The way he said her name, so seriously, sent a jolt of alarm through her. It was the kind of tone Axel had used whenever he had a complaint or was about to say something she wouldn’t like. “What?”

He stared at her for several seconds, his eyebrows drawn as though he had something difficult—maybe even painful—to say.

“You’re scaring me,” she said. “What is it?”

Suddenly, his expression cleared, and he kissed the tip of her nose. “Don’t be scared. Never mind. We can talk about it later. I’ll see you at three.”

If she hadn’t been under so much pressure to get home, she would’ve insisted he tell her now. She was curious about what had been going through his mind. But she figured they’d have much more time to talk once the kids were in bed and she was back at his place.

“Okay. See you in a little while,” she said and, reluctantly, let go of him so she could climb out. She had no idea how she’d play it cool at ice-skating—she was so infatuated with him she wanted to touch him constantly—but except for the slip in the back room, she’d managed yesterday.

As soon as she started walking, she checked her phone. She’d heard it buzz several times before reaching into her purse to turn it off completely; she knew Axel was trying to reach her. It was eight hours later in the UK, where he was now, which meant it was midday for him. And while he no doubt knew it was very early for her, she hadn’t returned his calls from last night so he probably felt entitled to bother her.

He’d better not have called Karoline again, she thought. After the last time, she’d texted him to ask him not to do that. But he had no patience whatsoever.

She sighed as she scrolled through the number of calls she’d missed. How many were there? Ten? Fifteen?

He was obsessive! She didn’t want to talk to him. Returning Axel’s calls was becoming a chore. Besides, she was still flying high from being with Tobias.

Suddenly, she stopped scrolling. Walking, too. Axel’s name wasn’t the only one on her missed call list. Her sister’s name was there, too. Karoline had tried to reach her three times within the last fifteen minutes.

“Oh, shit,” Harper muttered. Had Axel called her sister when he couldn’t reach her?

Although that was most likely the case, she was also worried that maybe one of her girls had gotten sick during the night.

Her heart leaped into her throat as she started to run. But then the patchy fog cleared a little and her sister’s house came into view, and she realized what was wrong.