Somewhere Only We Know (4 page)

She raised an eyebrow. "Wow, Burke Callaway cracks a joke. Back in high school, I never thought that would happen. I will get my living situation straightened out. I know I'm not coming across really well right now, but I can take care of myself—most days. I've just had some surprisingly bad luck in the last year."

"Don't worry about it," he said as they returned to his car.

He actually liked the idea of having Maddie on his couch. Ever since he'd collided with Maddie at the party, he'd felt charged up and more interested in what tomorrow might bring than he had in a very long time.

Chapter Three

Going home with Burke Callaway was probably a bad idea, but Maddie needed time to regroup and figure out what to do next. She was still reeling in shock at the eviction notice. There had to be some mistake. Carter Hillyard seemed like such an honest person. And she had paperwork—somewhere—although she hadn't really read through the contract. She needed to do that. Unfortunately, their agreement was in the apartment behind the padlock.

Sighing, she couldn't believe the mess she'd gotten herself into. She seemed to be making a lot of bad decisions lately, and they almost always involved trusting the wrong people. And those wrong people were usually men.

She was trusting Burke now, and that might be another mistake, but she didn't think so. Burke had always been honest, straightforward and responsible—the perfect guy.

He'd also always been the one man who could make her blood run hot with one look, and that look didn't even have to include a smile—which it usually didn't.

In high school, she'd been an annoyance to Burke, and on the few occasions they'd met since then, there had been an odd tension between them. They weren't really friends. They weren't really anything, except two people who used to know each other.

If she hadn't been so desperate, she would have tried to make another arrangement, but it was just one night. Tomorrow, she'd get back on track.

After parking in the underground garage, Burke ushered her into his apartment building. His place was a short walk up the stairs to the second floor. The building was definitely well-maintained, with plush carpeting in the halls and freshly painted walls.

As she stepped into Burke's home, she was expecting neat and organized, maybe a rather sterile environment, but that was not what she found. Instead, she was immediately charmed by sleek hardwood floors covered by colorful area rugs and warm lighting from carved wooden lamps that sat on either side of the oversized dark blue couch with an assortment of fluffy pillows. There was a comfortable armchair adjacent to the couch, two bookshelves filled with books and a large flat-screen TV taking up most of one wall.

The adjacent kitchen had a small breakfast nook with a round oak table upon which sat a coffee mug and a newspaper. A bike hung on the wall in the wide hallway leading to the bedrooms, reminding her that Burke had not just been super smart, he'd also been an athlete.

"My bedroom is at the back," Burke said. "The second bedroom is, unfortunately, an office/storage room at the moment."

"It's fine. I don't mind the couch. I'm happy to have anywhere to sleep tonight." She frowned. "Why is it you're the one around when I'm at my worst?" she wondered, realizing too late she'd said the words aloud.

"I've asked myself that same question," he said lightly, meeting her gaze.

"I did pay my rent. I'm not a deadbeat."

"You already told me that."

"I'm not sure you believe me. You've never had a high opinion of me."

He cocked his head to the right, giving her a speculative look. "Why would you think that?"

"You've been fairly vocal at times. You told me once I was lazy."

"That was in reference to your study habits. I was trying to teach you algebra at the time, and you never had your assignments ready when we got together."

"I hated math," she said defensively.

"You hated a lot of things, but you did love to break rules. Do you know that I spent only one day in detention during all my years in school? And that one day I spent in detention was the first day I was assigned to tutor you."

"It was not my fault we were late getting back from lunch. There was traffic."

"But you're the one who talked me into going off campus. You're the one who said you weren't going to do your tutoring session if we didn't get burgers from Caldwell's first. You didn't think you could do equations without a chili burger first."

She smiled at the memory. "Those were really good burgers. And you didn't have to agree to go."

"You threatened to get me fired, and I needed the cash. Your parents paid well."

"I'm sure I didn't actually threaten you," she protested, although that did sound a little like her.

"It was implied. Anyway…make yourself comfortable. Do you want something to drink?"

She was thrilled with the change of subject. "What do you have?" she asked following him into the kitchen.

"Beer, cola, water, orange juice," he said, looking into his fridge.

"I'll take some juice."

As Burke took out the carton and poured two glasses of juice, she couldn't help thinking how attractive he was, even with a swollen eye and a dark purple bruise along his jaw. In fact, he looked even sexier, which hardly seemed possible, considering Burke had always been one of the most good-looking guys she'd ever met. His dark hair and blue eyes were a striking combination, not to mention the broad shoulders and athletic build. Add in a confident, sometimes cocky, attitude, and Burke was not a man who would ever be ignored.

He'd been the leader of everything in high school—the student body president, the star athlete, the straight-A student. It was crazy how he was so good at everything—except maybe having fun. He'd always been a little too serious, a little too focused, for her taste. She'd pushed him sometimes just to see if she could get him to loosen up. She'd never really been successful.

Burke handed her the juice. "Sorry I don't have any vodka to add to that."

"I haven't drunk vodka since my twenty-first birthday."

"I'm guessing there's a story behind that statement."

"Let's just say it was a memorable birthday."

"So you actually remember it?"

She smiled. "I do. It was at the Eiffel Tower in Paris." She leaned against the counter. "I studied abroad my senior year of college. I went to the Tower with a bunch of friends just before midnight and toasted my birthday with way too many drinks. It was magical."

"Vodka makes a lot of things magical."

"Not that night. The magic came from the lights, the fact that I was in Paris, exactly where I was supposed to be."

"You always wanted to be in Paris on your twenty-first birthday?"

She nodded, thinking back to all the conversations she'd had with her sister about the perfect place for them to turn twenty-one.

"It was a dream Dani and I had when we were little girls. When I had a chance to get into a study abroad program that would put me in Paris on my birthday, I jumped at it." She finished her juice, thinking that the only thing wrong with that night had been the fact that her twin sister had died long before that birthday.

"Are you okay?" Burke asked, a somber note in his eyes. "I'm sorry if bringing up your birthday made you think about your sister—"

"It's fine," she said, cutting off his apology. "I like to talk about Dani, but it's been a long day, and I'm tired." She set her glass down on the counter.

"I'll get you a pillow and some blankets."

"Thanks." She went back into the living room while Burke disappeared down the hall. She sat on the couch and took off her coat, then pulled off her boots and set them by the coffee table as Burke returned with a pillow and two blankets.

"You should be warm enough, but if you want to turn up the heat, the thermostat is right over there," he said, pointing to the far wall.

"I really appreciate this, Burke. Tomorrow I'll get out of your hair."

He sat down in the armchair next to the couch. "So what do you think your next move will be?"

"Call my landlord again in the morning, try to reach Carter Hillyard. I'm guessing that won't be easy."

"He probably used your money to get out of town, Maddie."

"He seemed like a nice man. He dressed like an executive. I never imagined he wasn't paying his rent. But I'll figure things out. I'll bounce back. I always do."

"I'm sure your parents would help."

"I'm sure they would, but I don't like to worry them. I'm getting a paycheck from a catering job I did last month. It should clear my account by tomorrow, so I can find another place to stay."

He frowned. "Why are you so broke, Maddie? What happened to all your money?"

"It's a long story."

"You said that before, but we seem to have time."

She hesitated, knowing that her story would not improve Burke's opinion of her, but he seemed determined to understand her circumstances.

"I moved to Las Vegas a year ago to take a job as a line cook at a casino restaurant. Vegas was one of the last places on my list of cities to see. I met a great guy the first week I was there."

"Of course," he said dryly. "Isn't there always a guy in your life?"

She made a face at him. "There haven't been that many men. At any rate, Paul was athletic, funny and great with kids. He ran an indoor rock-climbing center. We had a whirlwind romance. Two months into it, he told me he was ready to get married and have a family and when he asked me if I was ready, too, I found myself saying yes."

"After two months?"

"I'd been traveling for almost ten years. It was time to settle down somewhere. We moved in together and opened a joint checking account. That was a big mistake."

"He cleaned you out."

"Yes. I didn't realize that Paul had a gambling addiction. But after we'd been living together for three months, he'd run up all my credit cards and cleaned out my bank account. I broke off the engagement as soon as I realized what was happening, but that didn't end my problems."

"Why not?"

"Paul had gotten himself into trouble with a loan shark whose goons showed up at my work. They told me they were going to get the money from someone. If they couldn't get the cash from him, it would be from me. I told them we weren't together anymore and there wasn't any money. They didn't believe me. For the next few weeks, I found myself always looking over my shoulder. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was in danger, so I quit my job and came back to San Francisco three weeks ago." She paused. "I thought I was putting my troubles behind me. I never expected to get taken again. I really need to figure out a way to read people better."

"I'm sorry, Maddie."

She saw the pity in his eyes and disliked it almost as much as the judgmental glint that often turned his gaze to blue steel. One day she would like to see something else in his eyes—maybe a little respect. "I'm going to be fine," she said, wishing she felt as hopeful as she sounded, but even her optimistic outlook on life had taken a beating the past year. "If you're not making mistakes, you're not trying hard enough, right?"

"Who told you that?"

"I don't know. I heard it somewhere. It made me feel better." She took a breath and decided to change the subject. "What about you? Any women in your life since Leanne?"

"No one serious." A shadow passed across his face, then he stood up. "I'm going to let you settle in. Do you need anything else?"

Apparently, their conversation was over. Just as well. She'd already told him way too much about herself. "Maybe a T-shirt?" she asked tentatively.

He hesitated. "Yeah, sure. I'll get you one of my shirts. Hang on."

As he disappeared down the hall, she took a deep breath, wondering why her pulse was suddenly beating so fast and why the idea of sleeping in Burke's T-shirt was making her feel very hot.

She got to her feet as Burke came back into the room with a T-shirt and a new toothbrush.

"Here you go."

"Thanks," she said, taking the items out of his hand.

He looked at her like he wanted to say something.

"What?" she asked.

His blue gaze darkened. "What you said earlier, you were wrong."

"About what?"

"That I didn't have a high opinion of you. It's true that I thought you were crazy a lot of the time, and a little self-destructive, but I also admired you."

Her stomach did a somersault at his unexpected words. "What did you admire about me?"

He thought for a moment. "You were never afraid to fail, so you'd try anything. You were fearless, Maddie. If you did fail, you just got up and moved on—like you're doing now. You have an incredible spirit. The man you were engaged to might have taken a lot from you, but he didn't take that." He gave her a warm smile. "Good night, Maddie."

"Goodnight," she murmured, a little shocked at his words.

She sank down on the couch, her arms wrapped around his T-shirt, amazed by what Burke had just said. She wished she felt as resilient as he'd just suggested. The truth was she'd been running on empty for a while, and she was tired of failing, tired of having to get back up again, but now there was no way she could give up. Not with Burke watching.

So tomorrow she would start over—again.

* * *

After a restless night of intense dreams that all seemed to star a handsome blue-eyed firefighter wearing the same navy blue SFFD T-shirt that hugged her bare breasts, Maddie woke up a little after seven feeling restless, tingly and annoyed with herself all at the same time. She hadn't dreamt about Burke since—well, since the last time she'd seen him in Times Square.

She'd gone to bed that night wishing it were Burke who had kissed her at midnight instead of the man she'd been with. But Burke had never kissed her.

Over the years there had been a couple of moments between them, a sizzling electric charge, a feeling that they were very, very close to falling into each other's arms, but it had never actually happened. They'd always said goodbye. And then years would pass before they saw each other again.