That’s not to say I can’t get a little possessive, though. It’s a flaw, I can admit it. I want her near me. I want her thigh brushing mine under the table. I want my hand on the small of her back. I want to be touching her, always. If I had it my way, she’d be sitting in my lap instead of across the table.
Watching her laughing with Lottie folded into her shoulder next to her sparks a warm feeling under my skin. I love to see her like this—happy, relaxed, with someone she loves and feels safe with. But I also want her closer to me.
I don’t often see Madeline like this—completely at ease and unguarded. It makes me wonder if anyone else gets this version of her, or if it only exists in her best friend’s orbit. I realize that as close as we’ve become, I’m still seeing Madeline through layers she hasn’t fully unraveled yet.
Wes sits beside me, beer in hand, watching the same thingwith his usual quiet focus. Lottie, on the other hand, is anything but quiet. She isa lotof personality packed into one person. She talks with her hands, with her shoulders, with the energy of someone who’s never learned how to sit still and has no interest in doing it now.
I shift my gaze back to Madeline to find her looking at me with an amused expression on her face. “We’re going to order a drink at the bar, do you guys need anything?” she asks. Wes shakes his head, lifting his full glass. “All good,” I tell her. She smiles like she’s keeping a secret and disappears toward the bar, pulling Lottie along with her.
The second they’re gone, Wes exhales.
“She’s…loud,” he says.
I smirk. “Lottie?”
He nods. “Is she a lot or is it just me?”
I watch his eyes track Lottie, who is currently leaning halfway over the bar, shouting something into the bartender’s ear. “Yeah, she can be intense.”
“Incoming,” he says, taking a pull of his beer.
I look up to see that Lottie has abandoned Madeline at the bar and is halfway back to the table. She slides into the chair across from us and gestures vaguely toward the bar. “The bartender just asked me what my sign is,” she says. “I told him it’s leave-me-alone.”
Wes snorts quietly. “Did that work?”
“Not even a little,” she says, shrugging. “He followed it up with a wink and then told me he’s off at 11 and lives nearby. It’s a bold strategy, I’ll give him that.”
I laugh, but stop when she turns her focus to me, eyebrows raised. “So, you and Madeline. It seems like you really like her.”
“I do,” I answer, wondering where she’s going with this.
She taps the tip of her finger against her cheek. “Are you always this…laid back? I have to admit, it kinda surprises me.”
I nod. “I’m a pretty chill guy.”
“Madeline is not chill.”
“That, I know.”
“And yet, you two seem really happy.”
I don’t fight the smile that tips the corners of my mouth. “I like her a lot.”
“That’s good,” she says quietly. “I know you’ve met her parents, who are a big reason why she’s as guarded as she is. For her entire life, love has come with conditions and consequences. That’s why she doesn’t let a lot of people in. So, when she does, it’s not casual. It’s a big deal. Trust and honesty, that means everything to Madeline.”
“I don’t take that lightly. Not for a second.” But in the back of my mind, I see an image of my dad last night, and the weight of the secret I’ve been keeping from my brothers and from Madeline lands heavy.
“Good,” Lottie says brightly. “Because if you hurt her, I will absolutely help hide your body.”
Wes’s gaze flicks between us, the corner of his mouth twitching in an almost-smile.
I laugh. “Straight to murder, huh?”
“Yup! I will bring a shovel, dig the hole, break a sweat, hydrate properly, maybe take a minute to meditate afterwards. This will be a whole wellness journey for me, and then I’ll tuck you in and sleep like a baby.”
Wes lifts his beer. “That’s a little terrifying, but it’s good to have a plan.”
“You don’t need to worry about me, Lottie,” I say sincerely.
