“It was either that or wait for Joe to get back tomorrow.” He cupped her bottom to pull her in tighter against him. “I didn’t think that would work for us.”

“I’ll never be able to look at her again.”

“Sure you will.” Remembering the meeting with Janey, he checked his watch.

Maddie gasped. “What happened to your hand?” She ran her fingers softly over purple, swollen knuckles. “Did you hit someone?”

“Of course not. I banged it.”

She raised a skeptical eyebrow. “On what?”

“I ran up the stairs earlier and connected with the rail. It was stupid.” He kissed her nose. “Don’t worry about it.”

Hands on hips, she said, “I want to know who you hit and why.”

Taken aback, Mac studied her. “Is this the kind of wife you’re going to be?”

“Yep. Who’d you hit? It wasn’t your mother, was it?”

Mac laughed and then squirmed under the heat of her glare. “It was a misunderstanding.”

“Over me.”

“Nothing like that.”

“You’re lying, Mac. I’m not a child who needs you to protect me.”

“Maybe I need to protect you.” He rested his hands on her shoulders and tried to massage away the tension. “Please don’t make me tell you about it. It’s over and done with.”

Maddie studied him for a long moment. Then she went to the freezer, retrieved an ice pack and wrapped it around his hand. She looked up at him with those potent eyes. “Don’t keep things from me, and do not lie to me. Ever.”

“Okay.”

“Those are deal-breakers for me, Mac. I mean it.”

He swallowed hard. “I understand.” Caressing her cheek, he leaned in to kiss her. “I need to go meet Janey. After that, you want to go to the beach for a while?”

“I don’t do the beach.”

“You live on an island. How can you not do the beach?”

She shot him her now-familiar withering look. “I’m not big on giving out cheap thrills.”

“I’ll be there to scare the mean boys away.”

“They’ll still be gawking.”

“So let ’em gawk. They can’t touch you if you don’t let them—and you know I mean that entirely figuratively.”

“And you’ll be just fine with the gawking?”

“I’ll ignore it.”

“Well,” she said, “I suppose you can’t punch anyone else today with your hand all bruised and battered.”

He flashed his most charming grin. “I’ve still got a mean left hook.”

Janey was waiting for him when he arrived at the back steps to the Beachcomber.

As Mac approached, her eyes narrowed. Uh oh.

She swung the bag and smacked him right upside the head.

“Hey! That hurt!”

“Mrs. Gold herself was working the register. You know what she said to me?” Without taking a breath, Janey launched into Mrs. Gold’s nasally New York accent. “‘My oh my, Janey, Doctor David must be coming for a good long visit this weekend.’”

Mac knew it wasn’t a good idea, but he laughed anyway.