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That Maddie would just sit back and take it? That she would understand that Alex needed some time on her own to heal from the kick in the stomach seeing Rita again had delivered? Maybe she had made a mistake, but what other choice did she have? She could hardly crawl into bed with Maddie while her head was filled to the brim with memories of Rita.
    On automatic pilot, Alex made it through class. Nat and Isabella waited for her outside the studio. They walked to the locker room in silence because there wasn’t much that could be said.
    Tears rushed to Alex’s eyes when she hit the shower. Maddie always took the cubicle across from her, leaving the door ajar—against all gym regulations. Obviously Maddie had construed Alex’s state of distress this morning as a sign she didn’t love her enough. At the time, Maddie’s assessment might not even have been that far off because Alex had barely held it together. She’d gone to Maddie’s without thinking anything through, her mind in shambles and her heart in ruins. But whatever it was she had meant to say, it certainly wasn’t that she suddenly didn’t love Maddie anymore.
    “Do you want to grab some dinner?” Nat sat on a leather bench in the lobby and looked up from her phone. “Or we can skip that and go straight for drinks?”
    “I’m teaching in the morning.” Alex sunk down next to her. “And I’m not very hungry.”
    “Says Miss Goody Two Shoes who’s always ready to lynch me when I dare to miss a meal.” Nat raised her eyebrows. “I’m not taking no for an answer. Let’s pick up a deliciously high-calorie pepperoni pizza. And before you say anything, not one of those organic ones you fancy so much. It’s Friday evening. Live a little.”
    “I don’t want to be the third wheel, Nat.” Alex nodded in Isabella’s direction, who was pacing around caught up in a phone conversation.
    Nat sighed before speaking. “If you ever say something like that again, I’ll de-friend you. And not just on Facebook.” She elbowed Alex in the stomach. “Come on.”
    Nat gestured at Isabella, signalling they were ready to leave. Isabella held up a finger, asking for a little bit more time.
    “I’ll wait for you outside.” Alex headed for the glass doors that slid open as she approached.
    Rita stood slanted against a concrete pillar, her hair pulled back in a high ponytail and her eyes blazing as ever. Alex dropped her gym bag and brought two fingers to her mouth.

    MADDIE

    Maddie hopped off the escalator and rounded the corner of the platform closest to Shape. She hadn’t hurried to Alex’s class, not wanting to upset her by making Alex teach her for a full hour. Instead, she’d opted for a more casual encounter afterwards.
    Alex was worth fighting for.  
    As the day had progressed the thought had settled into her mind more vigorously with every passing minute. She was kind and smart and funny and breathtakingly beautiful. And Maddie’s reaction this morning had been a tad too dramatic. She’d gone into protective mode, shutting out every other possible outcome than banning Alex from her life.  
    She’d been wrong.
    Maddie would wait until Alex disentangled herself from the remnants of her relationship with Rita. Not being the passive onlooking type though, Maddie had done some research on Rita. Sure, she was pretty, but, at least in the pictures Maddie had come across on the internet, not the knock-out stunner Maddie had expected her to be. She wasn’t even as high up at her bank as Maddie was at Crawford & Charles. Rita may have had the advantage of a history with Alex, but she had the serious disadvantage of having broken her heart. Maddie could take her.
    Her actions this morning had been born from pure hurt and the ever-present desire to take the upper hand in any situation. If Alex wanted to cool things between them, Maddie would save her the trouble and make the decision for her. It’s what she did. The person she had become after five years of