Page 68 of Vacation Friends

He didn’t speak to her until they were in his suite with the door closed.

Typical Josh. Maddie was surprised he’d made a scene in the lobby at all.

“Brody was helping me with something,” Maddie insisted. “Do you have a problem with that?”

Josh tossed his navy-blue Titleist hat on the dresser. “I’m just saying the two of you looked pretty cozy laughing while you were tucked in the corner.”

“Cozy?” She nearly gaped. “We weren’t cozy. And we weren’t tucked in anywhere. We were talking.”

“It looks bad for my fiancée to be hanging out with another man.” He threw her a pointed look.

“I’m sorry I might have made you look bad.” However, there was no sincerity in Maddie’s words, only anger. All Josh cared about was how people perceived him.

He shot daggers at her with his gaze. “Look, you know it’s a big responsibility to be my fiancée.”

“You’ve said that many times.” She turned before he could see her exaggerated eyeroll.

“Are you sure you’re up to the task?”

“As we’ve talked about before, no, I’m not sure at all. I’m not sure at all that we should be together. But you already knew that.”

Silence rippled between them.

Maddie licked her lips, hesitating just a moment before asking, “Where did you go on the morning Jared was murdered? I know you left your suite.”

Surprise flickered in his gaze. “I went to the gym to work out. Police can check the record if they want since I needed my keycard to get into the workout room.”

Maddie said nothing.

“Wait . . . you don’t think I had something to do with that, do you?” Irritation saturated his gaze. “I didn’t kill him if that’s what you’re implying.”

“I’m just asking questions.”

He let out a long breath as if trying to remain in control. Then he opened the patio door. “Okay. We both need to cool off. Maybe some fresh air would be good for us.”

Fresh air sounded like a great idea.

She stepped onto the balcony.

Then she heard Josh behind her and turned toward him.

He stepped closer and grasped her hand. “I thought we were giving this another chance. Giving us another chance.”

“You asked me to wait until after the retreat to make any decisions. But I feel like the decision is being made for me.”

“Madison . . .” His voice turned whiny soft.

She pulled her hand away from his touch. “Don’t Madison me. I don’t appreciate your insinuations.”

His whininess disappeared as his gaze darkened and he stepped closer. “I wish you would just be cooperative!”

“I think I’ve been plenty cooperative!” She took a step back, trying to put space between them.

As Maddie went to lean against the railing, she felt it give.

The next instant, nothing but air was beneath her.

CHAPTER

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