fancy suit affair. "Ugh, and with that party, please invite a couple of your friends so you aren't bored senseless. I'll be asking Scotty, Corey, and Lager to come since I want to have a little fun."
"Petey, relax. I know it'll be like your family's Christmas party or a charity event that they host. I'll just be happy not to work the party."
He chuckled under his breath. She'd seen more parties than he'd been to over the past few years. "True. I didn't really think of how many more parties you have been to than me. I'm just worried about all the pressure this whole arrangement is on you."
"I'm fine. I love it. If guys on the street ask if I'm dating, I can say yes. They leave me alone if they think I have a boyfriend and you know I wanted a break after Jared. There's literally nothing to worry about. Let's get that engagement party set up. Make your father happy."
"Alright." Then Petey realized there was something else needed. The damn ring. "How do you want to do the engagement ring? Would I be an asshole if I just gave you a ring when I get to Vancouver?"
"No. It's fine. We just need to get a story together for how we did it. But we have some time for that."
He smiled to himself. She was making things way too easy on him. He wanted to tell her to sell the ring when the engagement finally ended, but it didn't seem right.
He stifled a yawn. "I hate to say this, Mads, but I need some sleep."
"I know. It's four in the morning for you. Get some sleep."
"Thanks, Maddy."
He disconnected the call and curled up on his pillow. He passed out quickly and dreamt about what it would be like if him and Maddy were living together as a couple.
Maddy
When she arrived home, things just seemed wrong. Like someone had been inside her apartment, but at the same time, there was nothing actually out of place. It just seemed off.
She tried to push the whole thought out of her mind when she heard her phone ring. She smiled because the only person who would be calling at this hour would be Petey.
He immediately said, "Hey, you."
"Hey," she said quietly.
When she didn't mimic his jovial tone, it must have raised his suspicions. "Long night?"
It wasn’t a bad guess. There had been plenty of long nights, but this one hadn’t been so bad. She was worried over nothing. If it was something, things would be missing or obviously moved about. "No."
"Come on, Maddy. Tell me what's going on." His voice was warm. He wanted to fix things.
She sighed. "I'm being dumb. It's nothing."
"You're worried over something. Talk it through with me. Sometimes it helps . . ."
Petey was a hundred percent right. The two of them had talked through the various cases they were struggling with, and it usually helped. Plus, it saved time in really understanding what was going on with the case.
"Alright." She took a deep breath. "Something feels off at my place. I don't know why. Everything is pretty much how I left it."
"But nothing was taken or anything like that?"
"Exactly."
"What about your ex? Have you had any more issues with him?"
"Nothing. I figured he was finally moving on." His suggestion made a lot of sense, though. Petey was so angry when he found out that Jared had come to her school, even offering to take a vacation with her to make her forget the whole situation. She was afraid of Jared. He was crazy enough to do something, but she wasn’t sure what he would attempt. She chided herself for not thinking that it could have been him.
She hadn't heard a peep from him since she and Petey became ‘official’, though. He finally seemed to have given up on trying to get her back.
"I don't trust him," Petey said. She couldn’t blame Petey—she didn't trust Jared either. There was some rustling around, as if Petey was moving. "Um . . . What's the security at your place like?"
That was a strange question from Petey. He'd been to her place dozens of times. He should have known what the security was like. "You’ve been here. Standard security door to get into the building. I have a deadbolt and chain locks."
"But you don't have anything else?" His tone was disapproving. She realized he was hoping she had better security features. But she lived in a safe part of Vancouver and