it.”
He’d just muttered this, feeling the curse all the way to his bones, when his phone buzzed in his hand. He blinked and tried to focus on the screen.
His heart leaped when he saw the text was from Madeline. You home?
Yep. His fingers were shaking as he tapped out the message.
I’m at your front door.
It took a few seconds for the words to process. Then Ken jumped out of the recliner, dumping Marlowe unceremoniously onto the floor. The dog didn’t care. He gave an excited yip as he hurried with Ken to the front door of the house.
When Marlowe realized the visitor was Madeline, he made three twirls and howled in delight.
Ken let her into the house, glancing over to his neighbor on the right. Mrs. McCracken wasn’t peeking out through her closed curtains.
“You’re still in your uniform,” Madeline said. She wore a soft sweater and a pair of leggings with short fur-lined boots.
Ken glanced down at his brown-and-tan uniform, complete with a star on the pocket. Today he was even wearing the dorky tie. Loosening the tie, he said with an attempt at casual detachment, “Yeah. I just got home a few minutes ago.”
“Oh no. Is everything all right?” Her big eyes were dark gray in the dim lighting of the hall. “Did something happen?”
“Big accident this afternoon. Three people were injured. One of them serious.”
“Oh no. I can wait if you need to—”
“No, no. It’s fine. We got it taken care of. I’m done for the day. Come on in.” He tried unsuccessfully to keep Marlowe on all four paws. The dog didn’t appreciate not being greeted properly and was trying to get his front paws up on Madeline’s shoulders so they could hug it out.
Madeline crouched down to pet and talk sweet to Marlowe, causing him to writhe in bliss for a minute. Then she straightened up and followed Ken into the living room.
He pulled his tie all the way off and undid a couple of buttons on his shirt before he gestured Madeline onto the couch.
When she sat down, he sat down beside her, holding Marlowe back from jumping up between them. “Go lie down,” he said firmly when the dog sat, shook, and panted up at Madeline, waiting eagerly for more attention.
Marlowe gave a reluctant sniff but obeyed immediately, walking over to do four circles and flop down on the living room dog bed.
That taken care of, Ken raised his eyes to Madeline’s face.
She was biting her lip. Twisting her hands in her lap.
He swallowed over a lump in his throat and muttered, “If you’re gonna dump me, just go ahead and do it.”
Her eyes flew up. “What? You think I’m going to dump you?”
“Aren’t you? Isn’t that why you’re all nervous and reluctant?”
“No!” She’d been pale, but her cheeks were starting to flush now. “I thought you might want to dump me.”
“Why would I want to dump you?” He was so astounded he didn’t guard his words. “That’s the last thing I’d ever do.”
She gave a giggle that sounded like a release of nerves. Her hands were still twisting on her lap. “Well, I thought maybe you...”
“Maybe I what?” He couldn’t resist any longer. He reached over and covered both her hands with one of his. Hers felt small and cool. They grew still at his touch.
“Maybe you were getting tired of me. Annoyed that I’m so... so uptight about everything.”
“You’re not uptight about everything. Just about people finding out about us. And I get that. I do.”
“You do?” Her expression was hopeful. So incredibly sweet. He wasn’t sure what he’d ever done in his life to deserve it.
“Yeah. I do. Would it be easier if it weren’t so important that we keep this secret? Sure, it would. But I get why you don’t want the pressure of everyone knowing. You had a hard time with Josh, and that takes a while to get over. It’s okay with me.”
“You’re sure?” She moved her hands so she was holding his in both of hers. “Because this morning it sounded like you were getting frustrated, and I don’t want you to not be... not be happy.”
She must have picked up some of his feelings. He needed to be more careful about that.
“I’m happy,” he told her. “Being with you for the past month has made me very happy. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Okay. So you want to keep doing this?”
“Of course I do. I was just worried because Jacob seemed to figure out—”
“He did.