“And one more hug for you, too,” Kim said to Maddie.
Clasped in Kim’s strong arms, a verse crystallized in Maddie’s mind.The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away.
He’d taken away from Kim. But He’d given, too. He’d given her two girls. An opportunity at Abbott. He’d ensured that she’d be able to make this Christmas a memorable one for her family, despite the challenges.
Leo and Maddie said their good-byes and returned Kim’s wave as they walked toward their cars.
Usually the two of them were surrounded by other people, like at last night’s party or at the stores they’d visited. It was rareand luxurious to be with Leo like she was now. No one within earshot. No one looking.
They chatted about his Christmas Eve plans with Charlie and her plans with her family. As they spoke, she buttoned her green coat against the chilly weather. The brooch she’d affixed to it preened with historic beauty. It almost seemed smug in its role of family heirloom. Generations had come and gone, but it had endured.
The cold was probably turning the tip of her nose pink, but she didn’t want their time together to end. So long as Leo was here with her, she’d stand on this spot until frostbite set in.
The phone calls and texts and lunch appointments they’d shared had been like gold to her, each one something to look forward to, something to delight in, something to remember over and over. Now that the task that had tied them together was complete, how often would she see him?
A gust of wind blew tendrils of her hair in front of her eyes. Before she could extricate her hands from her jacket pockets, Leo reached out, delicately caught the strands, and smoothed them out of her face. For a split second, he met her gaze. Then his vision fell to his fingers as he settled her hair back into place. With a look of pure concentration on his handsome features, he traced the outer shell of her ear then let his fingers trail a few inches down the side of her neck.
Conversation had ceased. Maddie couldn’t have said anything if she’d wanted to. Her heart was beating double time?—
From off to the side came the loud sound of someone clearing their throat.
Leo and Maddie instantly stepped apart, turning toward the noise.
Olivia’s mother, Deb, crossed the street toward them.
Maddie’s stomach sank. Deb had always been a what-you-see-is-what-you-get type of person. Equal parts blunt, opinionated, generous, and self-deprecating.
Maddie and Leo had been so wrapped up in each other that they hadn’t noticed that Deb had parked across the street from Kim’s house. She’d left her car running, driver’s side door ajar. Maddie could clearly see Charlie strapped into his car seat in the back, his attention directed at the car’s built-in TV screen.
How much had Deb seen?
She must have seen all of it.
In the process of dropping Charlie off with Leo, Olivia’s mother had stumbled upon the two of them.
“What’s going on here?” Deb asked. She was an attractive brunette, dressed today in soft pants and a red tunic accessorized with a silk scarf imprinted with candy canes.
“Deb—” Leo began calmly.
“No need to answer,” Deb interrupted. “I can see what’s going on.” She motioned toward her car. “Charlie’s with me, Leo. I don’t think he saw what I saw, but what if he did?” Disappointment carved brackets into the skin on either side of her mouth. “Olivia was your friend,” she said to Maddie.
Heat flamed in Maddie’s cheeks. “She was.”
“Well.” Deb drew herself up. “I’m not sure she would have approved of what I just saw.”
“Whether or not she would have approved is a moot point,” Leo said. “Olivia’s been gone for more than two years.” He spoke gently but without apology. He regarded Deb levelly, with just a trace of warning in his expression.
I’m not sure she would have approved.Deb’s words penetrated right to the center of Maddie’s own concerns. Suddenly, she could no longer evade those concerns. Suddenly, it didn’t matter if she was too busy or too happy to let them in. Deb had dragged them all out.
“We can talk about this later,” Leo said to Deb.
“Daddy!” Charlie’s voice rang from within his grandmother’s car. He waved. “Hi, Maddie!”
“Hi, sweetheart,” she called back. Then to Leo and Deb, “I need to head out. I’ll see you both later.” She’d managed to speak pleasantly, but she didn’t have it in her to look either of them in the face or to hang around long enough to hear their response.
As soon as she pulled into her apartment’s parking lot, she texted Britt.
Britt, in true friend fashion, had driven straight to Maddie’s apartment when she’d received Maddie’s text. Maddie had just finished bringing her up to speed on all that had transpired between her and Leo last night and this morning.
