Felicity shook her head, and her glossy blond hair swished around her slender shoulders like she was in a shampoo commercial. The beauty department always managed to get its hands on the best hair products. “Nothing’s wrong. But you need to get up and come to the break room. That fireman whose picture you’re always staring at is on television!”
Madison’s entire body went wooden all of a sudden. Jack was on television?
Felicity plunked her juice down on her desk and tugged on the sleeve of Madison’s sweater—the fuzzy, hand-knitted one Aunt Alice had given her to wear to her night nanny job. She couldn’t quite force herself to give it up, even though it was wholly out of place at Fashionista. “Come on or you’re going to miss it!”
Madison stumbled to her feet and let Felicity drag her toward the room. The closer they got, the faster Madison’s blistered feet seemed to carry her. By the time she burst through the doors of the break room, she’d passed Felicity and was panting from the effort, even though she wouldn’t quite let herself believe that Jack was really on TV. Not her Jack. He would never. Thus far, he hadn’t even publicly admitted he was Fired Up in Lovestruck. Not as far as she knew, anyway.
But as she came to a skidding halt in front of the flat screen beside the coffee and juice bar, she was stunned to discover Felicity had been right.
“See, I told you!” Felicity waved a perfectly manicured hand at the television.
Jack was sitting on the infamous Good Morning Sunshine sofa, right where Madison had been less than two weeks ago. He looked so good that Madison felt like weeping at the sight of him, but what on earth was he doing?
Then her gaze shifted to Meghan Ashley sitting beside him, holding up a copy of the Lovestruck Bee. Oh, God, had they somehow identified Jack as Fired Up in Lovestruck and tricked him into making an appearance on the show? Maybe they’d told him they wanted him to come on air to talk about fire safety or something. He was dressed in his LFD shirt and the dark cargo pants he usually wore when he was on duty. It looked like he’d just slid down a fireman’s pole and landed on Meghan Ashley’s sofa.
Her stomach churned. Jack would probably think she’d called the station and told them exactly where to find Fired Up. Any and all hope they might have for a future was about to go up in smoke, no pun intended.
But you don’t want a future with Jack Cole, remember?
A few editorial assistants who’d been busy pouring coffee joined Madison and Felicity where they stood, eyes glued to the screen.
“Who’s that?” one of them asked. “He’s hot.”
Felicity answered before Madison could say anything. It seemed she’d lost the ability to form words. “He’s Madison’s secret boyfriend.”
Madison shook her head in protest. “He’s really...” Not. He wasn’t her secret boyfriend and never had been. But she couldn’t bring herself to say such a thing out loud, because that would make it real, and there was still a tiny, pathetic part of herself that refused to give up hope.
She just couldn’t believe Good Morning Sunshine had dragged him on air, but it was the only explanation. Meghan was reading all the letters between Fired Up and Queen Bee out loud while Jack sat beside her, as stoic as ever. Madison couldn’t imagine what was going through his head. The Jack Cole she knew would never, ever want his personal business broadcast all over the country like this.
But then the craziest thing happened.
After Meghan read Fired Up’s most recent letter to the Bee, she turned toward Jack and smiled. He smiled right back at her before turning his charismatic grin toward the camera. All at once, it seemed as if he was looking right at Madison, straight to the most hidden part of her soul.
A thousand butterflies took flight deep in her belly, just like they had when Jack had reached for her hand and held it to the wall on the day they’d met. The question he’d asked her back then whirled in her mind.
Feel anything?
Yes, she wanted to say. I feel you, and I love you...still.
A banner flashed across the bottom of the screen, directly beneath Jack’s face.
Jack Cole from Lovestruck, Vermont, with one last message for Queen Bee
Madison’s knees buckled, and Felicity reached for her hand and squeezed it tight.
Jack cleared his throat. “Thanks for giving me a few minutes this morning to come on here and read my latest letter to Queen Bee. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve written it in the form of a list.”
A listicle?
A hysterical burst of laughter escaped Madison’s lips. Was she dreaming? How could this be real?
Jack glanced down at a piece of paper in his hands. “So without further ado, here are the top ten reasons Fired Up in Lovestruck is in love with Queen Bee.”
“Oh, my God. I remember hearing about this.” An editorial assistant from the fashion department gestured to Madison with her coffee cup. “You’re Queen Bee, aren’t you? He’s talking to you.”
“Shhh! We need to hear.” Felicity gave Madison’s hand another squeeze, which was a good thing because her support was the sole reason Madison was still upright.
Jack was in love with her and he’d managed to get himself onto national television just to win her back.
That was what was happening, wasn’t it?
She tried to tamp down the happiness sparkling inside her, just in case...just in case she was dreaming or had somehow misunderstood things. Just in case this was all part of some really elaborate goodbye instead of what she so desperately hoped it was. A new beginning.
She thought she might faint, but she couldn’t—not without hearing his list. He hadn’t even started reading it yet, and she could already feel her face splitting
