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"Would you two please excuse me for a moment? I have to take this call." I grabbed my phone before Derrick could see who it was and made my way to the front door of the restaurant. I pushed the door open and walked out into the frosty night air.
"Hey, Tess. What’s up."
"Hey, Maddox. I'm not bothering you, am I? I mean, I know you had dinner plans, so if it's a bad time, I can always call back later."
"Not at all. What's up?" I inquired, glancing over my shoulder to make sure Derrick hadn't followed me outside.
"Well, I know you just left, but I was wondering if you could pop by tonight after you finish your dinner? I have something I wanted to run by you."
I pinched the bridge of my nose and turned to glance back into the window of the restaurant at where Derrick and Lucy sat. I blinked hard as I watched Derrick pull a small black box from his jacket pocket, while Lucy brought her hands up to cover her mouth. I rolled my eyes; that poor girl had no idea that he broke off his last engagement only a few weeks before. I felt bad for her, but I felt really bad for Tess. She’d be crushed knowing he had already moved on without any regard. I knew I should have called her the night I found him the first time, but she was such a beautiful woman. I didn't want to be the one to break her heart. Instead, I had hoped that my friend had been telling me the truth and would have come clean himself.
"Maddox, are you there? I didn't lose you, did I? Are you in a bad cell area?"
"Sorry, no, I'm here. I have zero plans after dinner tonight, and I can't think of a better way to spend an evening," I said as I watched Lucy wrap her arms around Derrick's neck and then look at the ring that she had slipped onto her finger. "Give me an hour. I'll be on my way."
Tess
It was almost eight and my nerves filled my stomach as I looked at the clock. I was sure Maddox would be here any minute, so I shoved the last of my dinner in my mouth and cleared my plate from the table. I put the dishes in the dishwasher, then quickly washed the pot in the sink before leaving it to dry. I grabbed my sweater from the back of my chair, shut the kitchen light off, and made my way into the living room where I lit a candle and turned on the TV.
I sat down on the couch and rung my hands together. I didn’t know why I was even bothering to give in to Laura's crazy idea of asking Maddox to go with me. I knew it was more to keep Laura and my mom off my back. Neither of them thought I should travel to Paris alone, even though I insisted I would be fine.
Maddox had become more of a friend to me than I had originally thought. Since Derrick and I had separated, he had spent nights with me when the girls weren’t able to. When I asked him why, he said he was doing what he could to make sure I wasn't spending a lot of time alone. He had been the only one of Derrick's friends who had been coming around regularly to help me and spend time with me, and for that, I was grateful. Some of the others had only come around to take advantage of my broken heart.
When I saw the lights of his truck shine through the front windows, I ran back into the kitchen and switched the coffee on. I had just pulled mugs from the cupboard when I heard a knock at the door. "Come on in..." I called.
"Hey, Tess, it's just me," his deep voice echoed down the hall.
"Oh, hey," I stammered, peaking my head around the corner in time to see Maddox take his coat off and hang it up on the coat rack. "Did you want anything to snack on? I was just going to put some chips in a bowl, and I'm making coffee."
"Sounds great," he said, stepping into the kitchen. "Sorry I am late. Traffic was bad coming in from the city," he whispered, wrapping his arms around me in one of his brotherly hugs. Over the past few weeks, I’d come to love those hugs.
"No big deal. It shocked me when you said you were free tonight. Normally, you'd be out with Derrick. I figured that was where you were off to when you said you had to meet someone for dinner."
"No, not tonight. I met up with an old friend for a quick bite, and then I had a couple errands to run," he said, letting me go, his jaw tense.
"His loss is my gain I guess." I giggled, emptying the bag of chips into the bowl and pouring two cups of coffee. I was about to pick up the two mugs and carry them to the table when Maddox stepped beside me.
"Let me," he said, reaching in front of me, picking up the mugs in his large, muscular hands. He carried them over to the table while I followed with the bowl of chips.
"What did you want to do tonight? A movie?" he asked.
"Um, sure, but first I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Yes, you said something about that. Okay, shoot." Maddox grinned, pulling out a chair at the table, straddling it.
"Well, I feel sort of silly asking you, and please don't feel obligated to say yes."
"Okay." He chuckled.
"Really, I mean it. If you are busy, or think it's stupid, just say so and we will move on and forget I even asked," I said, toying with a lock of my hair.
"Tess."
"Seriously, I hate to do this..." I said, uncertainty filling my voice while sitting down across from him, taking a sip of my coffee.
"Tess," he repeated.
I met his eyes and then lowered mine to the floor. "I mean it, Maddox."
