Page 26 of Her Hidden Smile

“It’s okay, I can just eat it straight from the container.”

“No, I have more in my cookie jar.”

She waved to a Hello Kitty-shaped jar.

Cute.

“The only other person I know with a cookie jar is my Grandma Maureen. Hers is a leprechaun. Mom got it for her.”

“That’s darling. Your mom is Irish?”

“Yeah, she’s Irish. She has the red hair and the temper to match.”

Millie frowned. “Was she harsh with you when you were growing up?”

“She’d read us the riot act if we crossed a line, that was for damn sure. But we always knew she was more bark than bite. But we hated disappointing her, so we’d work harder not to get caught the next time.”

Millie let out a laugh as she got the milk out of the fridge. “It didn’t occur to you to behave?”

“Where was the fun in that? Anyway, Malik, Jase, and I always had to be the big brothers to the younger kids and help out. The way we saw it, we deserved to act out sometimes.”

“I bet you were hell on wheels.”

She slid over the plate of cookies and the glass of milk.

“Aren’t you going to have any?”

“I had a couple of spoonfuls of dough. I’m good.”

“I hate to eat alone. Can’t you at least eat one cookie with me?”

Millie rolled her eyes. “How can you sweet-talk the way you do, when you mostly spend time on construction sites?”

“Ah, you forget. Not only am I working with construction crews, I have to deal with a lot of different inspectors, architects, engineers, state, county, and city officials. Trust me, man or woman, sweet talking is a necessary skill set. Why? Am I doing it wrong?”

“I guess not. I’m getting a glass down for my glass of milk, aren’t I?”

She sounded disgruntled. It was cute. I watched as she poured herself a glass of milk then set it down across from me.

“Well?”

I lifted my eyebrow and grinned. “Well, what?”

She put out her hand, “Gimme.”

My grin turned into a wide smile.

“What have you done to deserve your box of chocolates?”

She reached across the island and pulled back my plate of cookies. “Ever hear of quid pro quo?”

I started to get up to get the box of chocolates when her phone rang. She held up a finger, indicating I should be quiet, then answered it, putting it on speaker as she left the kitchen and walked over to her desk that took up a good-sized portion of her living room.

“Hello, this is Millie Randolph.” She infused her voice with a professional smile.

“Hello, Ms. Randolph, this is Chuck Reston from Luxton.”

Before she sat down in her office chair, she looked over at me and gave me a huge grin and a fist pump. I’d never seen her so animated.