Emilia’s light brows rose over her eyes. “You lick it. You bought it.”
“Exactly.” Joss laughed.
“Ladies.”
Joss’s lips snapped shut, and she jerked her head to the front of the room, finding Maddox with his narrowed eyes directly on Emilia. Which also wasn’t a surprise. As much as she’d been avoiding Maddox, he’d been avoiding her, too. He never talked to her alone, and when he did look at her, there was so much distance, he seemed like a completely different person than the one she remembered. In the nightclub, he’d had heat in his eyes. Intensity. Now…nothing.
Heartbreaker, indeed.
That night, blistering hot.
A year later, ice cold.
His left eyebrow arched, and as it did, he said, “Is there something you would like to share with the rest of us?”
“No, sir,” Emilia said, firmly shaking her head, fighting a smile.
Only then did Maddox look at Joss. “And you, O’Neil?” he asked curtly.
“No, sir, nothing to share.”
The muscles in his jaw clenched twice before he looked away, allowing Joss to breathe again. He turned and addressed the group. “We’ve had a good week,” he told the crowd, pressing his knuckles against the table in front of him.
She watched him closely, noting that he had a special way about him. He commanded a crowd in a way she hadn’t seen before. People respected him. Trusted him.
That energy filled the space when he added, “And a good first week should be celebrated.”
“Uh-oh, prepare to panic,” Emilia whispered under her breath.
The mother of all curse words echoed in Joss’s mind as Maddox calmly added, “Tonight I’ll be hosting a barbeque in my backyard, as has been my annual tradition with my team.” He straightened from the desk and crossed his arms over his thick chest, glancing from face to face. “Let me know if you aren’t able to make it.”
“I can’t, sir,” Emilia spoke up, raising her hand. “My shift doesn’t end until midnight tonight.”
“I’m sorry we’ll miss you,” Maddox said, again scanning the room. “Anyone else?”
In the front row, Tommy began, “My mother had surgery, and I need to be there for her…”
Joss leaned over to Emilia and whispered, “There is no way in hell I’m going there alone.”
“Sadly, I think you are,” Emilia whispered back.
Joss could barely stop herself from throwing herself at Maddox, and that was while she was in her uniform with a clear moral barricade stopping her. At his house? Out of uniform? With booze available? Oh, she was in big trouble.
Joss began considering every option to get out of this. Dammit, she’d never been a good liar. Usually, if she attempted even a little white lie, she ended up making a complete ass of herself and stumbling over her words. “Can’t I suddenly be viscously sick and send him an email?” she asked Emilia.
“An email, Joss?” Emilia snorted, resting her arms on the table. “He’ll know why you’re avoiding him. Do you want to have that conversation with him? He’s going to know that you’re bailing because you two fucked like rabid bunnies.”
“Oh, dear Lord.” Joss groaned, dropping her head into her hands. It was bad enough seeing him for these briefings every day and having to pass him in the hallway. “I can’t do this, Emilia.” Joss lifted her head, glancing at her best friend. “You need to help me think of a way to get out of it.”
Emilia paused, her eyes flicking up to the ceiling while she nibbled her lip. Only a second later, she shrugged. “Sorry, buttercup, I’ve got nothing. It’ll be worse if you don’t go. I know he said it like it’s a choice, but it’s not.” She peered in Maddox’s direction and shuddered. “And believe me, Maddox—with all that alpha broodiness—really isn’t the type of guy to not call you out on it. I wouldn’t put it past him to do it in front of everyone either. Is that what you want?”
“No, of course not,” Joss grumbled, miserable. Sadly, Emilia knew him best from working alongside Maddox in the east precinct before transferring to the west. “I honestly don’t know how I’m going to get through this.”
“Hmmm…” Emilia pondered, tapping a finger against her lip. “Oh, I know. What about your mother? If anything can kill your raging hormones, it’s your mom being there. Bring her.”
“I wish I could.” Sally O’Neil loved to talk. If her mother were there, Joss could be silent, while pretending she wasn’t thinking very dirty things about her boss. “But my parents are still in Paris.” Every year, they took a few months off to travel the world. Retirement life had its perks.