Page 19 of His Secret Obsession
Maddie comes home from work each evening looking exhausted as she slips off her high heels. I want to go to her and offer to rub her sore feet, but I don’t dare. Instead, I watch inawkward silence as she scurries off to her room without looking at me. Luke is often gone more than he’s home—but when he is home, their hushed arguments carry to me from behind their closed door.
I’m sitting on the couch, a chilled beer half-way to my mouth with the football game on when the front door opens. Luke walks in with a scowl and Maddie follows close behind. She slams the door shut behind her as she glowers at his back. He runs a hand through his hair, sighing before turning back to Maddie and pulling her into his embrace. She goes willingly, although her body is tense.
“You’re the one who told me I needed a job, remember?” he murmurs.
“I didn’t mean for you to leave me for three months.” Her voice is muffled against his chest, her fists clenching into the material of his black hoodie. I openly watch them, making no attempt to hide my intrigue. I don’t think they’ve noticed me sitting here, but if they want to argue in private then they should go upstairs.
“You said you wanted us to get out of this house,” he reminds her, his hand running up and down her back. My jaw clenches as I watch the path it takes, a sense of unease that I have no right to possess bubbling in my chest when it brushes along the top of her ass. Then her words hit me in the gut.
“I can’t stay here by myself with him for three months.”
What the fuck does she think I’m going to do—make her eat her vegetables?
I inhale sharply, my stomach roiling. Does she hate me that much?
Luke chuckles, the sound exasperated. His head lolls back as he blows out a puff of air towards the ceiling. “I don’t get it, Madds. It’s like you two took one look at each other and hated the other for existing.” He rolls his eyes before glancing backdown at her. “You guys are pretty good at avoiding each other, so it’s not like you’ll see much of him anyways.”
Maddie lifts her chin. “I don’t hate him.”
“He’s sitting right here,” I mutter dryly, the muscles in my neck rigid. On second thought, I’ve decided I don’t want to hear any more of this conversation. I don’t particularly relish listening to Maddie explain why she can’t stand to be in the same house as me. My imagination can fill the blanks in.
And I know it’s my fault.
Maddie’s shoulders tense at the sound of my voice, and it makes me sigh. Luke’s head jerks towards me, his eyebrows shooting up. A pink dusting spreads across his cheeks, and I almost feel sorry for him. Almost, but not quite, because his hand on her ass still has me feeling twitchy. He slowly steps away from Maddie, stuffing his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie. The contrite look on his face is the one he used to give me whenever I caught him sneaking out to parties or hiding his report cards. Maddie averts her gaze from me, and I find that I don’t like the guilt-riddled expression or the insecurity that flashes across her face as she stares at her feet.
“Uh, sorry bro. I just, um—”
I hold up my hand. “It’s fine. I know you two would rather have your own space.”
Luke blows out a noisy breath as he nods, giving me an appreciative smile.
Time for a subject change.
I jerk my chin towards him. “What’s this about a job?”
“Well,” Luke begins, hesitating as his eyes slide in Maddie’s direction. She sets her mouth in a hard line and wraps an arm around her middle but doesn’t say anything. “I decided to take that job I told you about. It’s a three-month contract at Cedarwood Mountain Lodge.”
I release a low whistle.
“That’s a long time to be gone,” I observe, pointing out the obvious. My stomach swoops at the idea of being alone for that long with Maddie. Being stuck with her for three months without Luke as a buffer—as a reminder of why I can’t touch her—sounds like a long, slow form of torture. I don’t exactly have a great track record when it comes to resisting this woman, especially if my recent behavior is any indication.
If I believed in a god, I would be on my knees praying for strength right now.
I look at Maddie, and she lifts her head to meet my eyes. She’s careful to keep a neutrally blank expression as she blinks at me with that cool gaze of hers. I try to decipher the emotions in her soulful, brown eyes but I can’t make her out today. Is it guilt that’s had her avoiding me, or is it regret? Did I make her uncomfortable?
Guilt I can handle. But the other two? I would rather she just drop kick me in the nuts.
I turn my attention towards Luke when he continues speaking, almost having forgotten about our conversation. “Yeah, but I haven’t found any other jobs. They need some extra help for the winter season, and this will pay well.”
I nod, scratching my fingers over the rough stubble lining my jaw. “So, you’ll be gone December through February?”
“Yeah, so, will you watch out for Maddie while I’m gone?” he asks.
She hikes her shoulders up, her eyes darting over to me with a deer-in- headlights expression. My fingers tighten around the beer bottle as my heart thuds. She’s thinking about the way I watched her that night. Iknowit.
“I’m not a child. I don’t need a guardian.” When she shoots Luke a dark, accusatory glare, I chuckle into my beer bottle. Then she turns that expression on me, and the fire in her eyes has a thrill running down my spine.
There she is.
