Page 62 of Vacation Friends

She wished she hadn’t allowed that to happen. Friendships were important.

In the future, she wouldn’t make the same mistake.

Hanging out with Adrienne and Bree had helped her to remember how important it was to have women you could confide in—not that she’d confided anything.

She turned to ask Adrienne a question and saw her friend’s face had gone pale.

“Adrienne?”

She swallowed hard and pulled her gaze back to Maddie’s. “There’s one part of my past I haven’t told you about—at least not in detail. The part that includes Danny . . . my ex-husband. I keep thinking I see him here, that he’s come after me.”

Maddie followed Adrienne’s gaze from the spa to the doorway of a restaurant across the hall. A hostess stood outside but no one else.

“You think you see him now?” Maddie asked.

Adrienne nodded and sank into a nearby chair, almost as if trying to hide. “I’m pretty sure I just saw him go into the restaurant across the lobby. The last thing he said to me was that he wanted to kill me . . . now I’m afraid that he might.”

CHAPTER

TWENTY-SIX

Maddie’s mind raced. Someone might kill Adrienne? Had she even heard correctly?

But she knew she had.

“What does Danny look like?” Maddie asked. “Do you have a picture?”

With trembling hands, Adrienne found one on her phone.

Maddie studied the man. He was stocky with a square face and a thick beard that was pointy on the end. His meaty arms and multiple tattoos showed he wasn’t someone to be messed with.

She knew she still had duties to attend to as hostess. But helping out her friend was more important.

“I’m going to go look for him in the restaurant. That way you can know for sure.” Maddie took a step toward the Sea Glass Café.

Adrienne grabbed her arm before she left. “Wait. You can’t let him know I know you.”

“If he’s been watching you, then he probably just saw us together,” Maddie gently reminded her.

Panic still raced through Adrienne’s gaze. “Then you can’t let him see you. I don’t want him to approach you. He’s a bad man.”

“Okay, I won’t. I’ll be stealthy.” Maddie tried to take another step, but Adrienne still gripped her arm.

“Really. I mean it, Maddie. He’s scary.”

The fear in Adrienne’s voice set Maddie on edge. But she wasn’t going to give up. “I promise to be careful.”

Adrienne stared at her another moment, terror in her eyes, until she finally nodded and released her grip on Maddie.

Maddie shook off her nerves and hurried toward the café. She bypassed the hostess, murmuring something in passing about meeting a friend. The hostess didn’t question her.

Maddie scanned the dining area. Groups of people were gathered at tables, eating sushi and poke while drinking colorful cocktails. A guitarist strummed in the corner, creating a relaxing atmosphere that didn’t fit the intensity she felt now.

She studied the faces, but she didn’t see Adrienne’s ex anywhere.

Had Adrienne been imagining things?

Maddie needed to be sure.

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