Page 116 of Taming the CEO

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"I keep wondering how I totally misread you in the beginning."

"Can’t help you there. That's on you."

I pinched his chest. "Really? Your know-it-all, slightly jerkish attitude didn't have anything to do with it?"

He winked at me. "You just said it—you misread it. Others might call it charming and determined."

"Right, of course. My bad," I said with a laugh.

We sat silently for a few moments, just taking each other in.

"Maddox?"

"Yeah."

"I'm damn happy that Jeannie talked you into bringing her over to the park that day."

"What's one thing got to do with the other? You were still at my throat."

"And you at mine. But seeing you with her shifted something in my head. I kept thinking to myself, 'No one who is so nice to his grandmother can actually be a jackass.'"

Maddox frowned, but then a playful grin spread across his face and a twinkle popped in his eyes. "I bet that was her plan."

"Why are you so suspicious of her?"

"Because I know her ways. She took acting very seriously. Half her mind is always on plot points, meet cutes, and stuff like that."

I covered my mouth and started to laugh. I’d almost forgotten that Maddox had told me his grandmother was a famous Boston actress.

"What?” he asked.

"I cannot believe you just said 'meet cute.'"

He shook his head, wincing. "Yeah, neither can I. Damn, I can practically feel my balls falling off.”

I batted my eyelashes. "If you ask me really nicely, I can check and see if they're still there."

"You're something." He put an arm around my shoulders, kissing my temple. "I should warn you.”

"About what?"

"I didn't realize it until now, but Gran was surprisingly relaxed when we were at her house."

"How did you expect her to be?"

We moved to the couch, and Maddox pulled me onto his lap. Oh, I much preferred this position.

“When my brothers came with dates, she'd make these sly comments about how they belonged together and how she expected great-grandkids from them."

I nearly fell off his lap. "She actually said that?"

"Yes."

"Maybe she's learned boundaries."

He chuckled. "No. One thing I can tell you for certain is that Jeannie Whitley will always push boundaries.”

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