For just an instant, something in his face closed even more. Maren couldn’t read it. Hurt, maybe. Or annoyance. Or maybe she was only seeing what fear wanted her to see.
Then his gaze fell on the place setting with the covered plate at the same time that Juni lit up.
“You came back.”
Whatever darkness Colin had brought in with him didn’t vanish, exactly, but went into hiding. Maren watched his jaw ease, his shoulders lower, and his eyes fill with sudden warmth.
And that made him ten times sexier.
He crouched slightly, bringing himself closer to Juni’s level even from across the room.
“Promised, didn’t I, Junebug?”
Juni nodded, all solemn satisfaction, and went back to her pancakes.
“Everything okay?” Mac asked, casual enough that Juni probably heard nothing under it, but Maren caught the current of unease.
“Yeah.” Colin’s answer came too quickly. “Fine.”
Maren had already learned from her brothers that quick answers from military men like him could mean a thousand different things. Fine outside. Fine for now, but look out; the explosion was still incoming.
Colin’s gaze went back to the covered plate on the table.
Juni sat up straighter as she pointed to it. “We saved you pancakes. With syrup. Way more than I got.”
Humor flickered in his eyes.
“That so?”
“You can’t just have coffee for breakfast. Mac said you do that, but it’s not healthy.”
“Did he?” Colin looked at Mac, who took a bite of pancake with a deeply innocent look on his face.
“Yes,” Juni said. “And Auntie Mer makes good pancakes. Better than truck stops.”
“High praise,” Colin said.
“It is,” Maren managed.
Her voice sounded almost normal.Excellent. Maybe she could add professional actress to the list of careers she might need if she had to start a new life under an assumed name.
Colin moved to the seat where he could see doors, windows, people. The moment he sat down, she felt trapped. Not by Colin himself, but by whatever he’d learned at the meeting and wasn’t sharing.
He lifted the towel covering the plate and looked at the pancakes. “Thank you.”
“Juni insisted.”
Juni made a sound of protest through a mouthful of pancake.
Maren pointed her fork toward her. “Swallow first.”
Juni swallowed dramatically. “I did not insist. I reminded.”
Maren grinned. “My mistake.”
Colin picked up his fork. “Then thank you for the reminder.”
Juni nodded. “You’re welcome.”
