Page 76 of No Headlines Please

On mine.

As Maddox walked me to the penthouse door, I kept wondering about something he'd said regarding his ex.

She'd sold food.

Food that he'd purchased.

Okay, maybe the food comment had been a joke. Obviously, her biggest offense was selling information that should've stayed private.

And yet, I kept coming back to the food.

I knew why, too.

It was because I was doing pretty much the same thing.

All of those extras from dinner – I knew exactly why Maddox had ordered so much. He'd been worried about me going hungry. And now, instead of eating all that food myself, I was using some of it as a bribe.

I couldn't even back out, because I'd already received the information from Walt. And now, the bill was officially coming due.

Did I regret it?

I wasn't even sure. But I did regret being so sly about it, like I was picking Maddox's pocket to pay for a lunch I wasn't even sharing.

We had just reached the penthouse door when Maddox softly said, "Hey."

I stopped and turned to face him. "Hey, what?"

His gaze searched mine. "You okay?"

His concern warmed my heart, but the sensation was hard to enjoy with guilt nipping at my heels. "Yeah, totally."

Looking unconvinced, he asked, "You want me to come with you?"

Yeah, right. I'd be so busted. "No. Definitely not." I cleared my throat. "I mean…I'll be back before you know it."

He frowned. "Are you sure? If you need backup, just say the word."

Hah! I'd only need backup if I ran into Mrs. Stelter. But the odds of that were super-low, right? They had to be. Already, I'd run into her twice in one day.

I forced a laugh. "So you'd be my bodyguard, huh?"

"Gladly." But he didn't look glad. Mostly, he still looked concerned. "How about this? I'll at least walk you to the elevator."

He was being so nice, maybe nicer than I deserved, considering the shiftiness of my errand. My heart went gooey, the guilt resurfaced, and I let out a laugh that didn't come out quite right.

Maddox gave me an odd look. "And that's funny?"

Terrific. Now I sounded unhinged. "No. I'm just surprised. That's all. You're quite chivalrous, you know." I felt a slow blush creep up my cheeks. "The truth is, I kind of like it."

His lips twitched into a smile. "So that's a yes?"

"Definitely." And with that, I reached for the door handle and yanked open the door before I could embarrass myself further. "And you know what?"

"What?"

"I'm not sure that was a laugh."

Maddox grinned. "But you're still smiling."