Page 7 of Frosted and Sliced

“Neither did I. I told him he had to wear pants and he said there was no written policy, so I wrote a clothing policy. It was a wild time,” Georgie said.

“What did your brother have to say about that?” Burke demanded.

Georgie finished arranging her muffins and waved a hand. “I didn’t tell him.”

“What? Why not?” Burke demanded.

“If you met Brody, you’d know. He takes big brothering to a whole new level.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Her nose crinkled. “It’s stifling.”

Burke studied her, feeling a thousand different things he couldn’t name. He had traveled the entire world, met people from every walk of life, and become so weary of humanity that the last few months he’d reached Howard Hughes level of reclusive eccentricity. To him, Georgie was like a spring bouquet, fresh and sweet and lovely, and so totally unexpected that he couldn’t stop staring, trying to make sense of her. Burke had grown so used to villains that it shocked him to realize there were still people like her in the world, innocent and untouched.

“Are you going to eat that muffin or continue to pet it?” she asked, forcing him to realize he still cradled it in his hands, cupping it protectively like a baby animal.

“I don’t know,” he said. At this moment he didn’t know anything, except that it felt like his entire world had been turned upside down. Why, though? Because he’d been locked away in his house for months and his first taste of the outside world involved a hearing-impaired woman who gave him muffins? Objectively, he could understand why he was disoriented. What he didn’t know was how to resolve it.

“Muffins,” Ribs exclaimed, coming up behind him on his right.

Georgie beamed at him, but that was nothing unusual. Most people beamed at Ribs, who was almost supernaturally affable and pleasant, especially for a former SEAL and spy.

“They’re still warm,” Georgie told him.

“Jordan and I have been so anxious to get here, Georgie. Elyse did not overhype, at all. We might have to add in some workouts to the weekend.” Ribs tugged on his belt and eyed Burke, including him in the remark.

“Just because it’s good doesn’t mean you have to overindulge,” Burke replied. It was the sort of thing that sounded reasonable to him but usually involved a bad reaction from the hearer. Not Ribs, though, who shrugged and reachedfor a muffin with a smile. It was that reaction that had coaxed Burke from hiding in order to attend the weekend. Ribs was more likeable than most people he’d encountered, and he and Elyse, while not close, similarly also got along well. Their team, when they were still in the spy game, had been one of his favorites to work with, the only time he hadn’t dreaded the job.

“Do you guys need anything else?” Georgie asked.

“No,” Burke said, and he must have snapped it because she gave him a look, tossed up her hands in exasperation, and strode from the room.

“You have a way with women,” Ribs noted.

“She shouldn’t be in here, when we’re talking about sensitive things,” Burke said. Surely Ribs, with all his old-school sensibilities, would see that.

Ribs, however, shrugged, nonchalant. “Elyse cleared her. I trust her judgment.”

Burke turned his disapproving scowl on Elyse, who caught his look and gave him an amused little salute in return.

“Let’s get this over with,” he muttered. Annoyed, he strode to the front of the room.

CHAPTER 4

Two weeks later…

Georgette swiped her finger across her phone, her tummy already doing a little somersault of anticipation. Before she could click on the message, she ran into a wall. Or maybe a wall ran into her? All she knew was that once again she teetered precariously close to the edge of the stairs, until strong arms wrapped around her, securing her. Unlike last time, they didn’t tumble to the ground. This time she was slammed mercilessly hard against the wall, the breath juddering out of her as her spine made contact.

“Seriously?” Burke said. Usually Georgette had trouble reading tone, but not this time. Now she received all of the exasperation he tried to convey, which was unfortunate for him because it immediately spiked her irritation and righteous indignation into the stratosphere.

“Are youkiddingme?” She tried to shove at his chest and made no purchase, like shoving cement. “You broke in again and startled me?”

“You were on the phone on the stairs,again,” he accused.

“Which wouldn’t have been a problem, if I hadn’t encounteredyou.” She put as much derision as she could into the word, which was a lot, considering how much she’d come to loathe him. The weekend of the conference had been a big one for her, since she hosted the same group for three nights, including meals. She’d spent weeks prepping for it, looking forward to it, and then it was ruined by the man now before her, the man who insisted she turn off her hearing aids every time she entered a room, the man who sent her back into silence. Some offenses were unforgiveable; this might be one. When the weekend finally ended, along with his strange, broody silences and disapproving stares, she’d never been happier to see the back of a guest. And here he was, unannounced and disapproving. Again. “Why are you here?”

Burke let her go and took a step back. “I need a place to stay.”

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