I just don’t want to scare him away.”
    “You’re not going to. He obviously likes you.”
    “Oh, how do you know?”
    “I spoke to Becca the other day. She says that
he’s in love with you.”
    Madison sat up straighter. “And how does she know
that exactly? Did she talk to him? Is that what he said?”
    Sarah made a face. “What do you want? A signed
affidavit? He likes you. Get him something that tells him that you care about
him.”
    Madison bit her lip. “Like what?”
    “What does he like to do when he’s not working?”
    “He likes movies. What about a gift card to a
theater?”
    Sarah hung her head. “No, Madison, just no.”
    “Why not? That’s what I got for my birthday.