Chapter 43

CHAPTER

FORTY-THREE

NOW

Maddie was too restless to stay in her room.

Though she didn't want to run into Josh, she needed to get some fresh air.

There was no better place to do that than the beach. She knew Josh would most likely be hanging out in the bar. He'd never been much of a beachgoer.

She kept her eyes open as she walked, trying to avoid anyone who might ask questions. To her surprise, she successfully reached the beach without interruption.

As her feet hit the sand, she noted that the sun was already beginning to sink in the sky. What a long day. A long, horrible day.

Yet, in some ways, it had been a wonderful day.

Her life would look different without Josh in it. But it would look different in a better way. She felt confident about that fact.

Maybe she would resign from the nonprofit. Though she was doing good work there, she preferred to be hands-on. Maybe she could get her old job with the government back. In fact, maybe she would call her old boss tomorrow. She didn't want to be impulsive, but she suddenly felt invigorated.

She pulled her flip-flops off, linking her finger through the toe straps as she began to walk down the shore, watching the waves crash.

Memories of seeing Jared here filled her thoughts.

It had been a horrible start to a horrible week.

Maddie still wasn't even sure what had happened to the man or if someone had truly murdered him.

Were all the incidents that had happened since the retreat started connected? Was someone trying to kill Josh so he wouldn't become CEO? Would one of his colleagues take it that far?

Or did someone have other motives for wanting to silence either her or Josh? Maddie wasn't sure what those motives might be, but certainly there had to be a reason all this was happening.

"I wasn't expecting to see you out here," a deep voice said beside her.

She paused, the wind whipping through her hair as she turned.

Brody strode toward her.

Handsome, alluring Brody with his Matthew McConaughey vibes.

Against her wishes, her pulse quickened. She needed to put a kibosh on her feelings. But as much as she willed her heart to calm down, it didn't.

She swallowed the lump in her throat before saying, "I just needed some fresh air."

"You and me both." He fell into step beside her, his hands casually tucked into the pockets of his shorts. "Do you mind if I join you? Or did you want some time alone?"

She had wanted some time alone . . . until she ran into Brody.

"I'd love some company," she murmured.

Unfortunately, she liked the idea of Brody walking with her more than she should. The realization brought another surge of guilt.

She had no right to feel that way.

She'd vowed to stay away from him. Yet here she was, ignoring her resolve—just like she'd ignored her resolve to initially break up with Josh. Look where that had gotten her—into mounds of trouble and heartache.

She couldn't repeat those mistakes. So how was Maddie going to protect herself now?

"This has been quite the retreat, hasn't it?" Brody asked.

The conversation seemed safe enough. She'd started to tell him about the threats against her earlier, but they'd been cut off. Maybe that was a good thing—though part of her would love his perspective and advice.

Instead of talking about that, she let out a wary breath. "You can say that again."

"Any updates on Fowler?"

Brody was probably assuming Josh would have heard something and told her.

She shook her head. "Not yet. I'm sure Adrienne told you that Bree is still resting."

"She mentioned that. I hope he's okay."

"You and me both."

Maddie and Brody walked several minutes in silence. But it was nice silence. Comfortable silence.

Then Brody blurted, "You're not wearing your ring."

Maddie's eyes widened as she glanced at her hand. She hadn't thought anyone would notice. But she shouldn't be surprised.

She started to skirt around the truth about the situation but changed her mind. Covering up what had happened would only lead to more headaches, more lies. She was so tired of the pretention.

"We broke up," she announced. "The two of us weren't well suited for each other, and I tried to break things off with him about a month ago. But Josh asked me to reconsider and think about it a while longer—specifically until this retreat was over. He seems to think having a fiancée makes him look more stable, which gives people more confidence in him as the future CEO."

Brody made a face, making it clear he didn't approve of that line of reasoning.

"I'm sorry," he finally muttered.

"Don't be. I feel lighter than I have in a long time. Josh isn't the person I fell in love with. In fact, the person I fell in love with may not have been real at all."

They walked a few more steps in silence.

"You never said how the two of you met," Brody finally said.

Memories of those days flooded back to her. "It was actually back when I was investigating elder abuse. Josh's father had filed a claim against the assisted living home where his mother—Josh's grandmother—was living. I was called to investigate."

"That sounds unfortunate."

"It was. One of the aides at the facility was being rough with the patients. Honestly, it broke my heart when I saw it. And, of course, as you well know, investigations are rarely fast. So as I was working on securing all the evidence I needed, Josh came to make a statement about what he'd witnessed. We started talking, and that was that."

"I see," Brody muttered. "Well, it's like you said. I suppose it's better that you discover this now rather than later."

"Yes, it is."

"Are you going to stick around now that the two of you have broken up?" he asked.

"That's a good question, one I'm still trying to figure out." She didn't mention what the detective had told her, how he'd warned her to stay.

As they walked a few more steps in silence, Maddie's thoughts drifted to Brody and Adrienne. She remembered what Adrienne had told her yesterday about how Brody wasn't who he seemed to be.

Maddie couldn't get that thought out of her head, mostly because it bothered her. That information, the two different sides of him, didn't gel in her head—and she usually considered herself a good judge of character.

She wanted to know more—and she needed to find out information that would only drive home the fact that Brody was a taken man.

"So, how long have you and Adrienne been together?" she finally asked.

Brody's eyes widened as if the question surprised him. "Me and Adrienne? Oh, we're not together."

Maddie halted and stared at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Had they just broken up also?

Brody twisted his neck as if confused as he observed her. "You mean, Adrienne didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"The two of us broke up . . . over a year ago."