Page 72 of Watch Me
I grinned. “Yeah, does feel like that.”
“Or a second-chance romantic suspense,” Maddie wenton.
I chuckled. “That sounds more like it.”
We hugged for a few moments and then she returned to her seat. “So …”
“Yes?” Iprompted.
She took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m just going to tell you because I think you’re cool, and you won’t care, and you’ll be happy for me.”
“Okay …?”
“Just …”
“Just spit it out.” I gave her a warm smile. Whatever it was, I would deal with it. Maybe she was dropping out of school, or perhaps she wanted to go to Paris for the summer instead of living with me—and Ethan. We needed to figure out another living situation before then because Maddison needed her own room and couldn’t share with the boys over thesummer.
“Okay.” She took another deep breath. “You know I’m dating someone.”
“Yes.” Ismiled.
“It’s … I’m dating a girl.”
I blinked slightly. I wasn’t expecting that. She had gone with boys to her junior and senior proms. I’d known her to have boyfriends too. But I also knew that I didn’t care. I just wanted her to be happy, and if a young woman made her happy, then that was all that mattered. I smiled and pulled her in for another hug. “There’s no need to be scared, honey. Who you want to date is your decision. As long as she makes you happy, then I’m happy.”
Maddison pulled her head back and looked into my green eyes—the same color as her own. “She does make me happy.”
“Good. Tell me everything. What’s her name? How did you meet? How long have you been dating? Is it serious?”
We sat in our seats. “It is serious, and her name is Sophie.”
“That’s a pretty name.” I wanted Maddie to know that I was okay with her dating whomever. As long as the person wasn’t a criminal and didn’t hurt her or cheated on her, then I would besupportive.
Maddie began to tell me that they met in one of her classes, and they were both scared at first, but the more time they spent together, the closer they got. She was still telling me her love story when Ethan walked in through the front door.
I smiled and slid off the barstool. “Maddie, this ismyEthan.”
He closed the door, set his keys on the table, and started to walk toward Maddie. She was walking to greet him too. “It’s good to finally meet you,” hesaid.
She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him. He looked at me over her shoulder, and I shrugged. I wasn’t expecting her to greet him that way.
“Thank you for keeping my mom safe.”
They pulled apart, and I realized we were all smiling. “I’d never let anything happen to her,” he assuredher.
“Good. Because if you did, you wouldn’t hear the end of it from me,” shewarned.
He grinned wider. “Noted.” Ethan turned to me. “Are you almost ready to go?”
“Oh shit,” I gasped. “Time got away from me.”
He smiled. “I figured it would.”
I turned my attention to Maddie. “I need to get to work, but tomorrow we have all morning to talk. I’ll make smothered potatoes and bacon for breakfast.” I had a friend in college who would always talk about the southern food she missed while she was in California. She was originally from Texas and said that every Sunday, her mom would make smothered potatoes with fried pork chops. I got the recipe from her, and over the years I’d perfected the potatoes. One morning, we had them for breakfast, and it instantly became Maddie’s favorite. They were similar to country potatoes—or fried potatoes—but unlike some recipes, I didn’t add flour. I just let them do their thing in the oil while they steamed and thenfried.
“Go. I have a phone call to make.” She smiled, and I assumed she meant she needed to call her girlfriend. Probably wanted to tell Sophie that she’d made it to Chicago, or maybe seeing if Sophie had made it to Indianapolis where she wasfrom.
“Okay. If you want …” I hesitated and then looked at Ethan. “We can all have dinner during my dinner break. Maybe you can bring pizza?”
