Maddie stepped closer, her eyes troubled. “I shouldn’t have said what I said, and I shouldn’t have left you there. I acted like a child, and I’m sorry.”

She made herself meet Maddie’s eyes. “It’s okay. Stuart had his car. Really, it was no problem.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “And about what you said…let’s just forget it, okay? I don’t think either of us wants to complicate anything.”

Maddie stood there silently, her expression somewhat cold. “Of course. No complications needed. We have a wedding to plan, after all.”

“Exactly. Let’s help our friends and try to keep things simple.”

Maddie took another step closer, her eyes dark, hungry again like they’d been yesterday at the barn. She couldn’t help the little gasp that escaped her lips. Maddie clearly heard it, the corners of her mouth turning up in a sly smile.

“Simple is good,” Maddie said, her voice low and dark.

It took everything in her power not to reach out and touch Maddie then, kiss her, embrace her—anything to ease the impossible strain of her pounding heart rate. She finally wrenched her eyes away and took a significant step back and away, breathing heavily. Maddie was impossibly still, as if holding her breath, and when she risked a peek at her face, Maddie appeared troubled and full of regret. They stared at each other for another long pause before Maddie relaxed slightly.

“Let’s get going or we’ll be late,” Maddie said.

She followed her out into the hall and downstairs. They ran into Ethel, who once again chastised her for missing breakfast, handing her a muffin before she could protest. The intrusion might normally have annoyed her, but the exchange acted as the final break in the tension between her and Maddie, and by the time they finally extricated themselves from Ethel and went outside, things were almost normal between them again. Maddie joked, as usual, about the heater in the Bronco.

“I think it’s actually getting hotter,” Maddie said as they pulled onto the road.

“Have you ever thought about getting it fixed?” she asked.

Maddie laughed. “I keep saying I’ll get a new car, but it’s been a decade since I said that the first time. I love this old thing, and it’s hard to find something newer with so much space and not spend a fortune.”

They drove in relative silence again for the rest of the trip, Maddie occasionally mentioning a point of interest—her former house, her high school again, a nice bar she recommended. Their companionship was easy again, comfortable. That moment they’d had seemed behind them for good.