Page 49 of Her Summer Hope
He told himself coming over to see her was a horrible idea, but he didn’t walk away. His willpower only extended so far.
Finally, she came out smiling, stepping out onto the sidewalk and turning to her car without looking at her surroundings. That was dangerous. She could have been dragged off into an alley. She could have been robbed, or worse.
He needed to teach her a little situational awareness for her own good.
A man came out, staring after her as she walked away, and Kyle realized that she was leaving.
“Madison?” he called, watching the man nearby warily.
He was an older man, maybe late forties. He had dark blond hair and seemed reasonably fit, but he definitely didn’t visit a gym with any regularity. He was a bit shorter than Kyle and looked tired and overworked, but he had a soft look on his face as he watched Madison. Then it hit him.
He must be her husband.
The thought burned a hole in his gut. He hated the man on sight, even though he knew it wasn’t fair. He’d met her first. He’d married her…had a baby…and Kyle was nothing more than an employer and poacher.
Shit.
He almost turned to leave, but then she turned around and he was lost again. Lost in her, in front of her husband no less. He pulled his face into a cool mask of politeness and nothing more.
“I thought you left without saying hello,” she said, and he noticed a slightly perturbed look on her face.
She had thought he left without coming to talk to her.
His lips twitched and he suppressed the satisfaction her words gave him. “Evans tried to drag me over to Paddy’s, but I told him to get lost. John’s around here somewhere. Murdock was over feeling up the vegetables for a while.”
She laughed and he felt a welling of happiness in his chest at the sound.
“And what were you doing?” she asked, still smiling.
His mouth opened without his consent and the damned words just flowed out. “Getting drawn in by the charm.” He studied her eyes and her mouth. He watched the blood rush into her cheeks, giving her a fresh, inviting look.
She looked down, out of embarrassment, and he realized that her husband was still standing there and most likely knew exactly what was going on.
There was no way to call back those words, so he put a neutral expression on his face and pretended that he didn’t mean what they thought he meant.
He could be a good actor when he wanted to be.
The man beside him cleared his throat and Madison jumped. “Oh. Kyle, this is Christian. Christian, this is Kyle.”
Kyle narrowed his eyes and studied the other man. The man, Christian, begrudgingly stuck out his hand. “How do you know Madison?”
Kyle waited a moment and then shook it. “I’m her boss.”
The man seemed like he was about to say something, but Madison jumped into the conversation.
“I’m sorry. I’ve got to go home. My lunch break started about ten minutes ago—”
He felt disappointed that he wouldn’t get to spend more time with her but told himself it was for the best. He’d see her that evening, even if it was only for a few minutes as she worked.
And it would be completely platonic, he’d make sure of it. They’d be friendly acquaintances, nothing more. Just a boss and his nice employee, damn it.
“Sorry for holding you up. I’ll see you later,” Kyle said, shooting a glance toward Christian. “Nice to meet you.”
He tried to sound like he meant it, but he was pretty sure he’d failed spectacularly.
She smiled and nodded, then left. Christian went with her, leading her with a familiar hand on her back. It burned him up inside, but he couldn’t turn away.
What had he done to deserve this? First Regina, and now Madison. Was there any woman in the world he could have without massive complications?