This morning, she's lying on her side next to me when I open my eyes and yawn.
Maddie tickles my chest, which I unfortunately let her find out is the only place on my body where I am ticklish. I manage to hold back my laughter—until she tickles my nipple.
She laughs too.
I can't resist fluttering my lips over her belly, which always makes her giggle. Since she's facing me, I can't reach her most ticklish spot, that area in the middle of her back just above her arse.
"Cut that out," she says while still laughing and while I'm still teasing her belly with my lips. "My eyes are starting to water."
"All right. I suppose I have to stop." I've never been the sort who tickles a woman's belly, but with Maddie, I can't resist doing that. Her laughter is more intoxicating than cognac.
She rolls onto her back and stretches, yawning again. "Do you have any brothers or sisters? We've talked about my family, but you haven't said much about yours."
I rub my jaw and sigh. I don't want to talk about my brother. I love him, but discussing Nick brings up an issue I'd rather not share with Maddie yet. Maybe never. Of course, "never" would mean I can't introduce her to him, and I want her to meet my family. She's gazing at me with curiosity in her eyes, and I know the sexy scientist lying beside me needs the facts. I can leave out one or two of them, though, can't I? Omission isn't exactly lying.
"Uh, yes, I have a brother," I say. "We're very different sorts, but we do have a good relationship. I have to admit, I've never understood his career choice. It's…strange."
"What does he do?"
"Nicholas is a massage therapist."
She tries to stifle a laugh, but only half succeeds. "What's bizarre about that?"
"Most of his clients are women, which makes the whole thing bizarre, at least to me. Touching strange, naked women all day long?" I shake my head. "Can't imagine doing that for a living. Once word got round that Nick Hunter opened a massage business, they started flocking to him."
"Wait. Your names are Rick and Nick? Like you're twins or something?" She taps her finger on my lips. "Let me guess. He's as hot as you are."
"I suppose so." Do I sound uneasy when I say that? Probably. Time to steer the subject away from Nick. "As for my parents, I have a very good relationship with them."
"That's nice. I always feel bad for people who don't get along with their families. My parents and my sister are wonderful, and we all support each other however we can."
"It's the same with my family. The Dixons are like that too."
"Have you met Alex Thorne?"
"Yes, I know him. He's the strangest man I've ever met."
"He's unusual, for sure." She drums her fingers on her belly while she gets that serious-thoughts look on her face. "Why do the Dixons call him their cousin? They realized not long after they met him that he's not a blood relative. Alex's half-brother is their cousin."
"Blood isn't everything. When Alex was a boy, a sweet couple adopted him and raised him as their son. He calls them Mum and Dad, but they're not biologically related."
"That's true. Guess I need to broaden my idea of family beyond the scientific definition." She blows out a sigh. "Anyway, Alex is quite a character. It's weird how all you Brits have the same smooth voices. Must be something in the water over there."
"Maybe American water is laced with hallucinogens."
"Oh please. This is factual, not the result of an acid trip. You sound surprisingly like your British pals."
"What about Dexter?" I ask. "He's British too. I hope you're not suggesting I sound like him."
"He's older and wickeder, but yeah. Your voices are kind of similar."
"What are you implying? It's not like we all sound identical, as if our voices are being narrated by one bloke."
She gives my chest a halfhearted shove. "Ha-ha, go ahead and make fun of me. If I can handle interviewing drug runners just so I can pinpoint the source of a disease outbreak, I can handle your scorn."
"It's not scorn. I love the barmy things you say. But for the record, I donotsound like Dexter or Alex Thorne."
"Shouldn't a publisher have a thicker skin? I mean, you must reject people all the time."