An hour to herself in a mall! Flitting from store to store, she bought a few new tops and some jeans. She gave herself one hour off from worrying about money and stocked up on underwear, bras and socks. Outside Victoria’s Secret, she stared longingly at an ivory silk nightgown in the window that would look ridiculous on her. Still, it was fun to look and to imagine. . .

When she met Mac at the designated spot, she discovered that he, too, had put the hour to good use. The basket under Thomas’s stroller was full to overflowing with bags. She saw a baseball bat sticking out the top of one of them. When she raised a questioning eyebrow, he replied with a shrug and adorably sheepish grin. Mixed in with the others, a pink-striped bag caught her attention. “You bought something for Janey at Victoria’s Secret?”

“It’s not for Janey,” he said with a secretive smile.

Maddie’s knees weakened. What had he done? She had no idea, but she was not about to ask him. She’d learned not to encourage his outrageous behavior.

“Ready to go?” he asked, sliding an arm around her shoulders.

“Yes.” As they walked to the parking garage, Maddie glanced up at him. “Thank you.”

He kissed the top of her head. “My pleasure, honey.”

Mac took the long way back to the ferry, driving them through Newport to stop at the carousel at First Beach. Thomas loved the merry-go-round, and Mac sprang for five rides before Maddie reminded him of the time. They had a ferry to catch.

“You’re totally spoiling him,” Maddie said as they set out across the Newport Bridge to the lumber supply place. And me, she wanted to add but didn’t.

“So?”

“I’d hate to get him used to it. This time next week, he’ll be back to his boring life, wondering where his sugar daddy has gone.” The instant the words were out of her mouth, Maddie regretted them. To refer to Mac as Thomas’s daddy, even as a joke, was so wrong and unfair. She could see that Mac was becoming attached to her son and vice versa.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said, but his hand tightened on the wheel.

“You’re going back to Miami.”

“Not anytime soon.”