She raised an eyebrow and said, “I can’t wait to experience your prowess, and your culinary skills.”
She looked at him seductively and winked.
Damn, she was killing him. It was going to be a long wait until Tuesday.
They exchanged cell phone numbers and shared one last, lingering kiss. Then she gave him a big, heartfelt hug and said, “Good night, Adam,” as she turned and walked into her apartment.
“Good night, Maddie,” he said dreamily.
That night definitely felt like a dream—a nightmare turned happy ending.
Chapter 8
Maddie called Sancha the next morning to tell her the news about the fire. After she replayed the horrifying events, Maddie said, “Sancha, I can’t explain why, but something felt wrong to me.”
Sancha said, “Well, excuse me for stating the obvious, mi hermosa amiga, but fires in nightclubs usually feel wrong.”
Maddie rolled her eyes and said, “You know that’s not what I mean. I don’t think the fire was an accident.”
“You mean, you don’t think the pyrotechnics caused it?”
“Oh, I’m sure the pyrotechnics ignited the fire, but I don’t think they caused it.”
“Do you think that an arsonist was in the nightclub? Like a terrorist?”
“I suspect someone evil caused it, but they weren’t necessarily in the nightclub.”
Sancha sighed and said, “I’m not following you.”
Frustrated, Maddie sighed too and said, “Sancha, do you think that Paul could have anything to do with this?”
After some consideration Sancha said, “I really doubt it, Maddie. We’ve been monitoring the situation and we haven’t seen any activity in your area. You’ve been well hidden lately and nothing has happened in the past few months, so why would you suspect Paul?”
Maddie picked at her lip nervously and said, “I don’t mean to sound paranoid, and it is very likely that it was just a random fire, but I just can’t help but wonder if Paul was involved in some way. What if I’m in danger? Or worse, what if I’m putting others in danger?”
“We’ll get someone to check it out. Did you see anyone familiar in the crowd? Anyone that looked suspicious? Do they know what caused the fire?”
“I didn’t see anyone or anything that looked suspicious. And right now they’re saying the cause was the pyrotechnics display.”
Sancha paused a moment and said, “Based on what you’ve told me, let’s just go with the thought that it was a random event that had nothing to do with you. But I’ll make some calls and do some checking around just in case.”
Maddie put her hand on her forehead as she paced back and forth.
“But what if we’re wrong? What if Paul was involved? I could be putting Adam and everybody else in danger.”
“Mi amada amiga, how many times do I have to remind you that you can’t live your life in fear? Everything turned out okay and you just need to move forward and think positively. Now, let’s change the subject. How did it go with Adam?”
Maddie grinned. “Up until the fire, everything was going great. Well, actually it went great even after the fire, despite everything that happened.”
“Tell me more.”
Maddie felt like a giddy schoolgirl. “He invited me over for dinner on Tuesday.”
“And you’re going?”
“Yes, I’m going. How could I refuse when a man offers to cook for me?”
“That’s wonderful! A man that can cook. You need to snatch him up, Maddie.”
Maddie laughed and said, “He’s also a good kisser.”
“Hmm,” said Sancha. “A good cook and a good kisser…sounds like a keeper.”
“That remains to be seen. I’m going on the date, but I just want you to know that I am still leery about this whole situation.”
Maddie could practically hear Sancha rolling her eyes. “I understand. I’m happy as long as you’re moving forward. Well, call me and let me know how your dinner date goes. I’ll call you if anything turns up.”
Chapter 9
Adam flitted around his apartment and made preparations for the dinner he planned to cook for Maddie. He often entertained his friends and had gotten quite adept at it, but he wanted to make their first official date extra special. He decided to call on his personal dating consultant—Claire.
Since Zach and Claire had been together, Claire had often offered Adam dating advice—whether he asked for it or not. And most of the time he found her advice to be extremely helpful—whether he liked it or not.
He liked to think he had mastered the art of entertaining, especially when it came to the ladies, but for reasons he couldn’t even explain to himself, he felt the need to make everything perfect for Maddie. And he knew Claire could offer a woman’s perspective on how to make it just so.
Claire helped him decide on a menu of his specialty dishes. For the appetizer, they chose mozzarella and tomato bruschetta with fresh basil and garlic. The salad would be a classic Italian with his special version of homemade vinaigrette. He decided to go with lemon chicken piccata in a tasty lemon, butter, and capers sauce for the main dish. And finally, for the dessert he chose to make his own version of Emeril Lagasse’s tiramisu recipe. Claire suggested that he serve a chilled white zinfandel wine with dinner and offer coffee or cappuccino with dessert as an added special touch.
Claire also advised him to have some nice, relaxing mood music playing quietly in the background throughout the evening, and some candles placed strategically throughout his apartment for just the right ambience. She assured him that if he followed all of her advice he couldn’t go wrong. She even offered to come show him how to set the table “the proper way” right before Maddie arrived.
Adam had decided to time the meal preparation so that it would be about halfway done when Maddie arrived. That way she could watch him prepare the meal and he could show off his culinary skills. He figured she could also help with the dinner preparation if she wanted to. Getting guests involved with the cooking always seemed to be an icebreaker. He called her earlier in
