He shocked her again when he took her hand and brushed a soft kiss over the back of it. “Excellent. Now, let me go find your purse and see about getting you some lunch.”

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Mac left his backpack at Maddie’s apartment and headed into town in search of her purse. He thought about the hour he’d spent with her and the terrible beating his ego had taken. Not that he was a playboy or anything, but as a rule, he tended to be quite popular with women. He’d never met one so eager to be rid of him. And what could she possibly have against his parents? They ran a decent business and took care of their employees—at least he thought they did.

To be honest, he had no clue how their business—which had grown exponentially since Mac left the island—was run today. However, he planned to find out, and if Maddie’s opinion was to be believed, he might not like what he discovered.

Mac wasn’t surprised to find Maddie’s mangled bike propped against a split-rail fence across the street from the Sand ’n Sea novelty shop. Someone had used the cabbage roses growing through the fence to camouflage the bike. Her purse was still sitting in the basket that hung from what used to be the handlebars. He opened her battered wallet to find a twenty, a five and several ones still tucked inside. The sight of the undisturbed cash filled him with an odd sense of homecoming. In Miami, the purse, the cash and what was left of the bike would probably be long gone by now.

Tucking her small purse into the tote bag, he tossed the mangled bike into a Dumpster and planned to get her a new one.

Twenty minutes later, he returned to her apartment bearing cheeseburgers, fries and sodas. On the way upstairs, it occurred to him that she might be a vegetarian like Roseanne. Mac sighed. He was so tired of difficult, hard-to-please women. Could he, just once, encounter one who ate like a normal human being?

At the top of the stairs, he paused, uncertain as to whether or not he should knock, since she expected him to return. Then, remembering how prickly she’d been earlier, he rapped on the door and stepped into the living room to find the sofa empty.

“Maddie?” He listened for a moment, worried that she might have tried to venture out on her own. “Maddie?”

A muffled sound from behind a closed door caught his attention. He put the food and her bag on the kitchen table and went to the door. Knocking softly, he said, “Maddie, are you okay?”

“Will you please just go away and leave me alone?”

“Why don’t you come out here and we’ll talk about whatever’s bothering you?”

No reply.

“I got you something to eat. Come on out, Maddie.”

More silence.