Wife by Design

“So I did the wrong thing.” The hand beneath hers was trembling and Maddie’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m sorry, Lynn. You won’t want me to watch Kara anymore.”

“You were in an unfamiliar situation, and you didn’t know if you or Grant was in charge,” Lynn said, knowing from Sara that it was more important that she help Maddie understand rather than merely comfort her.

“I’m sorry.”

“I know. And your apology is accepted.”

Maddie looked over at her. “You aren’t mad at me?”

“Of course not. You should be mad at me for putting you in that situation,” Lynn said.

It was the truth. Maddie relied on her. She’d agreed to watch over the other woman.

And by allowing Grant and Darin to come over for dinner even when she couldn’t be there, she’d failed Maddie.

“I’m sorry, Maddie. I promise it won’t happen again.”

“I’m sad about this,” Maddie said. “I’m sad that I can’t be like you and decide what’s best.”

“You are you, Maddie, and just right as you are. We are all meant to be different,” she reminded her friend. “Think how silly the world would be if we were all walking around exactly alike!”

Maddie nodded. Her chewing stopped.

“So, can we both be done feeling sorry and just not talk about this anymore?” Lynn asked.

It was late. They had to get to bed.

“Yes!” Maddie’s voice was too loud again, but she was wearing a big grin. All was well with the world for that night.

Almost. As Lynn left to shower and get some sleep, she wished she could ask Maddie about story time. She wanted to know every detail. Did Grant sit on the side of the bed? Read fast or slow? Did he do the characters’ voices? Show Kara the pictures?

Had her baby girl stayed awake for the whole book tonight?

Or fallen asleep with Grant Bishop’s soothing voice in her ears?

She wanted to know, but couldn’t ask. She and Maddie had just agreed not to talk about the incident anymore.

It didn’t matter, anyway. Other than the sex she and Grant were going to have, she was going to have to keep the Bishop men out of her home.

Before there really was a catastrophe with Darin and Maddie. The woman hadn’t strayed from what she knew to be right until Darin had said it was okay.

Maddie had followed Darin’s dictates rather than her list.

And that could mean disaster.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

GRANT TOOK A bottle of beer to bed with him. It was his second-best chance to actually get some sleep, since the thing that would help the most—sex—wasn’t going to happen for another five days.

He was counting.

And he knew that the past week could not be repeated.

Toasting the thought, he sat up in bed, in the dark, the sheet over his bottom half.

He was going to get up in the morning. Take his brother for the first of many diving excursions. And then go to a Bishop Landscaping job for the rest of the weekend. He’d keep Darin so busy he didn’t have time to think about Maddie, let alone talk to her.

There had to be a way to maintain Darin’s new zest for life without everything getting completely out of control.

He drank from the bottle.

Grant was up for the challenge. He could handle his brother, tend to him, all by himself.

Except for the therapy, of course. Darin had regained about a quarter of the use of his left hand and arm. They had a way to go before he could pull the plug on The Lemonade Stand completely.

Another second, another sip.

As for the landscaping, he’d committed to keeping up the place indefinitely. And he would. He’d just have to rein himself in on any extra projects, or hire a part-time kid to help him out.

He sipped. Yeah, that was a plan.

He’d hire a kid that the management of The Lemonade Stand approved of.

The thought was good enough to seal with another sip from his bottle.

Or not. Onetime sex with Lynn wasn’t going to work. He already knew that.

The knock on his door almost made him miss his mouth as he lifted the bottle to it. Darin didn’t wait for a response. Grant’s door opened and his brother was silhouetted from the light down the hall.

“You’re in the dark.” His brother, still dressed in the jeans and black pullover he’d put on after therapy, stood looking at him from the doorway.