Page 9 of Vacation Friends

Maddie prayed the man survived. But in her gut, she knew the prognosis wasn’t good.

As she paused near the group, someone beside her did a double take.

It was the man who’d saved her, she realized.

“Brody, right? Thank you.” Maddie’s voice sounded raw as she turned toward him. “You saved me.”

“I’m glad I got here when I did.”

Gratitude filled her. This man had risked his life to help her. He was truly a hero.

She continued to watch as the paramedics worked on the man sprawled on the beach, but she knew their efforts were futile.

The man from the ocean was dead.

Now the police would come. They’d probably want to question her.

A knot grew in her stomach.

The police were the last people she wanted to speak with.

One day, she knew her past would resurface. That people would find out the truth.

When they did, life as Maddie knew it would be over.

Several seconds later, Maddie turned as she heard someone in the distance calling her name. “Madison . . . are you okay?”

She recognized the deep voice right away.

Josh. He was one of the only people who called her Madison. He said it sounded more sophisticated than Maddie, the name she preferred.

She should be relieved to hear her fiancé’s voice, but she wasn’t.

Could it be because she wondered if he was trying to kill her?

The thought still startled her. But she couldn’t deny the truth in the question.

Weird things had been happening over the past couple of weeks. The gas leak in her apartment. If she’d flipped on a light switch . . . she shuddered, not wanting to think about that scenario.

Josh had worked on her hot water tank. Had he purposefully nicked the gas line?

Then her tire had blown out while she was driving to a charity event in the Hamptons. Thankfully, she’d managed to pull to the side of the road in time. Again, Josh had just checked out the pressure in her tires the night before.

Maddie suddenly felt like she was part of one of those Final Destination movies. Especially when she coupled those facts with the reality that she’d almost been killed three months prior.

Then there was what happened today in the ocean . . .

Maddie knew the thoughts were ridiculous. Death wasn’t chasing after her. But she couldn’t deny her worries either.

As Josh paused on the sand beside her, his handsome face came into view. “What were you even doing out here at this time of the morning?”

She swallowed hard, not ready to tell him about the text. “I just wanted some fresh air and to maybe catch the sunrise. I couldn’t sleep.”

When she’d first met him, she’d thought he looked like Josh Lucas from the actor’s Sweet Home Alabama days. Yes, she did have an affection for romcoms and thrillers from the nineties and early two thousands.

She and her Poppy had spent hours watching their favorite movies together after he’d become bedridden, and she often thought of people by how they resembled actors or actresses from those movies. Weird quirk, yes. But she’d done it for so long that it was a habit now.

Her Josh had the same sandy blond hair and classic good looks as Josh Lucas. Except her Josh was more refined. He had the perfect barely there beard. Every hair was in place. His clothes were expensive and chosen by a stylist. He was the consummate businessman.

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