they’d bought to cap the day.

Ria and her older sister, Belinda, still lived in their parents’ big old farmhouse in Azalea. Ria spent a lot of time now at Jacob’s apartment above one of the downtown storefronts, a block down from Madeline’s place, but she was still officially living at home until they got married.

Madeline was incredibly happy for her friend, who’d been in love with Jacob for a good portion of her life but had thought she’d lost him for good until they’d gotten back together in the spring. But the truth of the matter was that, ever since Ria had gotten together with Jacob, Madeline had seen a lot less of her, so she’d really enjoyed having her and Skye to herself all day today.

She was enjoying a lot of things about today, including lingering flutters from yesterday.

They were lounging in the living room, sipping their wine, when Skye said out of the blue, “Okay. Spill it.”

Madeline blinked. Skye was evidently speaking to her since her eyes were focused on her face. “What?”

“Spill it. What’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” To her annoyance, Madeline was starting to blush.

“You’ve been on some sort of high all day,” Ria said, clearly on the same page as Skye. “And we want to know why.”

“There isn’t any reas—” Madeline cut herself off. She shouldn’t lie to her friends, and there was no reason to do it. “Okay. Fine. There might be a reason, but I’m not sure I’m ready to share yet.”

“Why not?” Skye’s pretty, freckled face had sobered. “Are you ashamed of something?”

“No! No, of course not. I’m not ashamed. I’m just... I don’t know... It feels new and... it’s not something I’d normally do so...”

“Are you having a secret fling with a hot man?” Ria asked.

She’d always been way too clever for her own good. Madeline swallowed. “Maybe.”

“Oh my God! Who is it? Tell us, tell us, tell us!” That was Skye. As dramatic as ever.

“I... I...” Maybe she should just say it. There was nothing wrong with having sex with Ken. He was a good guy, and he was available, and they’d been honest about every step of the way.

“I know he’s not married,” Ria added. “You’d never do that. So what’s so wrong about it that you need to keep it secret?”

“There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s just not the kind of guy I would normally...” She took a shaky breath. “It’s not going to last. It’s just a random thing I’m doing to have fun. And it feels... I’m not sure I’m ready to talk about it.”

Skye made a frustrated sound, but Ria sighed. “Okay. Fine. I think I might understand. I didn’t tell you guys when I slept with Jacob again. I thought it was just a onetime fluke, but it felt private. Because I secretly knew I was feeling a lot more.”

“No!” Madeline explained, her eyes wide and her cheeks burning. “That’s not what’s going on here!”

Her friends didn’t argue, but she wasn’t sure they believed her either. It made her very uncomfortable.

Before she could figure out how to remedy the misunderstanding, Belinda came striding into the house through the front door with a scowl on her face. Belinda was thirty-one—five years older than Ria. She had the same dark hair and dark eyes, although she wasn’t as tall. She wore plain clothes and always pulled her hair back in an unforgiving low ponytail, so she always came across as studious and no-nonsense.

“What’s the matter?” Ria asked, straightening up immediately at her sister’s expression.

“Would you please do something with that man?” Belinda was normally an even-tempered person, so her biting tone was surprising. She made a gesture at the front door.

“What man?” Ria got up to peer out through the front window. “Oh. What is Fitz doing here?”

“He’s being a jerk,” Belinda gritted out. “He claimed that you asked him to come, so you’re going to have to deal with him. I’ve had enough.” She scowled again at the closed front door. “I’ll be in my room until he’s gone.”

Madeline was fascinated by Belinda’s reaction, and she exchanged curious looks with Skye as Ria went to open the door.

“Hey, Fitz,” Ria said, waving him in. “What on earth happened?”

“I apparently got on her last nerve.” Fitz strolled inside in his worn trousers and army jacket, full beard, and generally unkempt appearance. He’d been hanging around Azalea for a few years now, doing odd jobs and not much else. No one knew where he came from or the life history that had led him there, but he was a fixture in town now. A rather eccentric one. “At least that’s what she told me in no uncertain terms.”

“What did you say to her?”

“I just suggested she relax a little and have a little fun.” His vivid blue eyes were intelligent and amused. “She’s always so uptight.”

“You didn’t actually say that she’s uptight, did you?” Madeline asked, choking a little at the blasé shamelessness of the man.

“Course I did. Never seen someone so uptight. Not sure what it would take to loosen her up a little.” He paused, his eyes twinkling at her. “Told her that too.”

“Oh come on, Fitz,” Ria groaned. “You knew perfectly well that would upset her. She already doesn’t like you. Why do you poke at her that way?”

“Well, someone has to. She’s way too used to people doing what she tells them.” He grinned endearingly at Ria. “You wanted me to fix your kitchen cabinet?”

“Yeah. The hinge broke. I’ll show you.”

Ria led the man into the kitchen while Madeline and Skye hid their giggles.

The good thing was that the distraction had successfully concluded the conversation about Madeline and her secret fling.

Hopefully it wouldn’t come up again.

AT SEVEN O’CLOCK THAT evening, Ken was sitting in his recliner with Marlowe on his lap, drinking a beer and restlessly flipping the channels in the hopes of finding something on television that would hold his interest.

He wanted to see Madeline. Or at least talk

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