“I will, if you will.” He smiled, directing that entirely too-roguish grin at her, the grin that had probably broken too many hearts.

If she wasn’t so gutted over today, her heart would be pounding—because, oh yeah, she liked his smile. “Why are you doing this?”

“What exactly am I doing?” Elbows on his thighs, he shifted forward. Alex had pushed up the sleeves of his shirt. One of his endearing habits, though she had no idea why she liked it so much.

“You’re taking care of me.” I don’t need to be taken care of. If he wasn’t here, she would survive. She’d survived on her own for years, long before he showed up. Not just survived but excelled. Succeeded. “When I asked you to help, I hadn’t intended so much.”

Except . . . someone had shot at her. Someone wanted her gone. And she still hadn’t figured out what today was about. But a man was dead.

An accident?

Intentional?

Because of her or unrelated?

“I would be here anyway. Don’t you know that?”

Yes. I do.

She shouldn’t look so long into those deep gray eyes, because, really, what was she searching for? What did she think she would find?

“Mackenzie . . . about that . . .” His hesitation told her he was thinking about the kiss.

“About what?”

He rubbed his hand over his lips and chin. Something . . . untamed . . . sparked in his eyes. Her heart jumped. Yeah, he was thinking about that kiss. And right now, so was she. Was he going to apologize?

Mackenzie sat forward and stared at the barbecue. Eating would be a distraction from this awkward moment. Time to redirect. “You said you would eat too.”

He left her and headed to the kitchen, then came back with his own plate. He cut into the chicken, apparently unwilling to use his fingers. “Mackenzie . . . I . . .”

Again with the hesitation? “I don’t want an apology for the kiss, okay?” There, she’d said it.

He grinned, and his gaze roamed her face and made her blush. Fortunately, he turned his attention to the food. Around bites, they talked about her job at the university. A safe enough topic.

Eating and talking about what happened today or anything else revolving around cybercrime would cause her to lose her appetite. She struggled as it was. He kept his questions light and simple. And she was more than happy to think about how much she enjoyed teaching kids to use their skills for good in the world of ethical hacking and cybersecurity.

“And I have a condo near Lake Michigan in a little town called Frankfort.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “I usually spend summers walking the beach. I do some pen testing for charities on the side. My way of giving back.”