I knew Maddie would show up. Eventually.

I rolled out of bed just before ten this morning, showered and ambled into the kitchen for my first cup of coffee and to catch up with town news. You’d think I wouldn’t have to considering I ran the most popular bar and restaurant around, but I liked to keep up with the non-gossip related news in town too.

And that’s when I saw it, the gigantic headline proclaiming that Maddie and me had…gotten married. Married. After the drama with Nash and Vivi last summer, I knew exactly who was to blame. What I didn’t know, was if Mae had done it on purpose, or if it was just another crazy mistake on her part.

So I got dressed and came to work. And waited. The news would reach Maddie in good time given the way the grapevine worked here, and considering how many people had stopped in to chat and to have a congratulatory beer with me, I knew it had spread like wildfire. Things were already so complicated between us, I had no idea how this situation could possibly make it worse.

Shit, married. I was married to Maddie Trenton. Sweet little Maddie with long blond hair and big brown eyes that were just the cherry on top of that curvy little cake. I waited all morning and well into the afternoon for Maddie to stop by and chew me out, for the panic to set in. The familiar tightening in my chest and the blood rushing in my ears that always accompanied a woman saying words like ‘settle down’ and ‘commitment’. But it never came.

I was out of my mind.

Maybe it was maturity, or maybe it was because I was too far gone over Maddie to heed the warning signs, but I felt nothing but calm. Which was good, because one of us would need to be calm, and I had feeling it wouldn’t be her.

By the time she pushed open the door to my office, hair and eyes wild with an emotion I couldn’t name, I was ready for her.

More than ready.

“Have you seen the paper!?”

She held up the offending document between her thumb and forefinger and tossed it to me before I could even answer. She began to pace, looking very distracting in one of those dresses with the tiny little straps that could be untied with a flick of my fingers.

But it was her footwear that had my attention as she paced back and forth beside the sofa, giving me a full length view of her beauty. “What are those shoes?”

Her pacing stopped at my question and she looked down at her shoes and back up at me with confusion. “Huh?”

“Your shoes,” I said, happy to have found a brief distraction, because I knew Maddie wouldn’t be distracted for long. “What are they?” they were yellow and white with huge wedges that looked like straw.

“Espadrilles,” she said and shook her head as she picked up her pacing right where she left off. “Don’t try to distract me, Zeke! Did you see the paper today?”

“I did.” I found in these situations it was best to say as little as possible.

“Did you know about this?”

“Not until ten o’clock this morning when I read the paper. Thanks for the vote of confidence, though.”

She had the grace to look a little sheepish by her implied accusation. “I didn’t mean it like that, but why didn’t you call or text me? The shop was overrun with people, and silly me thought they were there for the clothes. The clothes, Zeke, not the gossip!” And there she went, pacing again.

“So what, Maddie? This is a small town and gossip is their favorite fucking pastime.” I didn’t see what the big deal was but I could tell it was the exact wrong thing to say.

She stopped and stared at me again, this time her eyes were cold and hard. “Yeah well, I’ve had my share of gossip around here. Been the topic of plenty of gossip and I’m not looking to reclaim that throne.” She raked a frustrated hand through her hair, eyes focused off in the distance as she got lost in some terrible memory. “Do you think it was easy to come back to a small town in the south, pregnant and alone, oh and two semesters away from a diploma? Max was three before I could walk into a room without it falling completely silent and I don’t need that shit again!”

Shit. “I’m sorry, Maddie. I didn’t know about any of that, but I had nothing to do with this.” She didn’t look appeased, but I didn’t think anything would make her feel better right now. “I figured if I would’ve called you would have found a way to blame me for this too. Glad to see I was mistaken,” I added sarcastically.

“Then you’re probably the only one within town limits who didn’t know.” She shook her head, releasing several deep breaths in an effort to calm herself.

“I’m sorry, Maddie. That sounds like hell.”

“Don’t be,” she waved off my words of sympathy. “The point is I can’t go through that again, especially now that I have to think about Max. Oh god, Max! He’s going to be so excited and then disappointed.” Her words fell off to little more than a whispered mumble as she thought about her son. “I have to go.”

At those words I was out of my seat like a rocket, reaching her just before she reached the door and pulling her against my chest. “Maddie, relax.” She was like a skittish horse that needed constant reassurance. I was more than happy to give it to her, because it felt so good to have her in my arms and not pulling away from me, but sinking into me. “Just relax.”

Slowly my words began to work and her breathing matched my own. “I am calm.”

I laughed again, holding her close when she tried to squirm away. “You have to calm down before you scare Max, Maddie. Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out so Max isn’t hurt by any of this.”

She shook her head and stepped back. I let her. “This is my problem Zeke and I’ll figure it out, but I do appreciate your help.”

I’d like to meet the bastard who’d fathered Max and beat his face in for making her so mistrustful. So full of doubt and suspicion. For now, I’d use facts to get my way. “Technically it’s our problem, seeing as you’re my wife now.”

“On paper, Zeke. You don’t have to start hyperventilating just yet.”

At the challenge in her words, I arched a brow and pushed her up against the door with a heated smile. “I think you’re the one who’s freaking out.” Her eyes flashed with desire and worry. I chose to focus on the desire right now and leave the rest for later.

“That’s okay, Maddie. Freak out and I’ll take care of you.”

Her breath hitched and her pupils dilated, but when she sucked in that little gasp of air, my mouth was there, eager and demanding from the beginning. She tasted like mint and chocolate and I couldn’t get enough, kissing her harder and more insistent, so hungry to taste as much of her as I could. My body pressed into hers, enjoying her soft feminine curves pressed against my hard body. The kiss went on and on, for how long I had no idea, but my hands slid up her skirt and cupped her lush ass.

She moaned and grabbed handfuls of my hair, holding me close while her tongue tangoed with mine. Maddie could deny her feelings when there was distance between us, but the minute I touched her, all bets were off. Eventually she pulled back, panting.

“I didn’t come here for this.”

“Maybe not, but I can make sure you come.” It was a dark promise, but with my hands still gripping her ass, I wanted nothing more than to let my finger graze the seam between her thighs. “Say yes, Maddie.”

“Yes,” she moaned even as her hands pushed me away. “No, I can’t. I have to find Max.”

That’s right. Max was the priority right now. I dropped another kiss on her sweet mouth and stepped back. “I’ll drive.”

“Why?”

I smiled and grabbed my keys. “Because we’re married now and you don’t have to do this alone.” It was a dirty move, but she smiled and shook her head, righting her clothes and smoothing down her hair.

“Fine. Let’s go.”

“Sure thing, honey.” I kept my eyes on her ass as we both emerged from the office, but when we made it to the dining room, I grabbed her hand and we walked out side by side.

Like a real couple.