Maybe Tonight Read Free Page B

Friday afternoon, I’ll be there.”
    “What time?”
    “My flight lands at two.”
    “I’ll be there. Which airline?”
    “SAS. I don’t remember the flight number.”
    “That’s okay. When your flight lands, I’ll be there waiting for you.”
    “Mads?”
    “Yeah?”
    “I miss you.”
    “I miss you too.”
    “So…Friday.”
    “Friday…I’ll be there, Laney.”
    Saying her name settled him. He would see her again. He would hold her again and all of the uncertainty would disappear, even if only for a while. They said reluctant goodbyes. Laney sounded as though she wanted to say more but then an unfamiliar male voice in the background put a stop to whatever she’d wanted to say. Instead, Mads heard a strange rustling and then “I’ll be right there, Niklas…” When she came back to the phone, she whispered an apology. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you Friday.”
    Mads pressed “end” and slid his phone in the back pocket of his jeans. He strode back to the table where Adam waited. He knew his friend was curious. Would want to know all the details but would not ask.
    A new pint of dark beer awaited him. He took a swig of it as soon as he sat down and savored the thick bitterness of it as it slid down his throat.
    “So she’s coming?” Adam lit a cigarette and took a drag.
    “On Friday.” Mads said.
    “Just be careful,” Adam reminded him. “You’re the one who could get hurt the most in all of this.”
    Mads nodded, but a voice inside him counted with “We both could.”
    For a little while, that phone call, the softness of her voice and knowing he would see her soon, was enough to keep him focused.
    It won’t always be like this
, he thought.
One day soon she’ll know what she wants, who she wants. I just hope it’ll be me
.

6
NEWS FROM THE FRONT
    Am I interrupting you?”
    Mads slipped out of bed, trying not to wake Laney though he was still clumsy with sleep. She’d slept fitfully all night, not falling into a deep slumber until nearly sunrise. The last thing he wanted to do was wake her now.
    “Hej, Karin,” he said in hushed tones as soon as he was in his kitchen. He was still naked and, though it was still warm, he shivered. “I…I was sleeping. You woke me up.”
    “Oh!
Förlåt!
I’m still so used to you being up at the crack of dawn.”
    He nodded absently, too tired to care whether his ex-wife remembered him as being an early-bird or a night owl. He wanted to return to the warmth of his bed, the sweet familiarity of Laney lying beside him. “Is everything okay?” he asked.
    “Everything’s peachy! Things are really good–and that’s why I’m calling.”
    “So, what is it? What’s going on?”
    She let out a breathy laugh. “I’m getting married again. Can you believe it?”
    “No,” Mads admitted, letting the words turn round in his head. He blinked against the watery light filling the room. “But I guess congratulations are in order.”
    “Isn’t it great?”
    “Yeah, really great.” He leaned against the countertop and rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand. “I hope it goes well.”
    “I didn’t upset you, did I?”
    “No, no, nothing like that. I was just thinking. Trying to remember if you sounded this happy when you told everyone we were getting married.”
    Karin let out an exasperated sigh. “Mads, that was a long time ago.”
    “I’m not begrudging you, Karin. I was just wondering, that’s all.”
    “You and I—we were kids. We had no business getting married. I don’t even know what we were thinking.”
    “I guess we were thinking we loved each other.”
    “Maybe. Something like that.”
    Shit, this was going horribly wrong. He hadn’t meant to piss off Karin or even sound like he regretted their divorce. It was the right thing–their marriage had never been good. And she was right…they were too young and neither had thought it through, why they got married, why they stuck together for the four years they tried to keep it