CHAPTER
NINETEEN
Kyle kept checking the time.
The hands on his Swiss watch were meeting, signaling midnight had arrived. Surely patrons hadn’t kept the restaurant open this late.
Where the hell was Madison?
She knew he had something planned to start at 12:01 a.m. to kick off their weekend. He always did. Besides, today was their official Valentine’s Day, although they’d already hit a new level of romance and sharing today. Her gift had floored him, and she’d loved hers.
As he gazed around the Latin nightclub he’d created—his big gift to her—he found the sultry music too loud for the tension building at the base of his skull. If it hadn’t been for their agreement, he would have texted her or run by the restaurant to pick her up. But no…
He was a man who honored his promises.
Spike gave a delighted bark and raced out of the smoky room, the multicolored light beams and strobe lights turning his golden coat iridescent. Kyle let out a harsh breath.
She was home.
He hoped she would follow the music and the trail of rosepetals he’d laid, but when neither she nor Spike appeared, he left the space. His office door was closed, so she must have put Pierre to bed, as was her practice. But when he walked toward the kitchen, he found the room empty. Maybe she’d run upstairs to shower and change?
He heard a bark from far off as he started up the stairs. That had to be it. Spike would be waiting for her outside her bedroom. Wisely, she’d closed the door since an unsupervised Spike turned curious. He was a puppy, after all.
A delighted bark greeted him when he arrived at Madison’s door. Picking Spike up, he knocked before turning the knob, finding it locked.
Hmm…that was new. Maybe she’d locked it out of habit? Tonight must have been busy. Habits kicked back in on those kinds of days. So he and Spike waited.
When he heard her stirring in her room, he knocked again on the door as Spike tried to lurch out of his arms. She didn’t open it immediately, which led to the first stirrings of worry in his belly. Spike gave a high-pitched whine at being ignored.
“Mad?” he called, knocking again. “Your door is locked.”
More silence. Spike barked again, looking up at him with worried brown eyes. Kyle’s chest tightened up. Something was wrong. Even the puppy knew it. “Hey! Can you open the door, please?”
The beat of silence thudded in time with his anxious heart as Spike started whining.
Finally, she cracked the door open. The pungent scent of onions assaulted his nose. Spike tried to lurch out of his arms, but Madison made no move to take him like she usually would. She might not admit it, but she’d fallen in love with the puppy as much as she had Pierre.
While Spike made another lurch toward her, Kyle let his gaze run over her. He didn’t like what he saw. Her face was stark against her usual black clothing, and her hair was a wet cap against her skull from her shower. But it was her red-rimmed eyes that had sheer alarm rolling through him. Had she been crying? And why did she smell like someone had doused her in onions?
He reached for her. “What happened?”
She edged away from his hand and leaned against the doorframe, swallowing thickly. “I know we had our agreement, but I’m hoping you’ll give me a pass this once. I’m not up to tonight. I just want to go to bed.”
Her voice was as stark as the rest of her. “That’s fine. You know it is. But I can tell something is wrong?—”
“Kyle, if I talk about it, I’m going to get upset all over again.” Her golden eyes pleaded with him. “Please. I can’t do this right now.”
He told himself she was just tired, but dread coursed through him. “I want to honor that, but right now, I’m finding it a little tough. You’re upset, and we’re best friends.”
“I know we are, but… I can’t do this right now.”
Her voice held a note of desperation. He understood, but he wasn’t sure where they’d be if he let her close the door on him tonight. They’d be taking a step back.
“Can I at least hold you?” he made himself ask.
She shook her head quickly. “I couldn’t take it right now.”
His belly was quivering right alongside an upset Spike. “If the situation were reversed, would you be okay letting me be alone right now?”
