Mac winced. “Only pretty good? Well, at least you didn’t run off screaming.” He glanced at his watch and groaned. “We need to get going or we’ll be late.”

Maddie desperately wanted to convince him to stay right here where everything felt safe and a tad bit magical. She feared their bubble would burst the minute they let others inside. “You must be so tired.”

“I’ll sleep well tonight unless you decide to talk my ear off again.”

Maddie laughed as she play-punched his shoulder. “I can’t believe you said that!” She sat up slowly and painfully.

“We should see to those wounds.”

“Libby did it earlier after I took a shower. She said the one on my elbow looked like it might be infected.”

“I want to see it.”

“Later. I need to go get Thomas up, or he’ll be awake all night.”

Mac bounded off the bed and headed for Thomas’s room. “I’ll do it. You take it easy.”

Maddie sat there for a long time after he left the room, thinking about what he’d said and wishing she had it in her to believe they really had a chance.

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

She didn’t say a word on the ride to North Harbor. With Thomas in his car seat between them, Mac tried to engage her in conversation that went nowhere. Instead, she stared out the passenger-side window, and he wondered if he’d made a huge mistake insisting she join him for dinner at his parents’ house. She’d fretted for half an hour over what to wear and had finally settled on a pale pink T-shirt and a denim miniskirt that showed off her long, toned legs. Libby must’ve painted her toes, because Mac didn’t recall seeing the sexy hot pink polish the day before—and he was fairly certain he’d noticed everything about her.

Half a mile from his parents’ house, Mac pulled the truck over to the side of the road.

“What’re you doing?”

“Do you really not want to go? We can go back to your place, get a pizza from Mario’s, rent a movie—”

She startled and amused him when she reached over to squish his lips shut. “After I went through all that to figure out what to wear, we’re going to your mother’s. Now drive.”

Mac smiled at her show of bravado. He had no doubt that she’d much prefer the pizza and movie. “Yes, ma’am.”

Her bravado had faded again by the time they pulled up to the big white house. Mac freed Thomas from his car seat and carried him around to the other side of the car to help Maddie. “Take your time,” he said, moved by the flash of pain that crossed her face as she slid down from the cab.

She clutched his arm. “Stay close, okay?”