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“Why?” Her blue eyes searched his face.
“Because apparently I’m a masochist.”
Maddie frowned and her delicate eyebrows knit together. He could just see her brain whirling as she tried to figure out what he meant by that. Before she could say anything, the buzzer on one of the ovens went off. She pulled as far away from him as she could, her cheeks flushing an attractive pink like her apron. Cool air rushed between them, bringing them both to their senses. Shaking her head, she led him over to the oven, where she pulled out pans of lemon pound cake and banana bread.
Impossible women. He had a fatal attraction to impossible women. He needed some damn therapy.
Simon was waiting outside Woody’s when they arrived. He was leaning casually on the hood of the squad car, sipping a cup of coffee from Ellen’s Diner down the street.
Thank goodness he was on time. Maddie couldn’t wait to regain her freedom. She’d gotten only about two hours of sleep before all this started, and there was nothing she could do about it now. She would go back to her place for a shower and a cup of strong coffee, but then she had to get back to the kitchen. The shop opened in two hours and she was way behind on her baking. Having one arm handcuffed to Emmett had slowed everything to a crawl. They’d managed to make just a few loaves of sweet breads, a tray of sticky buns, and some lemon bars in three hours. She needed to get back in there and crank out about a dozen other items before the shop opened. She could only thank her stars she didn’t have a wedding cake being picked up today.
“Did you two play nice?” Simon asked.
“Extremely,” Emmett replied with a smug smile on his face.
Maddie blushed bright red at his words. She couldn’t help it. It was bad enough she’d let sleep deprivation lower her guard; she didn’t want everyone to know what she’d done. Especially not her brother. If Simon knew, the whole family would soon know she’d made out with the local bartender, and she’d never hear the end of it. Maddie never made out with anyone, so it would turn into a huge thing. “We didn’t kill each other,” she offered, “if that’s what you were hoping for.”
“I don’t endorse bloodshed,” Simon said. “I was just hoping you two would take this time together to talk over your issues and find a way to peacefully coexist on the same street. Any ground covered there?”
“Not really,” Emmett admitted, and he was right. They’d shared a long night together, but not one moment of it was spent discussing how they were going to learn to get along. They were both far too focused on how they would make it through the night, much less worry about the future.
“Well, you two better figure out how to play nicely or I’ll do this again. Don’t think I won’t.” Simon pulled out his keys and unlatched the cuffs. “Free at last,” he announced.
“Thank the Lord,” Emmett said, rubbing his wrist and sighing in contentment.
Maddie scoffed at his expression of relief despite the fact that he’d taken the words right out of her mouth. “You’d think being handcuffed to me was the worst thing in the world.”
“Well, it certainly wasn’t a picnic.”
“Hey,” Maddie complained. “I was being nice. I helped at the bar and, more important, I didn’t once ask to use the restroom.”
Emmett’s eyes widened. Apparently he hadn’t considered how much closer they would’ve gotten if nature had called with any sort of urgency over the last few hours. “Well, thank you for your help, Fancy. The next time Joy calls in sick, I’ll be sure to give you a call.”
Maddie snorted. She couldn’t imagine herself working at a place like that. Being surrounded by grabby drunks was her idea of her personal hell. “Don’t waste your breath, Emmett. I’m not taking another step into that dirty, stinky bar of yours.”
Emmett’s eyes brightened in excitement, his face lighting up despite the exhaustion on his face. “Is that a promise? Can I hold you to your word? It’s not nice of you to tease about something like that.”
“Can you two keep it down? It’s six in the morning and there are houses nearby,” Simon interjected, but neither of them paid him any attention.
“I wish it were a promise,” Maddie said, planting her hands on her hips, “but that would require you keeping the noise down so I can stay away.”
Emmett snorted in contempt. “At this point, I’d unplug the jukebox so I don’t have to see your face ever again.”
“If only that were true,” Maddie snapped.
“If what were true?”
“Seriously, you guys, you’re disturbing the peace,” Simon complained. “Don’t make me take you in. I’m off duty and I’d much rather go home and go to bed than head back to the station and fill out all that paperwork.”
“That you don’t want to see my face,” Maddie continued. “I think that’s a lie. You seemed quite pleased by it earlier.”
“And you weren’t pleased?” Emmett challenged. “You certainly acted like you were having a good time. You were practically purring in my arms.”
She had been. But she wasn’t going to admit how easily she reacted to his touch. That kiss had set off explosions in her walled-up libido, knocking down barriers and freeing the beast she’d tried very hard to keep tamed. Emmett was not the kind of man she was usually attracted to. Everything about him flew in the face of the values she held dear. And yet, when he touched her, all bets were off. Her body had betrayed her in that moment and she’d have to fight twice as hard to resist him from now on.
“I was exhausted and you took advantage of that.”
“Oh, please.” Emmett rolled his eyes. “You wanted me to kiss you.”
