Page 43 of Ever With Me

Cormac raised a brow at Maddie.

“You were naked?” Audrey stared at Cormac with big eyes.

Brooks rounded the corner, his face expressionless. “Audrey, you remember Miss Maddie, right? Why don’t we go grab a popsicle?” He grabbed his niece by the shoulders and guided her away, leaving Cormac and Maddie alone in the foyer.

Maddie pushed her hair behind her ears. “It’s not what it sounds like,” she blurted.

A smile played on Cormac’s lips. “It’s none of my business. What you and Brooks do is between you and Brooks.”

“Cormac, seriously.” She crossed her arms.

“Listen, it’s cool. He’s a good guy. I got the feeling after Sunday that you running into me at the butcher wasn’t entirely accidental. But I had the chance to catch up with Logan, and that was great.”

Brooks . . .a good guy?

She stepped closer. “Whatever it is you think you know, just imagine something else. And for God’s sake, don’t say anything to anyone about me being here. Especially not to someone in your family or my family.”

Cormac laughed. “How about I promise not to imagine anything at all? The not saying anything goes without saying. Brooks is weird about his privacy, not that I can fault him for it. I already swore I wouldn’t tell anyone he was here.”

She set her hands on her hips. “Then why did you invite Logan and me back the other night?”

Cormac offered her a wide smile. “First, honey, you invited yourself. And second, because I trust the Yardley clan. I didn’t think Brooks would mind so long as you all were cool about keeping it to yourselves.”

She cringed. Had she really invited herself on Sunday?

Maybe I did. And Cormac is too nice to tell me no.

“Isn’t your family wondering who you’re hanging out with this week?”

Cormac shrugged. “They know better than to bug me. Mom is afraid I won’t visit if they try to dig into my business too much.”

“Must be that stoic Irish side. My family would be like bloodhounds during a hunt.”

Footsteps approached again, and Audrey came running back with a red popsicle. Brooks was a few steps behind her. “Cormac, can we go to the playground now?”

“We should probably eat that in the kitchen, Audrey,” Brooks said with a worried glance at the rug near the door.

“Actually, I think Miss Maddie is going to take you today. I promised my dad I’d go to a family dinner tonight.” He winked at Audrey, then ruffled her hair. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back tonight. Probably past your bedtime, though.”

Wait, what?Brooks was putting her on babysitting duty? Why? Because she was a woman? Ire spilled through her.

Cormac pulled a key fob from his pocket and winked at Maddie. “Have fun.”

An awkward silence descended between Maddie and Brooks when Cormac shut the door behind him. Maddie tapped her foot, trying to figure out how to tell him to screw himself, when Audrey gave her a hopeful smile. “Can you take me to the playground with the big slide?”

“Um . . . maybe?” Maddie grinned at her, then set her hands on her knees and leaned down toward her. “Why don’t you go back to the kitchen to finish the popsicle while your uncle Brooks and I talk?”

Audrey hurried off, her curls bouncing as she ran.

Maddie straightened and glared at Brooks. “I’m not babysitting, Brooks. I don’t want to be responsible for a whole child who doesn’t know me.”

He gave her a mocking smile. “How about a half a child? I hear they’re so much easier.”

“Shut up. I’m serious.”

“I believe our arrangement was no questions asked.” He crossed his muscular arms, and she tried to ignore how good his forearms looked when he did that.

She sighed. “Yes, but I have an aversion to being put in a position of responsibility to children I’m not related to. Why can’t you and your sister take her?”

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