77. Hannah

SEVENTY-SEVEN

"So…" I slow to a stop as the light ahead of me turns red. "Would you mind if Maddox came with us to the game tomorrow?"

Chelsea is typing out a text to one of her friends. "Don't care."

I watch her for a moment, trying to see if she's hiding a reaction from me. "Are you sure?"

Chelsea nods. "Yeah."

The light turns green, and I lift my foot off the brake.

Maybe she didn't hear me. "Maddox, the guy who came over during Grandma's birthday."

"Uh, duh. I know who Maddox is. He's kinda hard to miss."

Fair.

"And you're okay if he comes to the baseball game?" I glance over and find Chelsea looking at me.

"Still a yes." Her sass shouldn't warm my heart, but it does.

"Okay, if you're sure."

Chelsea sets her phone in her lap. "Are you two dating?"

"Well… technically… I don't know."

The tween next to me snickers. "Are you really trying to pull an it's complicated on me?"

I blow out a breath as I stop at another red light. "I'm not trying to pull anything. But"— I hold up a hand— "in my defense, it's true."

"Why is it complicated? Because you used to date?"

Internally, I kick myself. I should have just accepted her first yes and left it at that.

"We…" I trail off.

I can't tell my twelve-year-old that my past with Maddox was more of a one-night stand than an actual relationship.

"You know." She starts up again. "The more you evade answering my questions, the more I'm going to ask."

I send Chelsea a look before I start driving again. "I think you watch too many crime dramas."

She shrugs. "Maybe."

Sighing, I take the next turn onto the street with our preferred nail salon. "Maddox and I met in college."

"I thought you did online school?"

I nod. "I did for the last two years to get my accounting degree. But I went to HOP University for one week at the beginning of my junior year, and that's when I met Maddox."

"Just one week?" Chelsea turns in her seat, and I know I have her full attention now.

"Yeah. I was one week in when Grandma had her stroke."

"Oh." Her shoulders slump. "So you had to move back home, and you couldn't keep dating."

"Basically." It's a massive oversimplification of the story, but yeah.

"Well, that sucks."

I smile at her romantic little heart. "It did."

"And… that's why it's complicated?"

I tip my head back and forth. "I think we've worked through all the old hurt feelings. But he's the owner of the company that I work for now, so he's basically my boss. And dating him would be against the rules."

"Ooh, so it's like a secret relationship." Chelsea sounds way too excited. "Like one of those Hallmark movies Grandma watches."

Images of Maddox bending me over the desk flash into my mind.

I clear my throat. "Kinda."

"If it's a secret, won't everyone see him at the game?"

She has a point. And I suddenly feel a bit like crying.

Spotting an open parking spot, I pull into it. "Maybe it's a bad idea."

"Fuck it."

I jerk my head over. "Chelsea!"

"What?" She lifts her hands. "Look, Aunt Hannah, I don't want you staying single forever because of me. And don't pretend I'm not the reason you don't date."

"That's not —"

She points a finger at me, and I stop talking.

"I've looked him up." My eyes widen. "Mad Dog Maddox." She rolls her eyes while she says his famous nickname. "He's basically a beast. Super strong. Big guy. Right?"

I nod. "Right."

"Seems kinda indestructible." She undoes her seat belt. "So, if anyone can break the curse, it's gotta be him."

Chelsea opens the car door and slides out, like she didn't just shift my entire world.

It's gotta be him.