Page 50 of Ever With Me

He appreciated the out she offered him from continuing to discuss his sordid past. She was clearly intuitive, and he needed the respite.

“Let me guess. You have two parents, still married, a large, extended family with lots of kids, and you all get alongandget together for holidays.”

“I can do you one better. My mom still has us all come over for family dinner every Thursday. It’s pizza night. She grills pizzas and we all talk late into the night.”

“So you’re like the Brady bunch without the blended family bit.”

“Basically.” Rather than leaving as he’d expected her to do—as she probably should do—she sat in the chair she’d occupied before.

“Sounds disgustingly perfect.”

Her musical laughter filled the air. “Like I said, I have no reason to leave Brandywood. Everything I could ever want is here.”

“Yes, now all you need is your own perfect happy ending, a little farm, some chickens, a couple of kids?—”

“Don’t forget the handsome man dressed head to toe in flannel?—”

“Who’ll give you only the best of wood in Brandywood?”

“Oh my, Brooks Kent, you are a rascal!” she exclaimed mockingly, clutching imaginary pearls. She laughed, then rolled her eyes. “Wow, you’ve just described my nightmare. Do I look like I’m trying to audition for a Christmas movie romance?”

He smiled. “Maybe. Not sure if the girls on those shows wear crop tops. Get a few more turtlenecks, and then come back to me.”

Actually, now that he thought about it, Maddie seemed to have a different side of her. A sexy side that he could see being a bit more . . .wild.

That was the thing, though. For as much as she’d been able to pull out of him each time they talked, he barely knew anything about her. Amazingly, she was doing a better job of keeping her cards closer to her chest than he was. No one had ever flipped things on him like this.

“Tell me something about you.” He set his hands behind his head, leaning back. “You keep making these conversations one-sided, and I’m going to have to quit having you come over here.”

“It is antithetical to your supposed need for privacy.”

“Nothing supposed about it. I don’t like people knowing my business.”

“Hmm . . . I’d argue that you just don’t like people knowingyou, but fine.” She played with the fringe on the blanket. “Nothing is interesting about me to share. I’m not shy. Just boring.”

“You’re anything but boring.”

She reclined in her seat. “Yeah? I’m so interesting that you quickly made me your errand girl, right? I’m just good at listening. My grandfather says I get it from him. Secretly, I’m one of his favorites, but that’s because we’re similar in personality. He likes that one of his grandchildren turned out like him.”

Even when asked directly, she still redirected the conversation and talked about someone else. “So what’s he like?”

“My grandfather?” Her eyes seemed to sparkle. “He’s perfect. Like honestly. The best man I’ve ever met. He’s like our whole town’s grandfather—everyone knows him. A few years back, he had an unexpected brush with fame and ended up with a cable show . . . sort of a home reality show where he talked about his best recipes, daily life, garden tips—you know the type. More people started coming to Brandywood just to see him. So he opened the Depot, and my sister and I run it.”

“So he’s building a family empire, then?” Not exactly the mom-and-pop shop he’d imagined she was involved in.

“Basically. He started the Depot a couple of years after I graduated from college, and the rest is history.”

He grabbed the fire poker and shifted a log. “You know that doesn’t tell me anything about you, though. Just your grandfather.”

A smile played on her lips. “Speaking of the Depot, I really should get back. I’ve got a ton of work to catch up on tonight since I spent the afternoon with you. Cormac will probably be back soon, and he won’t believe I’m not messing around with you if I’m still hanging around here.”

And just like that, he’d chased her away.

“He already thinks that.” Brooks quirked a brow.

“I’ll have to set him straight, then.” She pushed the blanket aside and stood. “Good night, Brooks. Thanks for dinner.”

He started to stand, and she held up a hand. “Don’t worry about it. I can see myself out the door. I have the past couple of times I’ve been here, remember?”

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