Please Forgive Me

Chapter 18 - Madison

"Thank you for coming with me." Maxon drops a kiss onto the back of my hand as we walk into the building where he will be taking his pictures for GQ magazine. When he arrived from Florida a few days ago he asked me to fly out to New York with him for his photo shoot and asked me to be featured in it with him.

My stomach had tightened so hard at that moment. A magazine? Me?

Would other family members see it? I couldn't help but wonder. I mean, I don't have the best relationship with anyone in my family besides my mom and siblings so it's a slight possibility considering they're not into sports.

Either way, I agreed on the condition that it was a small picture. He had laughed out loud at that but was grateful I agreed. He had then proceeded to tell me that was how he would announce his relationship status.

That made my heart start racing. I hadn't been ready for him to announce it to the world but I've slowly come to accept that that's something I can't run away from. I'm also sure his fans already know. They just have to wait for him to confirm. Which is something they won't have to wait for anymore.

"Of course, you know you always have my support." I tell him and he meets my gaze and drops a soft kiss onto my lips as we walk up to the receptionist.

"Hello, I'm Ma–"

"Maxon Blake!" A woman that appears to be in her late-thirties perks up. "So nice to meet you! I'm assuming this is your lovely girlfriend?"

She looks at me with a wide grin and I smile back, gripping Maxon's hand tightly. "Hi,  Madison Rosales." I introduce myself.

She shakes my free hand and I feel myself relax a bit as she continues informing us about what's going to happen throughout the day.

"Thank you so much for your punctuality Mr. Blake. That will be greatly appreciated with the team and photographer." She holds a hand to the side of her mouth and whispers. "We've had a few celebrities show up late and it stresses everyone out. They also have a horrible attitude. I've heard that you aren't like that."

Maxon lets out a deep laugh and she grins. "No, ma'am. I'm not. I take my responsibilities very seriously. And everyone deserves kindness and respect unless they give you a reason not to be."

She beams at him and I have a feeling she wants to pat his cheek. "I like you. If I were younger I would totally feel proud to be dating you."

She turns to me, "You got yourself a good one, Madison. Handsome too. Our company is more than excited that you chose to be featured in our magazine this time."

My head whips around to face Maxon. "This time?" I whisper to him and he leans in, speaking in a low voice. "I may have turned them down a time or two."

My brows raise at that. Who would turn down GQ magazine? I mean, they're a huge, widely recognized magazine.

"Maxon Blake!" I turn and spot a skinny, blonde-haired man approaching both Maxon and I with a bright grin. Call it a hunch but I have a feeling this is the photographer. "So glad you decided to join us this year!" He shakes his hand and turns to face me. "You must be the girlfriend." I nod my head, as I drop my hand from his. "Great! When Maxon announced to us that his girlfriend would be joining us for the shoot we were ecstatic. This will be your official announcement as a couple, correct?"

I nod and he grins. "No need to be shy, sweetie. The camera will love you both."

I look up at Maxon and he drops a kiss onto the top of my head.

I hear the photographer whisper, "Yup, this will be huge on all the gossip sites."

"Laura," he turns to the receptionist who's been eyeing our entire encounter with interest. "Is everything ready?"