Page 92 of Something’s Brewing

Eve followed, brushing Madison’s arm gently as she moved past with the baby. “We’ll give you two a minute.”

And then they were gone.

Garrett took a step forward. Then another. “I’m sorry you felt the need to leave without letting me know,” he said. “I wouldn’t have let you go without saying something. Not without fixing it.”

Madison crossed her arms as if holding herself together. “I shouldn’t have left. I just needed to create some distance. I needed time to think.”

“I know.” He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “I handled it wrong. I heard what I wanted to hear and ran with it. Thought you were already halfway out the door.”

“I said I’d think about it.”

“And when you said that, what I heard was that you were leaving.” His mouth twisted. “Old baggage and all.”

She softened, just a fraction. “Garrett . . .”

He stepped closer. Close enough now that she could see the tension in his jaw, the way his hands flexed like he didn’t know what to do with them.

“I’m all in, Madison,” he said, steady now. “I don’t care about the timing or the mess or whether you stay or go. I care about you.” He paused, searching her face. “And yeah, I’ve been an idiot about it.”

A small, shaky laugh escaped her.

He exhaled, some of the tension easing. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to run from me. Or choose around me.”

“I didn’t run from you,” she said quietly. “I ran because everything started to matter too much.” She took a step closer. “And to be fair, because Eve had the baby.”

Garrett huffed out a quiet laugh, some of the strain finally breaking. “Right. Hard to compete with the birth of your nephew.”

“Exactly,” Madison said softly. “Very inconsiderate timing on his part. I don’t know what I’m doing yet, about the job. About Minneapolis. About any of it. But I do know how I feel about you.” She swallowed. “And that scares me a whole lot more than the CEO position does.”

Garrett’s gaze dropped briefly to her lips, then back up. “That’s a start.”

She nodded. “More than a start,” she said.

“Good,” he murmured. “Because I drove four hours on about two hours of sleep to say that.”

That pulled a real smile from her. “Idiot,” she said softly.

“Yeah,” he agreed, stepping fully into her space now. “But I’m your idiot, if you’ll have me.”

She didn’t hesitate this time. “I will,” she said.

And then he kissed her. Not rushed or uncertain. His hand slid gently along her jaw as he kissed her, slow and deliberate, like he wanted her to feel every apology he didn’t quite know how to say out loud.

Madison melted into him, fingers curling into the front of his shirt as the tightness in her chest finally loosened. The last two days, the hurt, the doubt, the distance between them, faded beneath the familiar warmth of him.

When Garrett finally pulled back, his forehead rested lightly against hers, both of them breathing a little unevenly. “I missed you.”

“You saw me two days ago.”

“Longest two days of my life.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Madison hadn’t expected a crowd. The council chambers were already packed when she and Garrett pushed through the doors. Every seat was filled. People stood shoulder to shoulder along the walls and spilled into the hallway.

For a moment, she froze. Was all of this for her?

Garrett’s hand settled at her lower back, steady and sure, and a small smile flittered on his lips. “I called in a few reinforcements,” he murmured. “Breathe. You’ve got this.”