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By the time she gets to “run away,” I’m already sprinting toward the back, throwing a quick “Thank you,” over my shoulder to her as I go.

I reach the rear of the bakery and bang through the door in time to see Maddie’s white VW bug pulling down the alley to the left. I start after her, but before I can so much as call her name, she pulls out onto the street and is gone.

Cursing beneath my breath, I tug out my phone and pull up her name on my contacts. A moment later, I hear her phone ring inside the bakery. I follow the sound back inside to find Lucy standing at the end of the counter with Maddie’s cell in her hand.

I end the call with a sigh.

“She told me to keep it in case of an emergency with the bakery,” Lucy says, sympathy clear in her voice. “She decided to get out of town for the night.”

“Any idea where she’s gone?”

She shakes her head. “No. I heard her talking to one of her friends, but I don’t know which one.” She sets Maddie’s cell on top of the bakery case and turns back to me with a sympathetic smile. “Can I get you some croissants or something to take home? To make you feel better?”

I try to smile back, but realize my lip is split and decide it hurts too much. Everything hurts too much right now. “No, but thanks. And thanks for trying to help me talk to Maddie. I appreciate it.”

“Yeah, well, I haven’t known her long, but I know she’s been a thousand times happier since you two started dating.”

“She told you we were together?” I ask, hope sparking to life inside me, only to be doused when Lucy shakes her head again.

“No, but I’ve got a sixth sense about these sorts of things. And you both get all starry-eyed when you look at each other. I honestly can’t believe no one else has figured it out yet.”

I nod, a bittersweet feeling rising inside of me. I love that someone’s noticed what’s going on between Maddie and me, but I don’t want Lucy to be our only witness. I want the world to know we’re a couple and for the ring I bought to find a home on Maddie’s left ring finger.

I can’t believe it’s over for good.

Maddie will come home. And probably soon. The wedding rehearsal is tomorrow and the ceremony the day after. She won’t miss Naomi’s big day, no matter how upset she is. Maddie will be back, and I’ll know exactly where to find her. Maybe I can wait for her outside the restaurant where Jake and Naomi are hosting their rehearsal dinner and talk her into taking a drive after.

She’ll give me at least that much, I think.

At least the chance to explain.

Now I have to find the perfect words to convince her that what we have is worth fighting for.

I have a little over twenty-four hours, and I’m determined to use them figuring out how to win back the one person I can’t stand to lose.

Chapter Nineteen

Maddie

By the time I fight my way through Atlanta’s rush hour traffic to Dawn’s new apartment, it’s almost seven-thirty and my crying jag has subsided, leaving me red-eyed and blotchy faced, but in relative control.

The control holds through greeting Dawn at the door and hugging Marshall and Emmie, her two kids, hello.

It stays strong as we forge a path through the moving boxes to the corner of the living room to spread fresh sheets on the futon Dawn graciously invited me to crash on and eating zucchini pasta leftovers at the bar in her kitchen.

I even manage to work up a few smiles as the kids tell me about their new school—and how much they love it—over bowls of ice cream. I’m so glad they’re settling in well, and thrilled that Dawn is now close enough to be reached in an emergency in less than two hours, even during rush hour.

Listening to my bestie read her kiddos a chapter from Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and helping tuck the kids into their beds keeps my spirits steady until shortly after eight-thirty, when Dawn and I finally settle onto the sofa with mugs of steamy peppermint tea.

Only then—with the lights dimmed and the kids sleeping soundly, far from the grown-up gossip—do I finally let it all out.

“Wow,” Dawn says when I’m finished. “Is he okay? Sounds like that was a serious beating.”

I nod. “He’s okay. His brother and one of the other firefighters pulled the other man off him before it got too bad. But even from across the street I could see there was blood all over his face.”

Dawn hums around the rim of her mug as she takes a long, considering sip. “Well, that was pretty brave, really. That he refused to fight back.”


Tags: Lili Valente Hometown Heat Romance