32

Chapter 32

Madison was unsurprised to see Tiernan at dinnertime, though she’d half-hoped he would stay away. What little appetite she had seemed to disappear when he sat down beside her. Blood on the cuff of his white shirt caught her attention, and she almost reached out to touch him as she asked, “Are you hurt?” Only knowing how ruthlessly he would rebuff her held the impulse in check.

He glanced at the shirt, grimaced, and began unbuttoning it to toss it over his shoulder. “It’s not mine,” he said with a haunted expression.

If things had been different between them, she might have probed gently for an explanation. In their new reality, she was no confidante, and she shouldn’t care about him appearing to be upset. It wasn’t her place to get him to talk. Let whoever was warming his bed now deal with his tender emotions. With that in mind, she didn’t try to make conversation, and dinner passed in silence.

Sheer stubbornness helped her overcome nausea, and she managed to choke down a d