“You ratted me out?”

I looked at Nate’s smiling face in disbelief. My own traitorous manager had gone and called my best friend about my shitty attitude.

He wore his satisfied grin like a designer outfit as he inched towards the door, making room for Nash. “Nash here is gonna fix you right up,” he assured me. “You’re scaring the employees and honestly, a few of the customers.” With a wide grin and a laugh, Nate left my office.

The traitor. My gaze swiveled to Nash and my brows rose. “Are you gonna fix me right up?”

“Hell no,” he laughed and dropped down onto the sofa, crossing his sneakered feet at the ankles. “I don’t think I can fix you, man, but I am going to talk some sense into you.”

I snorted a laugh at his response. “Yeah? How do you plan to do that?”

He shrugged. “Start by telling me what happened in New York.”

“You already know what happened since your nosy wife is the one who pulled it out of me.” Detail by excruciating detail while the sneaky woman plied me with creamy buttery mashed potatoes and as much steak as my stomach could hold, which was a big step up from the small so called avant-garde portions served at the Riley Estate.

Nash nodded thoughtfully, taking a moment to get his thoughts together before his gaze met mine. Seriously. “Okay, I know what you told Vivi and I just have one question. Why? Why in the hell didn’t you stand up for Maddie? Or yourself?” He raked a hand through his hair and blew out a breath, as bewildered by my behavior as I was, even days later.

“I wish I knew man, I really fucking do.” Even now, I shook my head in disbelief and the dinner played over and over in my head. “I was frozen and the whole time she was sticking it to my parents, standing up for herself and for me. I just sat there thinking how proud I was of her, all the while letting them decimate her.” I hated myself for it, so damn much. “I have no excuse. None at all.”

He flashed the smile that used to have every woman in town offering up casseroles and baked goods in hopes to become his lady love and smacked his hands together. “I’d start with an apology. And flowers. Definitely flowers. But then maybe move on to something bigger, like jewelry. And a big, no, a grand gesture. Women love’em.”

That all sounded good. In theory. “What if she won’t talk to me?”

“Make her,” he said like it was just that simple.

“Man what it must be like to be you.” I shook my head at his easy answer. “Maddie probably hates me.”

“Best way to know is to talk to her about it, right?”

“I really hate this foolish logic of yours.” Nash laughed and I joined him but we were interrupted by my buzzing of my phone. “Hang on a sec.” I frowned when the name of the elementary school appeared on my screen. “Hello?”

“Zeke? It’s John Casey, principal at over at the elementary school.”

Okay. “Hey John, what’s up?”

“It’s Max. He’s got a stomachache and Maddie isn’t picking up the phone.”

Shit. “Is he all right?” My heart raced and I sat straight up, ready to do whatever was necessary.

John laughed. “He just has a tummy ache, Zeke. But I do need you to come get him.” I must have paused for too long because John sighed. “Couples fight, Zeke. The longer you’re together, the more often it’ll happen. Some nights you’ll sleep on the couch and others in the doghouse, but you’ll work it out.”

Though I didn’t have his confidence, I understood his point and appreciated the advice. “Thanks, John. I’ll be right there.”

Max sat beside me in the truck with excitement shining in his big blue eyes. His blond hair was a mess, sticking up all over his head like he’d been running his hands through it all day. “We gotta get flowers!” The urgency in his voice pulled me up short.

“What?”

“Flowers,” he said again like I was the kid and he was the adult. “Mama loves flowers, especially the purple ones that smell good. They’re her favorite.”

I understood what he was saying, but not why and I frowned with a shake of my head. “We need to get you home, Max. Straight to bed so you can rest up.”

“I’m fine,” he sighed like a beleaguered teenager and rolled his eyes. “Mama went to get fabric for more dresses so we have plenty of time.”

Okay now I was officially confused. “Plenty of time for what?”

“Zeke,” he whined. “To make it so mama isn’t sad anymore.”

Damn, Maddie was right. No one told the truth or broke your heart like little kids and their honesty. What in the hell was I supposed to say to that? “And, uh, how are you gonna do that?”

“We are,” he insisted, his little hands landing on my forearm when I pulled into a parking spot on the main drag. “You and me. Together. We can make my mama happy again.”

“And to do that we need flowers?”

“Yeah, Zeke. Flowers.” He nodded and rolled his eyes. “The purple ones that smell good,” he clarified just in case I forgot.

“Okay then, let’s go.” We drove a few blocks to Belle Fleur and went inside, grabbing too many bouquets of jasmine and lavender. I hoped she liked them and I realized as we got back on the road that Max might have given me a way back in. “Now what?”

“Food. Mama always says that food makes her happy.”

I smiled because that was one of the things I loved about Maddie. She enjoyed her food, ate with an abandon that was sometimes erotic in nature. Sure she worried about her curves as much as any woman but it never took away from her enjoyment of the plate in front of her. “Okay then, let’s get food. What would you suggest good sir?”

He giggled and fell back against the passenger seat, kicking his little legs with such energy and enthusiasm I couldn’t stop the smile on my face. Eventually his laughter quieted and his expression turned serious. “Mama loves ice cream and Chinese food.”

I smiled to myself at his earnest words, wondering how in the hell I’d gotten so lucky that a kid like Max wanted to help me. I knew I didn’t deserve his confidence or his mama, but I wanted them both which meant I would take his help. Every piece of wisdom he chose to impart. “Okay, let’s get the ice cream first. Butter pecan, right?”

He bobbed his head in an exaggerated nod, smile stretched from ear to ear. “She’ll be happy that you remembered.”

I didn’t think she would but that was my problem, not Max’s. The trip to the grocery store was relatively uneventful aside from a few sideways glances from the town’s busybodies, probably wondering why Max and I were together when I wasn’t sleeping in the same house as my wife. “Should we get two?”

“We should get three!”

I thought it was a bit much but when you were trying to win back the woman of your dreams, nothing wasn’t too much. “Okay, but let’s get a chocolate one. Lesson one Max, girls love chocolate.”

His little nose twisted up adorably and he held my hand as we walked towards the counter. “Mama loves chocolate too. She’s always nibbling on little bits of chocolate when she gets sad or worried.”

I hoped like hell she didn’t eat chocolate often, at least for those reasons. On the way back home, because that’s what Maddie’s place was to me, I listened to Max’s little boy chatter. He talked about his favorite topics—space and dinosaurs—while I navigated the way home.

“Do you play a sport, Zeke?”

“No kid, I don’t. When I was younger I played basketball and a little bit of baseball but I wasn’t as good as most of the guys on my team. Are you interested in sports?”

He shook his head. “Not really but all the boys in my class are.” He sighed heavily, like there was something weighing on his mind. “Do you think I should play football?”

“Not if you don’t want to.” I stepped from my truck and helped Max down, smiling when he took my hand as we climbed the steps and went inside. “There’s no reason to do something that doesn’t make you happy just to fit in, Max. You won’t be happy and you’ll waste your time doing something you don’t like.”

Inside, Max tore away from me and dropped his backpack before kicking off his sneakers and running to the kitchen. He stopped in the doorway and smiled sheepishly. “I forgot the ice cream.”

“I’ll take care of the ice cream, kid. Maybe you should get your pajamas on and we’ll chill out on the sofa.”

“Can we have man sandwiches?” His big blue eyes were so hopeful that I couldn’t say no to my patented man sandwiches that I piled high with pastrami, turkey, Swiss cheese and lots of dill pickles. It wasn’t a sandwich for a kid but Max loved it.

“Only if you promise to relax.” I narrowed my gaze at him. “I don’t think a man sandwich is what you need with a bellyache.”

Max blew out a long breath and climbed onto the sofa with his legs folded under him. “Promise you won’t get mad?”

I frowned. “Why would I get mad at you? Did you eat your mom’s stash of candy and that’s why you have a bellyache?”

“No,” he giggled and looked a little sad he hadn’t thought of that. “I don’t have a tummy ache. I lied ‘cause Mama would be out of town and I wanted to help you.”

“Why do you think I need help?”

“Because you don’t live here anymore.”

Ah shit. I took a seat beside him, unsure what to do so I put my hand on his shoulder. “I don’t want you to worry about that Max, that’s between me and Maddie. I appreciate the thought, though.”

“Are you gonna go away too?”

“Nope. You’re my buddy. For good. Now go get changed while I order the Chinese food.”

Max’s face lit up at that he jumped off the sofa, calling out Maddie’s favorites over his shoulder as he raced up stairs as fast as his little legs would carry him. While he was upstairs, suspiciously quiet, I made two man sandwiches although one of them was a pint-sized man sandwich. I ordered enough food from the only Chinese food restaurant in town and Max and I settled onto the sofa and watched TV.

Max climbed up onto the sofa and snuggled close, sitting his plate over his legs the same way I did, one leg crossed at the knee. “Why’d you put tomatoes on this,” he asked with a big pout.

“Because little boys with bellyaches need vegetables.” He wanted to argue but I gave him a look similar to what I’d seen Maddie use and he grumbled a little, but at the sandwich while we watched one of the Marvel movies he loved so much. I couldn’t focus on whatever battle of good and evil waged on the screen because it felt good to be back home.

Where I belonged.

The place looked exactly as I remembered it. Neat and tidy with just a few hints that people lived here like overturned kid sneakers by the door, a throw blanket balled up in the corner of the large sofa and a pair of Maddie’s sexy stilettos under the coffee table. My shoes should be right beside hers.

Where they belonged.

I got so lost in thought that it took me awhile to realize Max had fallen asleep. It was only the soft weight of him that grew heavier by the minute as he fell deeper and deeper asleep, that told me he’d give up on the movie and the sandwich. My sandwich was gone and I was restless but I knew what needed to be done. “Let’s you to bed, buddy.” Kids were so fragile that I now understood why parents were so overprotective of their children. It made me appreciate and love Maddie more and, unfortunately, it made me resent my own parents even more.

Max sighed softly and wrapped his little arms around my neck, a sleepy smile on his face. “Don’t forget to make me brush my teeth,” he grinned and I grinned in response.

“Don’t forget to brush your teeth, little man.” I set him down in his bathroom and watched him brush his teeth like an old pro.

“Good job. I’ll tell Mama you made me brush my teeth. And eat my vegetables.”

I laughed and scooped him up again because his eyes were drooping and his head had started to bob. Besides that the kid was trying his best to help me get his mom back. That was a plan I could get behind. “All right Max, get some sleep and I’ll see you again soon.”

“Promise?” Big blue eyes opened on me, so hopeful and expectant but also prepared to be let down.

“Yeah Max, I promise. See you soon.” In an unconscious move, I kissed his forehead and left him to his nap. The kid had so much energy that it was hard to remember he was just a little boy who wanted a father figure and someone to make his mom smile.

I could do that.

Hell, I would do it.

I cleaned the kitchen and took a seat just as the Chinese food arrived so I rose to pay and stuck it in the oven to warm so Maddie wouldn’t have to nuke it when she returned home. I was halfway through a documentary on superstorms when a key turned in the door and opened. Maddie walked in, looking beautiful and disheveled in a knee-length green dress and a yellow sweater with those sexy little eyelets that showed just enough skin to tempt me. She froze when she saw me. “Zeke, what are you doing here?”

I stood and smiled. “Max had a bellyache and the school couldn’t reach you, so they called me.”

“Is he all right?”

“He’s fine, I think he accepted a few too many pieces of candy from one of the cool kids at school. We ate a sandwich and he fell asleep.”

“Did he-,”

“Yes Maddie, he brushed his teeth. Don’t worry. He’s taking a nap.” Her shoulders slowly sank back down to a normal level as she relaxed in waves. “There’s orange chicken in the oven for you.” The bewildered look on her face was breathtaking.

“Why?” She dropped a large bag of fabric on the floor and hung her purse up on the wooden rack behind the door. Exhausted. Gorgeous.

I went to her and cupped her cheeks, inhaling the sensual scent of her floral perfume. Her big brown eyes were dark and sensual, her pouty mouth parted on a soft gasp as my fingertips slid along her silky flesh. “Because, Maddie, I would do anything for you.” I bent low and brushed my lips against hers gently, and with more willpower than I knew I possessed, I stepped back with a smile. “See you real soon, Maddie.”

Yeah, a big gesture was definitely needed.