Page 80 of Watch Me

I grinned. “Do you like him?”

She rolled her green eyes that matched mine. “Likeis an understatement. He’s perfect for you.”

“He is, isn’t he?” I sighed dreamily.

“Are you going to get married?”

I blinked. Were we going to get married? That was always the plan when we were younger, but I didn’t know if that was still in the cards. “I don’t know.”

“But you’re in love, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then you’ll get married,” Maddie stated. “Can I be your maid of honor?”

I chuckled. “Yeah, honey. Obviously, you can.” We finished our soup, and then it was time for me to head back out on the floor. We walked back out to the bar, and I went to make sure Pablo was back. He was. “You’re sure you’ll be awake when I get home?” I askedMaddison.

“Of course. I’m a college student. I never go to sleep before two.”

“Right.” I smiled and gave her a hug. She turned and walked out the door, and I went back towork.

Three hours later, it was almost time for me to go home. I still hadn’t heard from Ethan despite the few texts I’d sent him, and that wasn’t like him at all. But just as I was grabbing my purse from my locker, he called. “Hey, I’m just grabbing my purse,” I answered as mygreeting.

I heard a sigh on the other end. “I’m not there, Buttercup. I’m still at the station.”

“Oh,” Ibreathed.

“Have Pablo take you home, okay?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“I love you, and I’m sorry.”

“I love you too.” I shut my locker. “But this means that things are getting better with the case?”

“Yeah, the email got a hit. We’ve been trying to track down all employees today.”

“Itwasan employee?” I asked and started to walk out to the front to tell Pablo I was ready to leave, and he needed to drive mehome.

“Yeah, we’re working on a few things, but I finally feel like this was the break we needed. Thank you.”

I grinned and stopped in front of Pablo. “Glad I could help.”

“Go home and spend time with Maddie. Don’t wait up, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Love you,” Ethan saidagain.

“Love you too.”

We hung up, and I looked up into Pablo’s brown eyes. “Ethan is still at the station, so he asked if you can take me home.”

“Of course,” he replied and motioned for me to lead the way to the backdoor.

Once outside, we got into a black SUV, and he drove us the two blocks to Ethan’s. I suppose it was my place too. I wasn’t paying rent because Ethan refused any money from me because his sister was cutting him a deal. It was actually my ex’s money, given that I was still getting spousal support, but whatever. If Ethan and I were to get married, that would change too. I didn’t need Grant’s money, but it was nice to get a monthly check in the mail after he’d cheated on me with various women for the greater part of our marriage. His secretary was the last one before I found out about it at his company’s Christmas party when they thought they’d be sneaky and have a quickie in thebathroom.

Pablo parked, and we rode the elevator up to my floor. The higher we rose, the more I sensed something was wrong. I wasn’t sure what it was. When the elevator dinged and the doors opened, I got a sinking feeling in my stomach that Maddie wasn’t home like she said she would be.Mother’sintuition.