Mad About Maddie by Cheryl Anne Porter

Author:Cheryl Anne Porter
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781466886049
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

CHAPTER ELEVEN

RIGHT. BECAUSE HERE THEY were, Hank lamented—he and Maddie, sitting innocently and fully clothed, opposite each other at the nasty little kitchen table. After unloading the groceries he had out in his SUV, he’d built a fire and had been cheered when Maddie had insisted on working side by side with him to whip up a damned fine meal of canned chili and saltine crackers. A suitable bottle of red wine rounded out their meal. Done eating now, Hank felt they were a bit more relaxed with each other, yet he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Maddie,” he said, eyeing her creamy-appearing neck and wondering idly what it would be like to kiss her there. “Do golden retrievers like chili? There’s still some left in the pot.”

Maddie raised a finely arched eyebrow. “I imagine golden retrievers love chili. But should you give her any is a whole other question.”

“I’m guessing the answer to that would be no.”

“Exactly. I haven’t been the proud owner of a dog for long, but I don’t think it takes much imagination to realize the, uh, end result. So if you give that dog as much as one taste of chili, I’ll leave her here until the storm passes.” She grinned brightly, meaningfully. “And I don’t mean the one outside.”

Hank grimaced. “Yikes.”

They both looked at the dog sitting beside the table. Beamer looked from one to the other of them, a what-did-I-do expression on her face. Hank’s chuckle joined Maddie’s. “So what can we give her to eat?”

“Nothing now. She’s terrible to beg. I’ll feed her when I get home.”

Hank nodded, leaning over to pat the dog’s head and ruffle her silky ears. “Sorry, girl. I’ve been overruled.” Hank sought Maddie’s gaze, but got her profile as she, like a mother whose child had just embarrassed her, watched the disgruntled dog pad dejectedly across the room and flop again on the disreputable couch. Maddie then swung her gaze his way—and caught him staring. Hank couldn’t for the life of him look away or disguise his want for her. “I’m glad Beamer jumped ship and got you out here.”

Maddie’s blue eyes widened. “Because it saved you another trip into town?”

“Hardly. You know what I mean.”

Her face colored a bright pink. “I do.” She seemed to be having difficulty meeting his direct and hungry stare. “And so am I. Glad, I mean. Although I could have done without the wind and the rain.”

“Yeah. It is pretty dramatic.” She had Hank’s heart beating now. It was so damned obvious that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He was about one second, he knew, from shoving this table and everything on it out of his way and making a grab for her. “Well,” he added, “at least you got some of my home-cooked canned chili. Not too many people can say that. And it was nice to see a welcoming face when I got here, even if it was a furry one.”

Her chuckle was that of amused insult.

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