Page 119 of Smoke Screen
“Morning.”
Phin pointed his fork toward the warmer. “My mom made breakfast. Can I make you a plate?”
His mother hadn’t raised them to be inhospitable. Even if he was mad.
“I’ll do it. Thank you.”
She entered the kitchen, her gaze glued to the wall. Bypassing him, she moved to the oven.
He stabbed at another hunk of pancakes, pretending the woman on the other side of the island was an apparition. Better yet, he’d pretend she wasn’t even there.
She wanted space. She’d get it. No problem there.
But even he, in the midst of his freeze out, had to admit this sucked. He enjoyed Maddy. Loved her smile and her drive and her passion.
Her idealism and kindness.
In short, she gave him hope for humanity.
Suddenly, his idea of a cold war didn’t seem worth it. What the hell were they doing?
He lifted his head, watched her stack a couple of pancakes and bacon, and then slide over to the fridge for butter. She took her time, getting a precise amount on the knife and carefully spreading it across the entire top of the pancake, hitting the edges.
Maddy. So freaking cute.
And someone he might not be able to live without.
I’m so screwed.
“I wanted to be a senator,” he blurted.
Butter knife in hand, she looked over at him. “Pardon?”
Once again, he mind-traveled back to last night and the fun they’d had. The care they’d taken with each other while having said fun.
He cleared his throat. “When we were fighting, you said you wanted me to tell you my hopes and desires. Growing up, before I came to work for BARS, that was my dream. To be a senator. To make positive change. To help people. That’s why Senator Blakely irritates me. He’s been in office thirty years and it’s not about his constituents. It’s about his ego and power and making sure people kiss his puny ass. I hate that.”
Her mouth dropped open, and his body froze. What was he doing? Should have kept his damned mouth shut. This was whattalkinggot him. Regrets.
Him, a senator. Who’d believe it?
Using his fork, he pointed at the knife still in Maddy’s hand. “If you intend to stab me, grab something sharper.”
Her dark brows drew together, squeezing the skin between them. Then she looked down at the knife aimed right at him and burst out laughing.
She set the knife down. “I could totally see you as a senator. You’re great with people.”
Relief hit him like a twenty-foot wave, knocking him off balance. She didn’t think he was … what? An idiot? A fool?
Maddy rested her hands on the island, focusing on him rather than her food. “So, do it. Why not?”
“Um, besides the illegal breaking and entering we do when executing recoveries?”
She waved that off. “Spin-control. You, of all people, would make it work.”
“My time for that is gone. I’ve made peace with it. Besides, after spending time with guys like Blakely, do I really want that? Some of them are straight-up toxic. I talked to Zeke though. This morning, in fact, about doing something else part-time. Something for me.”
She blinked, then blinked again. “Wow. That’s big.”
