Hush - Anne Malcom Page 0,66
them had repulsed her.
But this was different.
This was Maddox.
He did not disgust her.
“Right, right. Here we go. Best seat in the house,” Maria declared, setting the menus down on the table.
The table was slightly removed from the rest of the restaurant, but not in a way that Orion would feel cornered, without an escape. Orion realized she hadn’t even been watching to see if anyone recognized her on the short walk. She was too preoccupied with Maddox and the way he fucking smelled.
Maddox stepped forward to pull out a chair that was facing the exit, as if he knew she couldn’t have her back to it. And maybe he did. She’d learned a lot about PTSD since their escape, on her own and with all the therapists, and she knew that law enforcement was one of the hardest hit fields.
She sat down on autopilot.
Maria smiled. “Now, I’m gonna give you the opportunity to choose, if you so wish.” She gestured to the menu. It wasn’t pages long like Orion remembered from the rare time her parents had decided to take them to some cheap chain restaurant. The selection for appetizers, entrées, and desserts fit on one page. Even so, it was daunting.
“Or,” Maria continued, after Maddox had sat down. He didn’t touch the menu. “I can choose for you, if you trust me.” She winked.
Maddox picked up the menu and handed it over. “You already know my answer, Momma Maria.”
She took the menu, turned to Orion. “And you, honey?”
What a ridiculous idea, that Orion would trust this warm, smiling woman who she’d known for a minute.
Orion didn’t trust the man sitting across from her, who’d she’d arguably known for years. In another life of course.
Still, Orion found herself handing the menu to the woman.
She beamed. “Don’t worry, honey. I’ll take care of you. You won’t be disappointed.”
For whatever reason, Orion believed her.
Maddox looked at her with a twinkle in his eye and a stupid grin on his lips. “You wanna get a bottle of wine?”
She should’ve said no, of course. To the twinkle. To the wine. To a strange woman who called her honey choosing what she was going to eat.
She should’ve screamed no and then run out like her life depended on it.
But she didn’t.
“Sure.”
Maddox looked about as surprised as Orion was at her response. He recovered quickly.
“The Italian Chianti that’s not on the menu anymore but you keep for your favorite customer?” Maddox spoke to Maria with sweetness and reverence in his voice.
Orion was jealous.
Of an old Italian woman with kind eyes.
She winked at Maddox. “Of course.”
Then she swept the menus away, leaving Orion and Maddox alone with each other. Of course, they’d been alone with each other for the entire day, but this was different.
This was an Italian restaurant with soft lighting and a woman called Maria.
Orion fidgeted. Tried to stave off panic. Tried to stop herself from replaying this afternoon. These past ten years.
“April told me you’re turning into a regular Gordon Ramsay.”
Orion snapped her head up at Maddox’s voice. There was softness in it. Same with his eyes.
“What?”
He chuckled. The sound was slightly forced, but nice nonetheless. “April said you’re getting good at cooking.”
Orion paused as the information sunk in. Of course April told him about her. She lived with Maddox after all. A pang of annoyance hit her at April reporting back to Maddox like that.
“What’s your favorite thing to cook?” Maddox continued, as if he weren’t bothered by her silence.
She frowned at him, not trusting the question. Not trusting anything. “I like French cooking,” she said after a beat. “I’m working through the Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”
His eyes lit up. “Ah, Julia Child.”
Orion didn’t hide her surprise at Maddox knowing the author of the cookbook.
He shrugged. “I like movies. Julie and Julia is a great one if you haven’t seen it yet.”
She hadn’t. But she would put in on her list.
Orion waited for him to show her his true questions. The probing ones about her state of mind, to pick her apart until he found out she was planning on committing murder.
But none came.
Maddox continued to ask her about cooking, about books, about the lightest, smallest things in her life.
Like this was normal.
She played along.
For tonight, at least.
Orion was content.
She hadn’t felt like this, ever.
Her stomach was full of possibly some of the best food she’d ever eaten. Momma Maria wasn’t lying. She knew she had become something of a chef in her months of freedom. April had even coined Orion’s