Maybe Tonight Read Free

between them crackled and sparked. Somehow Ida never noticed. Not when she tried to manage their conversation, not when Mads excused himself to get more drinks for them nor when he returned and Laney’s fingers lingered over his as she accepted the newly-filled glass.
    Of course Ida didn’t notice. She was focused on their getting along so she could get her commission. That’s all any of this was for her. She’d told Mads this so many times. The commissions were all that mattered if you were a client services facilitator. Hook up the right client with the perfect donor. Make sure everyone got on and then charm the clients into paying the fee for the donation. If they ended up with a baby nine months later, all the better. She got another commission, so did the donor.
    She’d left them alone together, satisfied Mads and Laney were perfectly compatible, getting along. Of course she didn’t sense any charge in the air. But Mads…his every nerve was attuned to Laney and when she said she wanted to get some air, he took a chance.
    That was how it all started. A pack of cigarettes, a velvety night in that summer that felt as though it would be endless. A spark that ignited from their fingertips. A kiss he should not have stolen but couldn’t resist. A touch too intimate for strangers but that felt so right.
    It branded them both.
    “I should go…” she’d said but she didn’t push his hands away, didn’t try to escape.
    You’re mine
, he wanted to tell her, but the brazen intensity of his words startled him. If he was ill-prepared for it, she would be too.

4
LAST CALL
    “I can’t do this anymore.”
    “Of course you can.” Ida barely looked up from her telephone as she tapped in another message. “It’s good money.”
    “Ida, listen to me. I mean it.” Mads shifted forward in his chair. He rapped his knuckles on the tabletop to get her full attention. “I met someone.”
    “Good for you!” Ida clicked send and then stashed her phone in her bag. “Trine told me she had someone she wanted you to meet.”
    “I didn’t meet her through Trine.” Mads scratched his cheek. How could he get her to understand? The words felt thick in his mouth. “It doesn’t matter how I met her. I met someone, and I want to give it a chance.”
    Ida flagged down a waitress and then ordered another round of beers for them.
    Mads was glad for the distraction, even if he knew this was the right thing to do. Thoughts of Laney still occupied too much of his mind. He knew if he closed his eyes, he’d see her as she looked, lying beneath him, her soft lips slightly parted as she whispered his name. He bit his lower lip and shook his head. No, better not to think of her right now.
    “I don’t know if it’s permanent, but I want to go inactive for a while.”
    “You’re serious?”
    Mads nodded. “I can’t…I can’t go to these mingles and pretend it’s not like dating when I am trying to be with someone.”
    “But you’ve dated before and still been active.”
    “I know, but this time it’s different. It feels different.”
    “Who is she?”
    “Why?” He held his ground. He knew how she’d react if he told her the truth. Ida would only focus on the money lost, not their friendship or how he felt.
    “Sheer curiosity.”
    “Come on, Ida, you said if I ever needed to go inactive that all I had to do was tell you. Well, now I’m telling you.”
    “Sorry, sorry, you’re right.” Ida acquiesced. “It’s none of my business.”
    “Just trust me on this, Ida. I need time to see where this is going. ”
    Afterwards, he walked along Nyhavn and imagined Laney was walking beside him. The warm night air settled around him, reminding him of that night when she came into his life. He’d see her again soon, though not soon enough.
    Maybe one day the Øresund Strait wouldn’t separate them. Maybe tomorrow she’d feel it as strongly as he did–this need to be together with no one standing between them. He wouldn’t