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“I’m fine. I’ll be right there.”
My grandfather shuffles away, and Sylvester doesn’t even offer an apology for his rude behavior and insults.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll fly back to California with me Friday afternoon,” he says, as he slips out of the booth and lingers at my side, “with your ring on your finger. This is becoming an embarrassment, and I only have so much patience. The house feels so empty without you. Please.”
I back away from him. “I need some space.”
“I can give you that. The smell in here makes me nauseated. I’m staying at the only half-decent hotel in the area that I could find. A Marriott, in whatever town it is to the east. I’ve forgotten the name. You’re welcome to visit when you decide you’re ready to talk. Six days, Maddison. That’s plenty of time to get your priorities straight and put all this behind us. Give it thought.”
Without giving me a chance to reply, he turns on his heel.
I see my family, lined up behind the counter, track him as he walks past. He doesn’t offer a single word.
My grandfather scowls.
My mother and father exchange a worried look.
Roxie stands up on her tiptoes and waves happily at the closed door. “Good riddance!” she calls out.
The sight of velvet box on the booth’s table catches my eye. The box is still open, and the diamond within sparkles in the sunlight coming through the window.
The ring.
He left the ring.
I scoop up the box and stuff it in my purse before my family can spot it.
“How did that go?” my mother asks, the minute I join my Bradshaw kin behind the counter.
“As expected,” I mumble.
Roxie loops her arm around my shoulder. “Come on. Into the back. I know what you need. Grandma’s Fluffy French Toast.”
“I need a lot more than that, actually. But I guess it’s a start.”
Chapter 21
Nick
“Are you aware your house was almost burgled today?” Fredricka calls out.
Her voice makes me clutch the railing. I’m midway up my porch steps, eager to get home.
No, that’s not the whole truth.
I’m eager to get home, ditch my bag, and head over to Pansy’s.
I want to see Maddison. Our talk at the clinic today made me feel unsettled. Maybe if we spend some time together tonight, I can get a better handle on where we really stand.
I turn, slowly, and hold in a frustrated sigh. “Good evening, Fredricka.”
“The eldest Bradshaw girl was in your house,” she says, as she strides up the walkway. “She took your spare key right out from under the frog statue like it belonged to her. She says you and she are old friends. If she’s such a good friend, why have I never seen her before?”
I can’t help it.
The sigh escapes.
Doesn’t faze my nosy neighbor, though. She goes on. “Roxie says you and Maddison haven’t had much to do with each other for years, but now you’ve rekindled your relationship. All I want to know is—does she have a right to enter your home? Because if you’re just getting to know her again after many years, and she’s been off doing who knows what in California, as her family says, it might not be safe to let her go in and out. The crime rate in LA is atrocious, I’ve heard.”
