Page 196 of Falling for the Grumpiest Protector

"Where are you staying?"

"Hotel a few blocks from here."

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow morning."

She stops. "That soon?"

"Early flight."

Her disappointment hits me harder than it should. "You flew all the way here for one night?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Because I love you. The words are right there. "I wanted to see you."

Her fingers tighten around mine. "I'm glad you came."

"So am I."

We walk without a destination. Maddy points out places as we go. A bakery she likes. A bookstore that's been there forever. The coffee shop that makes the only cold brew Julian considers acceptable. She tells me which restaurant on the block is overrated and which one deserves every impossible reservation. I listen. Mostly, I watch her. This is her city. She knows its rhythm. People move around us and she never hesitates. I understand why she loves it.

Eventually, we reach her building. She stops beneath the awning. "My apartment is upstairs."

"I assumed."

Her smile turns softer. "Would you like to come up?"

I look at her.

"For coffee," she says.

"Coffee."

"And I have a dessert I've been working on."

"I already had dessert."

"Not this one."

"That sounds competitive."

"It is."

I should probably say no. I don't. "Lead the way."

Her apartment looks like Maddy. Books stacked where books probably shouldn't be. A bowl of lemons on the counter. Cookbooks everywhere. A sweater thrown over the back of a chair. There are framed photographs on one wall. Helen. Noah. Lily. My chest tightens when I see her. Maddy follows my gaze.

"Mom sent me that one."

Lily is laughing in the picture. "She looks happy."

"She was." Maddy touches the frame. Then she turns toward the kitchen. "Coffee?"

"Please."