The name sounded familiar, and she shouldn’t have been surprised. Cops bred cops. And Eric had been around a long time. “Maybe. Eric knows a lot of people.”
She began to study Maddox and noted a softness about him that she hadn’t seen all that much. He seemed thoughtful, gentle, even.
Before she could find out what was on his mind, he grabbed a plastic bag and held it up. “I picked us up some Thai on the way. Come, sit. We’d better dig in before it gets cold.”
“Lunch?” she said with a sly smile, carefully making her way to a flat rock next to him. “Dear God, you’d better watch out, someone might think this is a date.”
He snorted and offered his hand, assisting her to sit, and while she did, he added, “Like you said, O’Neil.” He reached into the bag, taking out the Thai paper boxes. “It can’t be a date if we both know it’s not a date.”
“I did say that, didn’t I?” She accepted the box and the chopsticks, then grinned at him. “I’m so wise.”
He chuckled. “Don’t get cocky now.”
“Don’t you worry, I’ll leave all that alpha cockiness to you.” She liked the way he laughed now, the sound coming easier than she remembered. She opened the box, discovering that he’d brought her chicken Pad Thai. Even more curious, she asked, “And just how did you know that Pad Thai is my favorite?”
He didn’t look at her, opening his box, revealing chicken and vegetables. “On your first day at the station, you brought your leftovers in for your lunch, so I went on the hunch that you enjoyed it.”
“Wait. You saw me reheating my lunch?”
“I did.” His mouth twitched.
She recalled back to that day. She thought she’d been alone. “I don’t remember seeing you in the lunchroom.”
“Of course, you don’t,” he said, scooping up some chicken with his chopsticks, giving her a knowing look. “I made sure you didn’t see me.”
She watched him eat and saw the little hint of a smile on his face. “You cannot say something like that and not tell me more. Were you looking at me a lot during that first week?”
He turned his head to her then, those warm eyes meeting hers again, causing butterflies to whip around her belly. “There wasn’t a time you entered a room that I didn’t see you.”
There wasn’t a time when I didn’t feel you she wanted to say but stopped herself. There were rules he’d put in place to ensure things didn’t get messy. And she’d agreed to them, welcomed them, even. Being with Maddox made sense if she kept things distant. Getting involved with a guy with clear commitment issues would only lead her to heartbreak. Nope, not going to happen.
No matter that she sensed the warmth from his admission spiral within, she couldn’t walk through that door, not even once. And lately, whether because of the sex they had or maybe this softening of Maddox, she found that door wanting to open so damn bad.
She kept all the things she wanted to say locked down deep and gathered up some Pad Thai noodles, devouring them. Rules were important with Maddox because they created clear boundaries. She couldn’t forget that.
While they ate, she reminded herself of all those things and watched a freighter off in the distance gliding through the water. She didn’t mind the silence, but small talk kept them in a safe place. Determined to bring things back to where they needed to be, she glanced at Maddox, taking his lead from earlier. “You said you came here a lot with your father, what did you guys do?”
“Bike, hike, explore,” he said before shoving a big piece of broccoli into his mouth.
“Sounds fun,” she said.
Maddox nodded and mumbled with a full mouth, “We did a lot together, and most of the things we did were outside. My father loved the outdoors.”
Weird choice of words. “He doesn’t like it outside anymore?”
“No,” Maddox said, swallowing his food. He reached for a bottle of water in the bag, handing her one first before opening his and taking a sip. “My father has Alzheimer’s.”
“Gosh, that’s terrible, Maddox. I’m so sorry.” She placed a hand on his forearm.
He glanced at her hand on his arm for a long moment before his eyes lifted to hers, looking even warmer than before. “Nothin’ to feel sorry about. It is what it is.” He took another bite of his lunch, then glanced out to the water. “Besides, he’s happy and doing well at the nursing home he’s been living at.”
“What nursing home?”
“Seattle Springs.”