by Keeland, Vi
Cassidy smiled. “That sounds about right, though we knew about you. You know why?” She filled two glasses and passed me one.
“Thank you. I’m a little afraid to ask how you knew.”
“Because Max called us at six AM one morning to tell us all about you.”
I’d been sipping my wine and coughed it down the wrong pipe. “What?”
“Yep.” She nodded. “Six fifteen, actually. Don’t get me wrong, he knows we’re up, but he doesn’t usually call at that hour. In fact, he doesn’t usually call. It’s Tate who has to track his brother down to check in.” Cassidy tilted her wine glass at me. “You’re also the only woman he’s ever brought over.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that. So I drank some of my wine instead.
“The Yearwood men are sort of like large trees,” she continued. “You can’t chop them down very easily, but when they fall, they’re sort of immovable.” Her voice softened. “They’re good men. I can vouch for that. As loyal as they come and honest to a fault. They say if you want to know how a man will treat his wife, you should watch the way he treats his mother. Those boys won’t even curse around Rose because she doesn’t like foul language.”
Suddenly the kitchen door burst open, and two enormous men rolled in. Literally rolled. Max and his brother Tate were on the floor, wrestling around like two teenage boys.
Cassidy pointed to them, completely unfazed by the scene. “Whichever brother gets all the other brothers in a headlock first doesn’t have to help with the dishes. A few years back they upended my tree on Christmas Eve. Somehow they snapped the thing in half, in addition to smashing three quarters of the ornaments. I have three little girls who get up at the crack of dawn to run and see what Santa left under that tree. So I made them march over to the tree lot, pick up a new one, and see if they could find replacement decorations so the kids wouldn’t be devastated in the morning. Most stores were closed by then, except for Lalique. Do you know the brand?”
“They sell expensive crystal vases and fancy bowls, right?”
Cassidy nodded. “That’s the one. But apparently they also sell collector’s ornaments for the holidays. Max bought all their remaining stock. I almost died when I saw the receipt. He spent twenty-seven-thousand dollars on decorations for the tree so it would have ornaments. And he wasn’t even the one who’d knocked it over.”
My eyes widened.
Cassidy nodded. “I told you—they are a lot.”
A few minutes later, Max flipped his brother on his back and wrapped him in a headlock. Tate had started to turn red when Mrs. Yearwood walked in and yelled at them. They stopped, both panting, and Max pointed at his brother.
“That counts. You would’ve tapped if your mommy didn’t have to come in and save you.”
“No way, Altar Boy.”
Mrs. Yearwood rolled her eyes. “You’ll both do the dishes for being idiots.”
As I stood in the kitchen watching the antics, I realized something strange. I should’ve been freaked out that a man I wasn’t dating had flown me to Boston to meet his entire family. Yet here I was, inside their home for only fifteen minutes, and instead of being nervous or anxious, I felt warmth in my chest.
Max walked over and hooked his big arm around my neck. Leaning in, he whispered, “You good?”
I smiled back. “Yeah, I think I am.”
Dinner with the Yearwoods was one of the most entertaining meals I’d had in a long time. The brothers argued, their mom told embarrassing stories, and we laughed more times than I could count. After, I got up to help clear the table. One of the chairs had a place setting no one had used. I’d assumed someone was late for dinner.
“Do you want me to leave this setting?” I asked Mrs. Yearwood. “Is someone still coming?”
Her eyes caught with Max’s briefly, before she smiled at me. “You can take it, honey. That’s Austin’s seat, my second youngest. He passed years ago, but I like to include him in family dinner when we’re all together. On the holidays when dinner is at my house, I usually invite someone in need of a warm meal from my church to share Austin’s seat. Otherwise we leave it empty for him.”
I swallowed. “Wow. That’s…beautiful.”
She smiled. “I’m glad you think so. A few of my boys thought it was creepy for a long time. But they’ve come around after all these years. Now they just like to tease me that I only set a plate for my son and not their dad, so clearly I liked him better.”
After dinner was cleaned up and the dishwasher loaded, Cassidy suggested we go sit out back on the deck and make a fire in their chiminea. It was a beautiful night, one that reminded you warm weather was coming soon.
Tate built the fire, and the ladies made a semicircle around it while the other brothers went out on the lawn to toss a football around. But the nice game of catch quickly escalated to tackling each other and rolling around on the lawn.
Mrs. Yearwood shook her head. “Still acting like they’re twelve.”
“Except now they get bruised and ache for a week after,” Cassidy said. “Tate will never admit it, but he had to go to the chiropractor after their shenanigans on Easter.”
Another of the wives chimed in. “Lucas wore a knee brace for a month.”
Yet another wife laughed. “Will dislocated his elbow at Christmas. The only one who isn’t out of commission after a family holiday is Max. He’s the youngest and gets slammed into walls for a living.”
“Speaking of making a living,” Cassidy said. “Did you ladies know Georgia owns the company that made the beautiful flowers that are always in the center of my dining room table? The ones Max sent a few months back that last a year?”
“Really? Is that how you two met?”
I shook my head. “He actually sent those before we met.”
“How did the two of you meet?” Mrs. Yearwood asked.
“Well…I guess sort of on a blind date.”
One of the wives scoffed. “Really? Max went on a blind date? We’re always trying to fix him up, and he refuses to let anyone play matchmaker.”
“Well, Max wasn’t actually who I was supposed to meet. He just pretended to be until my real date showed up and blew his cover.”
Everyone laughed.
“Now that sounds more like our Max,” Cassidy said.
The sound of bodies colliding and men grunting turned everyone’s attention to the grass once again. Two of the brothers were lying on the grass while Max and Tate high fived. They’d been playing all of about ten or fifteen minutes, yet they were all sweaty and their clothes had grass stains. Max lifted the hem of his shirt and wiped sweat from his forehead, and it suddenly felt warm where I sat, too.
Damn. What a body. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen abs like that on a real, live person. For the most part, the men I’d been with had been physically fit. But there was a hell of a big difference between physically fit and that. Each rippled muscle on Max’s torso was so defined, it was like he’d been hand carved. I found myself thinking about what it would be like to scrape my nails over each one and watch his face for a reaction. That made my mouth go dry. Without thinking, I ran my tongue over my bottom lip, and as luck would have it, Max picked that moment to look over at me. A devilish smirk spread across his handsome face, one that made me question whether he might know exactly what I’d been thinking. I tried to pull off casual by smiling and looking away. But something told me I’d failed miserably.
An hour later, we were already getting ready to leave. I went to use the bathroom before our trek home, and when I came out, Max and his mom were alone in the kitchen. They didn’t hear me come in.
“I really like her. Please tell me she knows.”
“Can we talk about this another time, Mom?”
She frowned. “Max…”
He looked up and saw me. “There she is. It was good seeing you, Mom. I’ll call you next week.”
“Okay.” She smiled and turned to me. “You’re a breath of fresh air. I hope I see you
again real soon.”
“You, too.”
She hugged me, and then it took another fifteen minutes to say goodbye to everyone else. Poor Max had to practically pry Four from his nieces’ hands. He soothed away the oldest girl’s impending tears by promising her he’d bring the dog when he came to town for his next game.
Once we got back in the Town Car, I took a deep inhale and exhaled audibly.
Max smiled. “That bad.”
“No, no…I had fun. It was just…a little overwhelming with so many people. Since I’m an only child, my family gatherings are usually just my mom and me. She has one sister, who lives out in Arizona, and we see her maybe once every two years. But I had a good time. Though for a minute there, I thought we were going to go out in a ball of flames with your three nieces crying about Four. It works out great that you’re able to bring him to the game with you.”
“I’ll wind up getting fined for sneaking him on the team plane again. But I’d rather that than tears. Thank God I only had brothers, because I can’t take seeing girls cry. Keri, the woman I dated for eighteen months a couple of years back, cried when I told her I wanted to end things. I gave her my car.”
I laughed, but Max didn’t. “Oh my God. You’re joking, right?”
He shook his head and shrugged. “It made her stop crying.”
“Wow. Okay…well, I’ll keep that in mind if I’m having a hard time getting my way with you.”
Max looked at me tenderly. He brushed his knuckles along my cheek. “Trust me, you won’t have a hard time getting anything from me.”
Warmth flooded my belly. I had the strongest urge to rest my head on his shoulder, so I gave in and did. We were mostly quiet the remainder of the way to the airport, but it didn’t feel awkward, which was nice. Once we boarded the waiting jet, Max and I sat across from each other.
His eyes pointed down to my ankle, where I had a big bruise on the inside of my leg.
“How did you get that?”
“I, uh, jumped out of the shower to write something down that I’d thought of while I was washing my hair, and I slipped on my way back in. My leg hit the side of the tub. I have a matching one on my hip.”
Max looked amused. “Do you run out of the shower often?”
I sighed. “I do, actually. I don’t know why, but I think of things I forgot to do at work when I go in the shower. I could sit at my desk for an hour, and nothing. But the minute I’m lathered up, things start popping into my brain. Does that ever happen to you?”
“Nope. I put on music and enjoy the down time.”
“Yeah. I’m not so good at that.”
Max smiled. “So did my mother and my sisters-in-law tell you stories about how rotten I am while you were sitting on the deck?”
“You mean like when you and your brothers snapped Cassidy’s Christmas tree in half while wrestling?”
Max hung his head. “It was an accident. We bought her a new one, even if it was pretty sad looking because that was all they had left on Christmas Eve. That year was a shitshow. Did she also tell you about the stolen presents?”
My forehead wrinkled. “Someone stole gifts?”
He nodded. “Ever since my mom started getting really into the church, she brings around strangers for the holidays. Usually it’s when she has us at her house in Washington, and they’re people her church knows. But a few years ago, we started having Christmas at Tate and Cassidy’s, because they’re the only ones with kids. Mom went to some local church near them on Christmas Eve morning and came home with a woman she met. Not to be a jerk, but the woman looked like an addict. She was scratching her arms constantly, and she didn’t meet your eyes when she spoke to you. But Mom had invited her for dinner, so everyone was polite. After we finished eating, my brothers and I went to the garage to put together some toys the girls were getting for Christmas, and the ladies were all clearing the table and doing whatever. When we were done, we came back in, and I asked where the woman was. She was gone, but she hadn’t said goodbye to anyone. Then Cassidy noticed half of the presents under the tree were gone, too.”
“Noooo.”
Max nodded. “Mom’s a little too trusting at times. It’s great that she wants to help people who are less fortunate, but she needs to sprinkle a bit of safety into her decisions.”
“Yeah, definitely. Is her growing more involved with the church something new?”
“She’s always been religious. We were raised Catholic and went to religion classes growing up, and Mom always went to church on Sundays. But ten years ago, she started to go daily and get involved in outreach programs and stuff.”
“Did something happen to make her turn to the church?” After I asked the question, I realized maybe it wasn’t polite.
Max looked out the window and nodded. “It started when my brother Austin died. He was only twenty one.”
“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry.”
Max continued to stare out the window. “He had an abdominal aortic aneurysm. We both went to BU. He was a year ahead of me. We were only thirteen months apart.”
I had no idea what to say, so I took his hand and squeezed. I’d wondered about the conversation I’d walked in on between Max and his mom. I guess I understood what he didn’t want to talk about now. We were both quiet for the rest of the plane ride, only this time, the silence wasn’t quite as comfortable.
In the car on the way back to my apartment, we made small talk. But something had changed. So when we pulled up near my building and Max parked, I felt compelled to say something.
“Max?”
I waited until he looked over to continue.
“I’m sorry if I overstepped and took our conversation in a direction that ruined your evening.”
He shook his head. “You didn’t. I apologize if I made you feel that way. Sometimes I just get stuck in my head.”
The sound of my phone vibrating in my purse interrupted our conversation. I didn’t intend to answer, but I dug it out to see who it was and send the call to voicemail. Gabriel flashed on the screen. After I hit decline, I looked up, and Max’s face told me he’d read the name, too.
He smiled sadly. “It’s late. I’ll walk you up with Four.”
Unlike last time, Max didn’t hold my hand as we walked to my building. He had Four in his arms, but that didn’t feel like the only reason there was distance between us. When we reached the elevator, I didn’t press the button. Instead, I turned to face him.
“I had a good time. Thank you for bringing me tonight.”
Max bent and set Four down to the floor. When he stood back up, he took my hand. “Listen, Georgia. I’m just going to put it out there once more. I’d love to spend the summer with you. After next week, there won’t be any more games or traveling I have to do. Other than keeping in shape, I pretty much have no plans except to find somewhere to live by August. We could have some fun. No strings attached. I get that you have some unsettled stuff going on, but you know I’m going to be out of here in a few months. To me, it keeps things pretty simple.” He held up his hands. “But I won’t push it anymore. If you change your mind, you have my number. All you have to do is say the word.”
My face fell. “We can’t just be friends?”
Max’s eyes dropped down to my body. They took their time caressing their way up and over each curve. “Friendship between two people who are the opposite sex doesn’t work when one of you wants to see the other naked. That might be an asshole thing to say, but it’s the truth.” He pushed the button to call the elevator. It must’ve been waiting, because the doors slid right open. Max lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed the top. “I hope you call.”
I swallowed and nodded. But as I stepped into the elevator, a heavy feeling came over me. The thought of never seeing Max again made me panicky, so when the doors began to slide closed, I stuck my hand out to stop them at the very last second.
“Max, wait!”
He looked up at me, and I stepped forward, holding the doors open.
“I never do anything without spending forever debating all the pros and cons.” I shook my head. “And I’m not sure what the right thing is for us, but I am sure it’s not never seeing you again. Could we…take it slow?”
The biggest grin spread across Max’s face. “I like it slow.”
I chuckled. “You know what I mean.”
He nodded and took my hand. “We can go at whatever speed makes you comfortable.”
I took a deep breath and blew out a rush of air. “Okay.”
He lifted a brow. “Okay?”
I nodded. “Let’s do it—spend the summer together, I mean.”
Max yanked the hand he was holding, and I stumbled against his body, crashing into what felt like a brick wall.
“Oww…” I said, laughing. My palms landed flat against his chest, and I patted it twice. “This thing hurts. It’s really hard.”
“Oh, I can’t wait to show you hard. Now give me that mouth. I said I’m good with going slow, but I’m going to lose my mind if I can’t at least have a little taste.”
I didn’t get a chance to respond before his lips crashed down on mine. He squeezed me tightly against his hard body, making my knees feel weak. There had been an intensity about the way Max looked at me from the moment we’d met, but this kiss… It was a whole other level. He licked my lips and nudged my mouth open while one of his large hands slid up to my neck and wrapped around my throat. I’d never had a man hold me like that. It felt desperate and needy and just on the right side of dominant. My hands threaded through his hair, and he lifted me into the air and walked us until my back hit a wall. I lost all sense of where we were when I felt his hard-on push up against my stomach.
Oh God.
We stayed wrapped around each other for the longest time, groping and grabbing like two horny teenagers. Max used my hair to pull my head back and sucked along my pulse line, which had to be beating frantically. When we came up for air, he leaned his forehead to mine and used his thumb to wipe at my bottom lip.
“I knew it.”