Page 85 of Something’s Brewing

She stood there for a second, the hum of the refrigerator pressing in around her. She took a sip of her wine, but it didn’t settle anything. If anything, it made the knot in her stomach tighten.

She knew better. She knew exactly who her father was. A man who had never once said he was proud of her—not when she graduated top of her high school class and already had two years of college courses out of the way, not when she earned her commission, and not when she stepped into NCIS and built a career on her own merit while being a single mom.

And yet . . . CEO.

The word echoed again, louder this time. He’d said it like it belonged to her. Like he finally saw her.

Madison let out a quiet, frustrated laugh, pressing her fingers to her temple. “You know better,” she muttered to herself.

But the truth wouldn’t let her hide from it anymore. She loved Garrett.

The realization stopped her, her chest tightening unexpectedly beneath the weight of finally naming it. Somehow, without her even realizing when it happened, he’d become home to her.

And maybe that was the terrifying part. Because she loved this town too.

So why did one phone call from her father still make her feel sixteen and desperate to earn something she should’ve been given freely? Doubt had already crept in. Was this it? Was this the moment he finally recognized her worth?

Her stomach dropped. Or was this about him? About how it looked that neither of his children wanted his company.

Mason had walked away. Built something of his own. Something successful.

And now Madison was back in Minnesota.

Convenient.

A familiar, bitter realization settled in her chest. Her father didn’t give up control—he never had. Mason had lived under it for years, every decision second-guessed, every idea filtered through Harrison Mitchell’s approval. Would it really be any different for her? Or would she just be a title with no real power?

She closed her eyes, exhaling slowly. “So, what is it?” she whispered. “Do you actually believe in me, or do you just need me?” She knew she wouldn’t get an answer unless she asked the question.

She pushed off the counter and walked back toward the door.

Garrett hadn’t moved, his posture stiff as he waited for her to fill him in. She felt it before she even stepped outside.

He looked up at her, his jaw set but his expression unreadable. “You okay?” he asked.

Madison forced a small shrug, easing back into her chair like everything was normal. “Yeah. He just . . . wanted an answer.”

Garrett leaned back, studying her. “And?”

She swirled the wine in her glass. “I told him I’d think about it.”

“That’s what I heard.”

Something in his tone made her look up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He exhaled slowly, like he was trying to keep something in. “It means you didn’t say no.”

Her spine stiffened. “I never said I was going to say yes either.”

“No,” he agreed. “You didn’t.”

Silence stretched between them.

Garrett rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, then leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Look, I’m not telling you what to do, Madison.”

“Good,” she said quickly.

His eyes flicked up to hers, something sharper there now. “But you asked what I think.”