14
MADDIE
Eyes squeezed shut, I pressed two fingers against my temples and massaged.
"You're supposed to be the cool one," the reason behind my sudden headache whined.
Cracking my eyes open, I stared at the seven-year-old looking at me like I'd just taken away his ice cream. Which coincidentally I had. But it was eight in the morning, and his mother would kill me if I let him have it for breakfast.
Or at the very least, she'd never let me watch him when she ran errands again. As much as this little boy drove me batty, he made me happy in equal amounts. He was by far the brightest light in the Young family.
My hands came to rest on my hips, my uninjured foot slowly tap-tapping against the wooden floor. "Three scoops of ice cream and half of the bottle of chocolate sauce is most definitely not healthy. Your mom will have both our butts if you eat that."
My nephew, Tommy, narrowed his hazel eyes—the same shade as my sister and mine. "But if you don't tell her and I don't either, then how will she know? "
I bent over, putting us at eye-level. Lifting two fingers in the space between us, I motioned for him to come closer. He leaned in eagerly, more than ready to hear whatever secret I was about to divulge.
The sharp edges of my teeth dug into my cheeks as I tried to stop myself from smiling. "Moms know everything!" I said very loudly.
Tommy's little face contorted; I would've given anything to snap a picture of his sullen expression. "Not cool, Auntie Maddie." He crossed his arms in front of him and gave me the biggest pout he could. "Not cool."
I threw my head back and laughed. By the time I was done wiping the tears from my eyes, he was still glaring at me.
I ruffled his curly light brown hair as I moved past him to get breakfast ingredients from the fridge.
"Why don't you take Sheldon outside? I'll be out with some French toast in a minute. "
His eyes flicked to the confiscated frozen treat. "You know, if I grabbed that and ran, you wouldn't be able to catch me."
He was taking a dig at my limping. Exactly a week had passed since I'd sprained it, and it was definitely getting better. So much so, that I'd already let everyone know Tuesday's exercise class was going forward as planned.
Grabbing an orange from the fruit bowl in front of me, I tossed it in the air a few times. "Yeah, but I can still throw like a champ. "
Tommy sighed and rolled his eyes way too dramatically. "You're no fun anymore." Shoulders sagging, he muttered at Sheldon to follow him.
The entire time while I prepared our toast and added sliced strawberries to the plate, my smile stayed firmly in place. It was still there when I made my way outside, arms loaded with food.
Until I saw what the hell Tommy was up to.
Head nodding, arms going every which way, he was happily chatting away with my neighbor. The one I'd been actively avoiding since the day he'd reverted back to being a dick. All because he didn't like my dog or the fact that I kept my door open.
Asshole.
I set the tray on the patio table and took slow strides to where they were standing.
I'd almost reached them when Adam's eyes flicked my way.
Those dark irises looked like they were drinking in the sight of me and my heart just about turned over on itself.
I hated it. Hated that he was the only man my body was reacting to so fiercely.
He gave me a quick once over followed by a slight tilt of his head before his attention shifted back to Tommy.
I was vaguely aware of my nephew's excited babbling about some sort of aircraft—he had a fascination with anything that could fly—but it was the way Adam was giving the boy in front of him his undivided attention that held me captive.
With his feet spread and those thick arms crossed in front of his even thicker chest, he could've easily looked intimidating if it weren't for his missing scowl and softened gaze.
He listened patiently while Tommy excitedly tried to figure out how many words he could spew out in a minute.
My heart squeezed. There was no doubt that my sister was giving her son the best possible life she could.
But the way he was talking to Adam—a practical stranger—showed me how hungry he was for a father figure in his life.
Jennah's boyfriend of four years had gotten her pregnant on their graduation. When he found out he was going to be a father, he'd upped and left Clearwater Bay, never to be seen or heard from again.
"Isn't that so, Auntie Maddie?" Tommy suddenly asked.
I blinked and two sets of eyes were trained on me. It was only one of them that had electricity zipping up and down my spine. "What?" The word came out all pitchy.
Every cell in my body called for me to look at Adam. But if the heat of his stare was already setting me on fire, there was no way I could face it head-on. That was why my gaze stayed trained on my nephew. He did not look impressed with me at all.
"I said, I am going to be a pilot when I grow up."
My mouth lifted into an easy smile. "Yeah, you're gonna do everything your little heart desires."
Obviously, that was not what he wanted to hear. Nose scrunched up, he shook his head. "You're being weird."
Something that sounded a lot like a chuckle came from the other side of the fence but when I looked up, Adam's face was impassive. But his eyes, though, they were studying me. I wanted to hide from it. Afraid he'd see through the cracks and learn my deepest darkest secrets. Afraid he'd see—
"What happened there?" Tommy's curious little voice sounded. I looked his way and was mortified to find him pointing at Adam's neck.
My gaze quickly snapped back to Adam again, my blood turning to ice when those ten-foot walls were back up. I hadn't forgotten how he'd reacted when he'd caught me staring and I wasn't going to stand for it if he spoke to my nephew the way he had to me.
I squeezed Tommy's shoulder. "Hey, we should let Mr.—" I paused, realizing I didn't know his last name "—Adam get back to work. Besides our breakfast is getting cold." I could tell he wasn't happy about it, but he grumbled a goodbye to Adam and lumbered over to the patio table.
Because I didn't know what to say, I pivoted and started making my way back to a sulking Tommy. Three steps. That's how far I managed before Adam's deep, gritty voice washed over me.
"Maddie."
One word. One freaking word and tiny bumps chased their way up and down my arms. I stopped walking and stared at my feet. I really wished he wouldn't say my name like that. Like it was a prayer or maybe a plea.
I took a much-needed breath and then another before I glanced at him over my shoulder. He'd shoved his hands into his shorts' pockets. And even though I wasn't standing right in front of him, I could still see his jaw muscle steadily tick-tick-ticking.
He wet his lips and if I didn't know any better, I would have sworn he looked the tiniest bit nervous. But this was grumpy ass Adam, so it couldn't have been that. Sheldon barked somewhere behind me, Adam's gaze flicking to where I presumed my dog was.
Still, neither one of us said a damn word. It was beginning to feel a little awkward. He was the one who'd called out to me and if he wasn't going to say anything then I wasn't going to keep standing there like an idiot.
With a sigh, I tore my eyes away from him and continued walking.
"I'm sorry."
This time when I came to a halt, I spun around and faced him.
His uneasiness was clear as day when he shuffled from one foot to the other. One of his hands scrubbed over the back of his neck, the action making his tatted bicep pop deliciously. "I shouldn't have been so rude."
I crossed my arms in front of me and popped my hip. "When are you referring to exactly? You know, since rude has pretty much been your default setting."
He winced. Only slightly but I didn't miss it. "Right." The word slowly rolled off his tongue. "How 'bout I start with Monday?" I narrowed my eyes but didn't say anything. "It wasn't my intention to snap. I just got so damn frustrated with you and that open door."
I parked my hands on my hips and glared at him. "You kinda have the wrong definition of an apology. "
He brought both his hands up and dragged his fingers through his hair and over his neck. "Sorry." His sexy as sin voice was laced with so much defeat, it made my heart ache. "I haven't done this in a long time."
Taking pity on him, I half-smiled. "Apology accepted. This time." It was quite a sight to see his massive shoulders sag with relief. "I'll see you around, Adam." For the third time, I turned and walked away from him. Only this time the slightest smile touched my lips.