The Bachelor's Perfect Match by Kathryn Springer

Author:Kathryn Springer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-01-10T20:26:10+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

“Maddie?”

Maddie froze at the sound of Aiden’s voice behind her.

In all the after-dinner commotion, she wasn’t sure Aiden would notice her absence, let alone follow her out to the car.

Maddie pasted a smile on her face before pivoting to face him. “Thank you again for inviting us to stay for pizza. I offered to help clean up, but Sunni shooed me out of the kitchen.”

And right now, she needed an Aiden-free zone. Familiar surroundings where she could get her head on straight again and remember that she wasn’t part of his wonderful, boisterous family. She was his...his research assistant.

“One of Mom’s favorite sayings is ‘the more the merrier.’” A breeze ticked up, ruffling Aiden’s hair. “It explains why she adopted all three of us. I was wondering...can you stick around for a few more minutes?”

“I—” Should say no. Just. Say. No. Maddie.

“Please. I need to talk to you about something.” Aiden fished around in his pocket and drew out the keys to the UTV. “In private.”

He’d had to use the word please.

Maddie glanced at the house. If the topic of the conversation was something Aiden didn’t want his family to overhear, it would explain the subtle change Maddie detected in his mood.

Now she was curious and concerned.

“All right.”

Dodger was waiting for them, sitting patiently next to the passenger side of the side-by-side.

“Really?” Aiden scooped the dog up and set him in the middle of the seat. “We need to talk about this strange attachment you have to my UTV.”

Maddie suppressed a smile. Aiden would probably deny it, but she suspected it was the man, not the machine, Dodger was getting attached to.

She waited until Aiden stowed his crutch in the back before turning the key in the ignition. “Where are we going?”

He pointed up the driveway. “That way.”

An actual road Maddie could handle. She was also secretly relieved they weren’t going anywhere near the shed where Aiden’s brothers had stashed his pickup truck.

Maddie drove past the workshop keeping a light foot on the gas in an attempt to keep the dust down and her passengers from bouncing out of the vehicle.

Right before the wooden bridge, Aiden pointed to the left.

All Maddie saw were trees and more trees. And maybe—if she squinted—a narrow space between them.

“So...you want me to take the invisible trail into the woods now?”

His low laugh went right through Maddie and wound around her heart. Twice. “Right.”

“That’s what I thought.” She obediently turned in that direction, even though everything inside her was clambering to return to the safety of her apartment.

The sun simmered low in the clouds, painting the sky with delicate brushstrokes of apricot, rose and lavender that reminded Maddie of the illustrations in the Winter books.

Aiden had said he wanted to talk to her about something, but apparently he was content to wait until they reached their destination.

The terrain began to change, and a quarter mile into the woods, the fleeting patches of indigo Maddie glimpsed between the trees told her they were getting closer to the river again.

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