On the Avenue (3 page)

Madison dropped her pose as the photographer nodded gratefully. Then she turned around and caught sight of her best friend, Coco McKaid, sifting through the crowd.

Coco was small and impish, with pixie-cut black hair and big brown eyes. She always looked as though she was in the middle of an emergency. Like Madison and her sisters, Coco was a sophomore at St. Cecilia's Prep. Her parents owned the Bristol Winery in Napa Valley, California—which was exactly why Coco hated wine and drank only vodka. She came to Madison's side and said, “Can you believe it?”

“Believe what?”

“You mean you haven't seen him yet?”

Madison frowned. “Jeremy Bleu? We all saw him twenty minutes ago. He made the opening remarks. He's gorgeous.” As she spoke the words, a dreamy picture of Jeremy flashed in front of her eyes. Hollywood's current golden boy, Jeremy was one of the biggest celebrities in attendance tonight. His upcoming movie,
Knight,
had something to do with swords, shields, and the weapons of those violent medieval days. The flick would probably suck and go
on to make a few hundred million at the box office. But it didn't matter what Jeremy Bleu said or did. His looks were downright phenomenal. You could sit there, mute the sound in your home theater, and just stare at him for hours. The black hair. The bright green eyes. The muscles rippling through his shirt. The very thought of him made Madison swoon.

“Not
him,
” Coco said, exasperated. She tugged Madison's arm and led her across the room toward the edge of the dance floor. “Look, and then puke.”

It took only a moment for Madison's eyes to register the awful sight. Theo West, the forbidden object of her affection, was snuggling close to Annabelle Christensen, who had long ago been elected mayor of Slut City, New York. They were box-stepping to the music and nuzzling at each other's lips. Madison felt her stomach clench.

“How the hell did they get in here?” Coco asked.

“Both Annabelle's and Theo's parents are benefactors of the museum,” Madison replied calmly, never taking her eyes off the unseemly pair. “But I never thought Theo would have the nerve to come.”

“Well, he did. And so did that bitch.”

“Keep your voice down,” Madison instructed her friend. “I don't want to let them know we're watching.”

But it was hard to ignore either one of them. Theo was tall and well built, and his blond hair fell across his forehead in curly strands. He had blue
eyes, perfect teeth, and a butt like Michelangelo's statue of David. Annabelle's strawberry blond locks were long and wavy. Her face was fairly hideous, but she had a gymnast's tight body and, according to rumors, she used that gymnast's body to assume various enticing positions behind closed doors.

“Who made her gown?” Coco whispered. “The house of
Dior,
or the house of
whore
?”

Staring at Theo made Madison want to cry. They had known each other their entire lives. The attraction between them had always been intense, but the mere possibility of a real relationship was a total no-no. The West and Hamilton families were social rivals. It was a decades-old war, rooted in money, greed, and cutthroat business deals. Trevor Hamilton had publicly bashed the Wests on several occasions, and the Wests made no secret of their distaste for the Hamilton clan's “uncouth behavior.” The battle had been written up in gossip columns at least a thousand times.

Madison had always thought of the rivalry as a trivial matter. Why couldn't bygones just be bygones? Last year, she had adopted that mode of thinking and approached Theo one day after school. The desire she felt for him had simply boiled to the surface. She'd cornered him in the auditorium and said, “Look. I know we're not supposed to even talk to each other, but I like you. And I think you like me.
We
didn't create
the tension between our families, right?” Theo had responded with a broad, sexy smile. And then he'd gently stroked a finger across her cheek, lifted her chin, and kissed her hot on the lips. It was the first time Madison had ever let her guard down. For days afterward, she couldn't think of Theo without feeling those sharp sensations way down in the danger zone. They had talked and kissed in secret for a couple of weeks, but then, one day, he'd simply started ignoring her all over again. When Madison approached him, he told her it was impossible, it could never work, he hated betraying his family, and just leave it at that, okay? Since then, Theo had been shamelessly playing the field and not bothering to even pretend otherwise. It was as though the tender relationship between them had never even existed.

Even now, Madison hated admitting the truth to herself—and the truth was that she had begun falling in love with Theo West. Beneath the playboy image was a smart guy who loved Shakespeare, Mozart,
and
Clarins. She was probably the only girl on the planet who knew he recited sonnets and exfoliated before shaving.

“Stop staring,” Coco whispered harshly.

Madison blinked and brought herself back to the present. “It just hurts,” she said quietly. “I can't believe he would choose a girl like Annabelle over me.”

“He didn't choose Annabelle because he likes her
more. He chose her because she carries condoms in her purse.”

Madison looked away as Theo clamped a CPRsized kiss on Annabelle's mouth.

“Don't let it get you down,” Coco said. “I only wanted you to see the proof that he's totally rank. You deserve someone way better than that asshole. Try to stop thinking about him.”

“I wish it were that easy.” It wasn't. Theo was the first guy who'd made her feel
hot.
Not just physically, but emotionally too. In the path of his lustful stares, she had experienced a new confidence, something akin to sexiness. Would things have been different now if she
hadn't
gone all the way with him? Sometimes she cursed herself for letting it happen, for giving Theo her virginity. That night, there'd been something primal about the passion between them. She could still feel the strength of his body, taste the sweetness of his breath….

“Oh, shit,” Coco said, interrupting her thoughts. “Here they come.”

Madison looked back at the dance floor and saw, with slowly growing horror, that Theo and Annabelle were striding toward her, hand in hand. It was too late to walk away. Her heart started pounding. Was she supposed to just ignore him? Would it be cooler to greet him?

“Chill,” Coco whispered.

Madison held her breath as Theo neared. Her eyes locked on his. She cracked a ghost of a smile and tossed her head back.

He stopped not two feet from her. “Hey,” he said.

“Hi, how's it going?” Madison kept her voice cheery. Beside her, Coco grunted a reply.

“Great,” Theo replied. “You did one hell of a job here, Mads. This is sure to be a huge success.”

Mads.
What he used to call her when they were secretly an item. Madison nodded. She noticed the unnatural brightness of his eyes and knew he'd probably smoked before coming here. She didn't know what to do but answer lamely, “It was a lot of fun. We all worked hard.”

“You know Annabelle, right?”

“Of course.” Madison smiled.

Annabelle stepped between them. The sharp look in her eyes was obvious. “Oh, Madison,” she said, a twinge of sarcasm in her tone. “You look so
cute.
”

Cute?
Madison kept the smile in place. She didn't reply.

Annabelle turned her gaze to Coco. “Are you kids having fun?”

Kids? Cute? What a bitch.

Coco chuckled. “And who are you wearing tonight, Annabelle?”

“Zac Posen,” Annabelle said, doing a little whimsical pose.

“It's an interesting dress,” Coco drawled. “And it looks
loose
in all the right places.”

Madison bit her tongue.

Theo looked away.

Annabelle's lips pursed into a tight line, and she shot Coco a hateful stare. “Come on, Theo,” she snapped, tugging at his arm. “Let's leave the kids to their playpen.” And with that, she stomped off, Theo trailing close behind.

Madison finally let out her laughter. But it was a hollow victory. Deep down, she still felt cheated, insecure, inadequate. She felt like the kid Annabelle had labeled her.

“Sluts just have nerve,” Coco said. “I was two seconds from telling her it looked like she'd bought that dress off the rack at Macy's.”

Madison gasped.
That
was an insult very few people deserved.

Coco's eyes suddenly widened as she stared over Madison's shoulder. “Hey, I thought you said Lex wasn't coming tonight.”

“Lex?” Madison asked, confused. She followed Coco's gaze to the hall's arched entryway and nearly lost consciousness.

Yes, it was Lex. In the flesh.

She entered the room as though the event were being held in her honor. She took slow, practiced steps, nodding and smiling at the dozens of guests
who had stopped dancing—or stopped breathing—to gawk at her. She brought her hand up in a flat, windshield-wiper wave. Cameras flashed. Someone from one of the tables whistled admiringly. And Champagne, cuddled in the crook of her arm, started barking.

“Oh, my God,” Madison said. “I think I'm going to be sick.”

“Don't vomit on your shoes,” Coco warned.

Too shocked to move, Madison played her usual card and forced a smile to her lips. People were staring. Some were whispering. The air of disapproval wasn't a surprise, given Lex's completely inappropriate attire. Madison watched her sister sashay across the floor, all legs and boobs and flashy grin, and for the first time in her life wished she could just disappear.

“Hi!” Lex said giddily. “I'm not too late, am I?”

Keeping the smile in place, Madison leaned toward Lex's ear and said, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“What language!” Lex shot back. “Where did you learn to speak like that?”

“Quit being coy and tell me how you got here. Did you bribe Lupe and Clarence again? Oh, Daddy's gonna have a field day with this.”

“I didn't bribe anyone,” Lex lied. “For your information, I snuck out of the apartment. Lupe and
Clarence have nothing to do with it. I wanted to come, and here I am.”

Madison sighed, exasperated.

“Hey, Lex. Welcome to the party.” Coco sounded pleased, and she couldn't help herself. A party wasn't really a party until Lex walked through the doors.

Lex nodded. “It's beautiful. I feel right at home.”

“How could you come here dressed like that?” Madison snapped. “You look like you're on your way to a nightclub in Queens.”

“Queens!” Lex looked horrified. “You're just jealous because everyone's staring at me. Now point me in the right direction and I'll leave you alone.”

“What direction?” Madison asked sharply. “Do you expect anyone to take you seriously dressed in one of your cheap designs?”

“My designs are hot, and you know it, Madison. I just need to get noticed by the right person.”

“Well, you'll definitely get noticed tonight, but for all the wrong reasons, as usual. Now can you just go sit down and try to stay out of trouble?”

Lex's mouth fell open in melodramatic shock. “I don't understand why you're being so rude to me. You
know
how much I admire Zahara Bell and how hard I've tried to get her to notice me. Instead of helping your own sister out, you're treating me like some intruder from New Jersey.”

“Zahara Bell hasn't even gotten here yet. Your
fashion idol never showed up, despite having paid for a seat at the President's Table. Anyway, every other woman in this room is hoping to get noticed by her.”

“Oh.” Lex pouted. “Well then, I want to meet Jeremy Bleu.”

“You'll meet Jeremy next month anyway,” Madison snapped. “We're going to the premiere of his new movie.”

Lex stared at her sister. “For fuck's sake, what's with you tonight?”

Madison looked away. She knew her eyes had gone watery.

“Theo West was here, dancing with Annabelle Christensen,” Coco said quietly. “And Annabelle even came by to insult us.”

Lex's jaw hardened into a scowl. “That little bastard had the nerve to show up here? With Annabelle? Where are they?”

“Forget it. I'm fine.” Madison held in her tears. She hated showing her vulnerable side, even though both Lex and Park knew about the secret relationship she and Theo had shared. Madison hadn't bothered to hide it from them because, despite their sibling rivalry, they were each other's closest friends and always kept each other's secrets. But now Madison felt downright childish. She hadn't wanted the evening to be this way.

The orchestra launched into another classical
tune, and the dance floor grew more crowded. Candles were being relit. Waiters were clearing the main course from tables and preparing the settings for sumptuous desserts. The latter action did not escape Champagne's attention; he barked and squirmed in Lex's arms as decadent aromas wafted on the air.

“Did you
have
to bring the dog?” Madison said.

Lex nuzzled his little face. “He goes so well with my dress, doesn't he?”

“Totally,” Coco agreed.

Without a word, Madison turned and walked to the bar. She ordered a glass of Cristal. Coco requested a vodka and cranberry, Lex a Malibu Bay Breeze. The bartender, in his twenties and marginally cute, delivered the drinks without hesitation.

“Hey,” Coco said. “Where's Park, anyway?”

Madison did a quick sweep of the floor, scouring the crowd gathered by the other bar across the room. No sign of Park.

Suddenly Lex said, “Heads up! Flash alert!”

All three girls simultaneously placed their drinks on the bar, then turned to face the photographer. In quick, practiced gestures, they linked their arms around each other and smiled. With the booze out of sight, the published picture would have no reason to stir trouble. The photographer thanked them and continued on his way.

Reaching again for her drink, Madison let her
eyes drift to the dance floor. There they were again— Theo and Annabelle, making a spectacle of themselves. This time the sight hit her hard. She couldn't stop the tears from welling up. She heaved a sigh and looked helplessly at Lex.

“No, no,” Lex said worriedly. “Your makeup. It'll start running all over your face.”