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Matt did everything he’d promised her in his parents’ hallway.

And more.

Maddie would never be able to look at the kitchen island again without blushing.

They’d also needed to buy bigger handcuffs, because the pink ones didn’t fit Matt’s wrists.

It was the best investment she’d ever made!

On Tuesday morning, Matt flew out for a series of away games, so Maddie slept in, lingering in his bed because it smelled like him and carried all the sweet memories of the last few days. Besides…she was Matt’s girlfriend now.

Oh God, she was Matt’s girlfriend . If ESPN found out she’d set herself up with their best client…

oh, whatever! The media frenzy surrounding Matt had died down since the restaurant incident and right now, no one was interested in him.

Except her, of course. She was interested in every inch of him.

Still, she hadn’t said her new…uh, title out loud.

She was rather certain that Matt had meant a committed relationship when he’d talked about something serious , but it was enough for her to know that they were at least both on the same emotional level.

She was almost certain that they were both on the infatuation train — which wasn’t difficult, since she’d already loved Matt as a friend. The next step hadn’t seemed very large to her.

Okay, it had. It was huge. Incredibly huge. But it was also beautiful. Because she enjoyed everything about it.

On Wednesday, her landlord called and announced that her apartment was almost ready and she could move back in on the weekend.

Maddie, though, kept that to herself. She didn’t want to leave yet.

She liked waking up with him every morning when Matt was in town.

She enjoyed waiting for him in the evening and asking him how the game or practice or whatever had gone.

She liked arguing with Matt about whether or not he should finally do his own laundry.

She loved that she could kiss him whenever she wanted.

And she enjoyed that it was easy between them again.

Weightless. No conversation was a fight.

There were no more awkward encounters. They were themselves again. Only more.

Better.

“Oh no, not that face again,” Hailey complained when they met outside the office on Thursday. “I thought Matt just left! Why are you glowing like you just had an orgasm?”

Maddie grinned and dug out her keys. Hailey was the only person she had told about her relationship with Matt. Lucy would ask too many questions.

“A lady never tells, Hailey.”

“Oh God, don’t tell me you had phone sex!”

“Okay, I won’t,” she said innocently. “But seriously, I didn’t realize it could be hot just to hear someone explaining to you in minute detail…”

“Maddie!” Hailey cried out, pressing both hands to her ears. “Some things I just don’t want to know.”

“You asked!”

“I didn’t! I said don’t tell me you had phone sex. Besides, is it ethical for you to date a client?” She frowned. “What will ESPN say?”

Maddie frowned. She just hoped the network never found out. Either way, she didn’t feel like thinking about it too much right now. “It doesn’t matter!” She waved her hand. “They’re not interested in this thing anymore.”

“Mm hm. While you are all the more interested.” Hailey waggled her eyebrows. “I mean if you…”

Maddie would never know what her best friend had been going to say because she stopped mid-sentence and her eyes widened. Her gaze fixed on the door to the agency in front of them. “What the hell is that?”

“Hm?” Maddie turned questioningly and her head exploded into three shades of red – the same colors of the flyer marring her door.

If you’re looking for love, you might as well pray to the gods or call an astrology hotline , it said in thick black letters on a blood-red background on which someone had scrawled twisted hearts in light pink, all of which were broken.

She knew immediately where the flyer came from. There was only one person on the promenade who drew such ugly hearts! A stupid divorce lawyer down the way…where they might have put up a sign again yesterday.

“He didn’t do that!” she exclaimed in shock.

“Apparently he did,” Hailey replied. She looked as incensed as Maddie felt.

She gritted her teeth and ripped the flyer off the glass. “No! No. No. No. Not in my backyard!”

Matt had taught her that at times you have to seek confrontation to make things better.

She suspected that she would feel a lot better if she yelled at Connor Stone.

She wasn’t going to let him ruin her good mood.

Today, she would begin fighting for herself!

And since she didn’t care what Connor thought of her, he was the perfect first victim of her wrath.

She crumpled the flyer in her hands and trudged down the promenade to the building at the end.

“Finish him off!” Hailey called after her.

She nodded firmly, planning to bang on the office door and kick it in if necessary, but to her dismay, Connor stepped outside just as she was making a fist.

“Hi,” the caustic suit said coolly, his face completely neutral, his tie immaculate. God, how was it possible that no one had strangled him with it yet? “Having a nice morning?”

“You!” she snapped. “What’s this about?” she asked angrily, holding up the wad of paper.

“What’s what about?” he asked matter-of-factly. “I didn’t crumple the pretty flyer.”

“But you put it up.”

“Oh, yes. That’s right.” He rocked back on his heels, smugly satisfied. “With a level, too, so it was nice and straight. You just ruined fifteen minutes of work. Normally, I charge six hundred dollars for fifteen minutes, so…”

“Connor, you can’t just put something like that up! It’s bad for business!” she snapped.

“You think so?” He tapped his chin thoughtfully with his index finger. “Yeah, I guess the truth is often bad for business.”

“It’s not the truth!”

“Madison, I don’t know why you’re so upset. You have your signs, I have mine.”

“But our sign isn’t bad for you! Yours, on the other hand…”

“Oh, yes,” he replied coolly. “It’s bad for my mental health.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, Connor, but that’s beyond help!”

He snorted. “Stop putting up your stupid signs and I’ll keep my flyers to myself.”

Flyers? Plural? Oh God, how many of them had the troll printed? “What’s your problem?” she shouted in frustration. “Do you hate love or something? Did some poor girl break your heart and ever since, you want everyone else to be unhappy, too?”

He raised an eyebrow, amused. “Broke my heart…”

“Well, what is it then? There’s nothing wrong with making your clients aware that we can help them get over their divorce.”

Connor’s brown eyes suddenly blackened and the smile fell from his face. “My problem is that you’re talking rubbish! That you’re promising lightning from a clear blue sky. All these apps and dating sites with their psychological tests are utter nonsense.”

She gasped. “That’s not true.”

“Yes, it is,” he replied coolly. “You’re selling a lie. And I can’t stand it when lies turn into money.”

“It’s not a lie! Our site works. We have a questionnaire created by a renowned psychologist! And Hailey, who has a damn degree from Caltech, programmed the algorithm.”

“Ah,” he uttered tonelessly. “What I heard was: Santa gave me a bow and arrow and now I’m playing Cupid with other people’s money. Matchmaking works about as well as rain dances, Madison! Now, could you please scram? Some of us have real jobs.”

“You…”

“I know,” he replied curtly and disappeared into the office.

She stared after him, her mouth open. It was no wonder he was alone and a divorce lawyer! He probably enjoyed watching other people’s relationships disintegrate.

“God,” she whispered, annoyed, dropping the crumpled flyer on his doorstep as her phone rang. “What?” she answered tersely.

“Maddie, I’ve run out of food in the house.”

She sighed heavily and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry, Dad. But there’s a supermarket less than five minutes from you. You could even walk there.”

She heard her father let out a gasp. “I’m not dressed for the supermarket, Maddie.”

“Then put something on,” she advised him patiently. “Dad, I have to work, so…just go shopping.”

“Oh…no. That’s all right. I’ll just go without today.” Then he hung up.

She stared at her cell phone in disbelief.

No! That was unacceptable. She was tired of everyone in her family doing whatever they wanted and counting on her to pick up the pieces. She had forgotten how a family should normally function, but the weekend at Matt’s parents had reminded her, and…enough was enough.

Matt was right. She had to start fighting for herself. She had to stop avoiding arguments. Things couldn’t go on this way.

With trembling fingers, she pressed the call button. Her father answered after two rings.

“Have you changed your mind?” he asked hopefully.

She pressed her lips together so tightly that her jaw threatened to burst. Had he done that on purpose ? Was he trying to make her feel guilty so he wouldn’t have to overcome his inner demons?

“No, I didn’t,” she answered sharply. “Dad, I’m not your maid! Take a shower, get dressed — go shopping for yourself! Your grief may prevent you from seeing your old friends or, God forbid, meeting someone new, but sad people can throw things in a cart and use a credit card, too.”

“Maddie, today is not a good day…”

“It’s never a good day, Dad!” she cried desperately.

“Not in years. And can I tell you a secret? It’s never a good day for me to run your household.

To make sure you eat. Dad, I have a life.

It’s okay if you feel dirty and don’t want to do anything about it — but it’s not okay for you to make me feel dirty, too! ”

She heard him swallow and then there was silence on the other end. “I…didn’t know you felt that way,” he finally muttered.