Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
I open the door and head downstairs. Maddox’s booming voice catches my ear, and I follow it into the kitchen.
He’s sitting down—also in a robe—next to Laurie. She’s dressed for the day. They both have large ceramic mugs of steaming coffee, and Maddox is scratching the ear of a large goldendoodle with his free hand.
A pang of jealousy spears my heart.
But I’m being ridiculous. Maddox spent the night with me, made love to me.
He smiles when he sees me. “Alissa. Good morning.”
“Morning, sweetheart.” I give him a kiss on the cheek and then look over to Laurie. “Thank you again so much for helping us out last night.”
Laurie nods. “Of course. Always happy to help an old friend. Can I get you a cup of coffee?”
“No need to go to the trouble. I can help myself.”
“By all means. Milk is in the fridge if you need any, and there’s sugar on the table.”
“I take mine black.” I eye the cupboards. “Where do you keep your mugs?”
Laurie points. “Cupboard right over the coffeemaker.”
“Of course. How efficient.”
My words are colder than I intend. I paste a smile on. Laurie has done us a great favor. I just need a cup of coffee and I’ll be able to get my head around this silly bout of jealousy.
I grab a mug—this one has a photo of the same goldendoodle Maddox is petting—and pour myself a cup of coffee. I sit down at the table across from Laurie.
Laurie sips her coffee. “Maddox was catching me up on everything you two have been through the past few days.”
I widen my eyes. “Did he?”
Maddox shifts his gaze to me quickly. “Yes. About the stalker. That asshole ex-employee of my father’s who’s made our last couple days a living hell.”
“It certainly sounds troublesome,” Laurie says. “Makes me grateful that Jonathan and I live such a quiet life in the suburbs.” She takes another sip of coffee. “But let’s lighten the topic. How long have you two been together?”
My heart skips a beat.
If we tell her the truth, she’ll laugh. I don’t know how long she and Maddox dated, but it was long enough for his mother to know her name. Certainly longer than Maddox and I have known each other.
“We’ve been together…long enough,” Maddox says. “How about you and Jonathan?”
She smiles. “Five years married last month. We dated for two years before that. And”—she pats her belly—“we’re expecting a little boy in five months or so.”
Maddox drops his jaw. “You’re kidding.”
“Not even a bit.” She reaches down to the goldendoodle, gives it a pet. “Jabba here is looking forward to being a big brother.”
Maddox snorts. “Still can’t believe you named this adorable mutt after a Star Wars character.”
They both chuckle lightly.
I take a long sip of coffee, swallow it, and then take a deep breath.
This woman is married, settled down, expecting a baby.
She is in no way a threat to my relationship with Maddox.
Even if she were, that should be the furthest thing from my mind given the circumstances.
Maddox finishes his cup of coffee. “Thanks so much again, Laurie. You really helped us out of a bind there.”
Laurie sets down her mug. “Not a problem. Do you need to use the shower or anything before you go?”
“I actually took one when I first woke up,” he replies. “Thanks for leaving those towels outside the bathroom.”
“You're welcome. Do you need some clothes for the road?”
“No. I don’t want to impose any more than I already have.”
“Nonsense.” She gets to her feet and leaves the kitchen. She returns with two T-shirts with faded patterns and two pairs of gray sweatpants. “These are some old clothes of mine and Jonathan’s.” She looks to me. “Alissa, I’m about the same size as you, so this should fit you perfectly.”
I take the clothes. “Brilliant. Thank you so much, Laurie. This is really generous.”
“They’re old clothes. Hardly an inconvenience.” She turns to Maddox. “Jonathan isn’t quite as broad as you, so your clothes might be a little tight. But they’ll get you home. You two were dressed to the nines last night. You’ll hardly want to put all those fancy clothes back on.”
“Thank you. I’ll have these cleaned and sent back up to you once we’re home.”
“Save yourself the trouble. Hold onto them or just toss them. Better yet, donate them to Goodwill. That’s where they were probably headed anyway.”
“Will do.” Maddox turns to me. “Alissa, do you want to take a shower before we head out? We’ll check out both of our places. If they aren’t ransacked, we’re probably safe to sleep in our own homes tonight. If they are”—his face darkens—“we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
I finish off my coffee. “I can wait until we get back to take a shower.”
“Sounds good.” Maddox crosses back to the table and gives Laurie a hug. “Thank you again so much, Laurie. I really appreciate it.”