She cut her off with another quick kiss. “I don’t feel any pressure. I want this. You want this. That’s enough, okay? We can talk about details later. After the wedding. Let’s enjoy our time together until then.”

Maddie was clearly still a bit reluctant to let it go. “And what if someone asks? I mean like Janet did?”

“We tell them we just started dating. If they push, we change the subject.”

Maddie finally sagged with relief, that sadness fading from her eyes. She glanced up and down the alley each direction and smirked.

“Think we have a minute to warm up before we head inside?”

“What do you mean?”

Maddie’s kiss was answer enough. The cold chill of the dying day was certainly the last thing she was worried about after that.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ryann finished her fitting with Julia very early Saturday morning. The dress for the wedding fit very well, and while she couldn’t really ignore the fact that it seemed like she’d walked off the set of Masterpiece Theater when she was wearing it, even she had to admit that it suited her figure. Maddie drove her, but she insisted on waiting until the wedding to see her in the dress, staying in the car when she went inside.

Almost as if we’re getting married, too, she thought. A stab of real remorse and pain followed this idea, and she made herself dismiss the thought before rejoining Maddie in the Bronco.

Maddie drove her back to the hotel, and she spent the rest of the morning, afternoon, and early evening on the computer, videoconferencing and working. Maddie was there with her in the hotel room through lunch, reading a book and puttering around just out of the line of sight from her colleagues. She would catch herself watching Maddie while Ted or one of her board members was talking about something important, crucial even. It was a miracle no one noticed or mentioned her absentmindedness, though she caught Ted giving her a couple of smirking grins. He probably knew exactly who she was watching. Finally, in one of the quick breaks between meetings, she had to ask Maddie to leave.

“Too distracting?” Maddie asked, voice low.

She didn’t bother playing coy. “Yes. All I want is to close my laptop, throw you on that ridiculous bed, and take advantage of you all afternoon.”

Maddie’s eyebrows shot up, and Ryann pulled her into a hot kiss before swatting her butt. “Now get out of here before I have to explain to my coworkers why my clothes are suddenly a mess.”