Trouble Walks In by Sara Humphreys Page A

irritated expression on her face. Great. He was screwing things up at every turn.
    He ran both of his hands over his face and strode to the windows while Maddy took her call. Something about an appointment tomorrow and scheduling or rescheduling. The woman even worked on Sundays. Did she ever stop and breathe, or even take a moment to enjoy in the view from her own apartment? He pulled aside the drapes with one hand and looked out. The city was beautiful from up here. The windows overlooked the West Side and gave a partial view of Central Park.
    Yup. It was easy as hell for her to hide up here, and why wouldn’t she? Had anyone tried to stop her? Ronan glanced over his shoulder at her. The flush from their encounter still lingered on her cheeks, and in that moment, he decided enough was enough. She’d had the opportunity to grieve and regroup—plenty of it—but it was time to change things up.
    When Maddy ended her call, silence filled the spacious apartment, and neither of them moved or said anything for a couple of minutes. The air was swollen with unspoken apologies and all the reasons why they shouldn’t do what they had been doing.
    â€œThe wedding is coming up soon,” Maddy said quietly. “I’m leaving for Old Brookfield about a week before, so I can help Jordan with the maid-of-honor stuff. And all that.”
    â€œRight.” Ronan let the curtain drop, settled his hands on his hips, and nodded but didn’t turn around. “Me too. Best man.” He glanced over his shoulder at her and smiled. “And all that.”
    They locked gazes, and to his great relief, they both burst into laughter at the same moment. The tension between them eased, slowly and steadily but not completely.
    â€œI’m sorry,” Maddy said, her laughter fading. “This is…awkward. I’m not good at this. I never was and, well, I’m out of practice.”
    â€œThen we need to change that.” Ronan pointed at her and grinned. “So, practice it is.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” Her eyes narrowed as he strode slowly toward her. “What kind of practice?”
    â€œYou’re the maid of honor and I’m the best man. Right?”
    â€œRight…” she said slowly.
    â€œAre you bringing a date to the wedding?”
    â€œA date?” Maddy blinked. “No.”
    â€œMe neither.” He shrugged. “We can be each other’s dates. As best man and maid of honor we kind of are anyway, but we wouldn’t want to be selfish.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” she said through a laugh. He could feel her watching him as he strolled around the couch toward the front hall. “How exactly would we be being selfish?”
    â€œCome on, woman. Think about it.” He picked up Bowser’s leash off the sofa table and snapped his fingers. The dog stretched, yawned, and rose to his feet before trotting over to Ronan. “We can’t have our first date be at Gav and Jordan’s rehearsal dinner or wedding. Now that would be awkward.”
    â€œOh really?” Maddy sat up and rested one arm along the back of the couch. “Then what do you propose?”
    â€œI’m not proposing yet.” He hooked Bowser’s leash onto his collar. “Don’t you think that we should date for a little while first?”
    Maddy stared at him as though she couldn’t figure out how much of what he’d just said was meant to be funny, and what was serious. The truth was, he didn’t know what the percentages were on that either.
    â€œYou and me. A real date right here in New York City.”
    Maddy nibbled her lower lip and fiddled with the edge of the cushion as though weighing her options. Ronan played it cool on the surface, but his heart was thundering in his chest like a damn drum. What if she said no?
    After what felt like forever, she finally spoke. “Okay.”
    Thank