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When I announced it was time for me to head out, Madelyn hopped up like I’d burned her. There’d been an uncomfortable awareness stretched taut between the two of us the last several hours, an awareness of the other’s proximity that made my skin tingle and more than once I’d looked over to see goosebumps on her arm. I would have guessed it was a tell, except that Madelyn seemed to get cold easily…probably because she had no freaking body fat.
“Good luck with your interview,” I offered stiffly as I trailed down the hallway after her.
“Yeah, thanks.” She laughed a little and her steps slowed. “I haven’t had an actual job interview since I was sixteen, the summer I worked at the little ice cream place in town.”
I remembered that ice cream place and I remembered that summer. I’d never eaten so much damn ice cream in my life, that being the summer I realized Madelyn was agirl, and I fought the push-pull of knowing I needed to stay away from her when I was almost completely incapable of doing so.
“You’ll be fine.” The words felt wooden and I eyed the distance to the front door, so close to my escape but so far away. The entryway felt narrow and confined, though we were the only two people in it. “You’ll wow the guy with your experience; he’d be a fool not to snap you up.”
Like you’ve been all these years, Beckman.
Stupid, traitorous brain, chiming in when I wasn’t looking for input.
There was a funny look on her face, almost a smile, but it looked painful and before I could stop myself I reached over and smoothed my thumb across the row of stitches I’d sewn into her forehead hours earlier. “These should make for an interesting interview story.”
She said nothing, just swallowed and nodded, and when I let myself out the front door I swear I heard a deep sigh from behind me.
5
Madelyn
Therestoftheweek was quiet. I helped Kennedy with a couple projects, babysat Teagan while she was out on an organizing job, and I walked down to the coffee shop every afternoon in hopes of running into Adam again. It was ridiculous, I knew. I was behaving like a teenager with a crush and every time I caught a glimpse of black hair my heart was in my throat.
Kennedy had eased up a little on the teasing, but Steve picked up right where she left off. There were no secrets between him and his wife, meaning he now knew about my lifelong obsession with his best friend.
Scott Katsaros called me on Thursday to tell me my paperwork checked out and confirmed our meeting in person the next morning.
Early the next morning, I borrowed Kennedy’s car and made the drive to Ithaca. Katsaros and his wife lived on a farm outside of the city and a fluffy dog met me at the bottom of the long driveway, barking as he chased the car up toward the house.
The fluff ball pranced and yapped joyfully as I got out of the car, staying just beyond my reach.
“Achilles.”
The voice was stern and sandpapery and I looked up to see a man standing on the front porch with a cup of coffee in hand. It made the dog plop down immediately on his butt and the barking ceased.
“Gorgeous dog,” I called up to him as I scratched one of the Australian Shepherd’s ears. There was no doubt in my mind the dog was smiling at me.
“Pain in the ass sometimes.” There was a small smile on the man’s handsome face. “My wife loves him, so I have no choice but to keep him around.”
“Bullshit.” A voice drifted through the screen door and a pretty, petite woman swung it open and stepped out onto the porch. “You’d cry yourself to sleep if anything happened to that dog.” She grinned up at the man, who tucked her immediately under his arm as she gestured toward the door. “I see we’re heating the outdoors again?”
He grunted at her. “Just saw Madelyn coming up the driveway and thought I’d call off the cavalry.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head and I kept the wistful sigh to myself, but just barely.Couple goals.
“Welcome, Ms. VanBuren.” His eyes crinkled when he smiled and I was struck again by how handsome he was. “I trust your trip was smooth and uneventful.”
“Thank you.” I finally found my voice. “Yes, nothing unusual to report, thankfully.”
I climbed the steps and the woman smiled up at me, holding out her hand. “I’m Mia. Come on in and let me feed you something while this man extracts your life story.” She nudged Scott in the ribs. “I’ve been baking all morning, so I hope you’re hungry, because I’m prepared to feed an army.”
Therewasan incredible smell drifting through the screen door and Scott gestured I should follow his wife. Achilles darted up the steps when she opened the door, streaking past her and she called a warning to him as I followed her through the entryway, toward the back of the house, and into what opened up into a large, beautiful kitchen.
“Don’t even tell me you don’t eat bread,” Mia warned me as she filled a coffee cup and pushed it across the countertop. Then she opened the oven and my stomach roared. I hadn’t eaten a piece of bread in five years, but that was the last thing I was going to tell this woman.
Scott and I settled at the kitchen table, Achilles at his feet, and as we chatted Mia brought plate after plate: pastries, cinnamon rolls, homemade bread, cookies…I couldn’t begin to understand how she was so tiny.
Each time she brought something to the table she found some way to touch Scott and finally I had to say something: “You two are ridiculously adorable.”
Scott smiled slowly and caught the hand Mia had been trailing across his shoulders, pulling her quickly back to him. Watching the way he clearly adored her, it was hard to imagine the man was a trained, ruthless killer when the situation called for it.
