In my arms, Steph curled a little closer. I put a hand on the back of her head and tucked her under my chin.
Max looked confused. I could commiserate. “What kind of holiday play is this, exactly?”
“Mrs. Krakowski—she’s the theater and music teacher at the elementary school—is calling it a festive fusion,” Lauren said without batting an eye. “There are bits and pieces of a lot of holiday traditions in there.”
Max smiled. “It sounds fascinating. I can’t wait to see it. And please.” He indicated the seat next to Phee. “Join us.”
“Yes!” Marnie backed his play like a champ, squeezing in beside Phee and looking hopefully up at Lauren. “Do you want some shepherd pie? Phee says it’s not actually made of shepherds, it’s made of beef, so it’s okay to eat.”
Lauren, bless her, understood all of that, including the parts spoken around a bite of lunch, and sat with us. Dinah brought over two cups of coffee without being asked, as well as a heap of half and half containers in a plastic bowl. She and Phee started chatting, so I turned my attention to Max.
“Hey. What about your meeting?”
“I desperately rescheduled it and did it via Zoom wearing one of Hal’s dress shirts.” He shook his head. “Thank god my client couldn’t see that I was wearing jeans with it. And my assistant was there in person to hand over documents and make sure everything went smoothly in New York, so…could have gone better, but it could have gone a lot worse.”
His frown lightened a little as he looked at me. “Actually, the client was really understanding about the storm keeping me grounded. He’s got family up this way, too, so he knows how bad the snow can be. It was a bonding moment. I’ll make it up to him when we have our final meeting in person next week.”
It was sweet he considered Hal and the girls to be his family. Maybe there would be room in that definition someday for me, too. “And it’s really okay for you to stay through Christmas? Your boss won’t mind?”
“Technically, he can’t say anything about it, since it turns out I’ve got so many vacation days they’re practically generating interest. In reality?” Max shrugged. “Sure, Marcus is pissed, and he let me know it, but it’s not like I did this on purpose, so apart from general grumpiness, there’s nothing he can do. I’m actually glad it worked out this way.”
I tried not to let on how fascinating I found that statement. “Really?”
“Yeah. It’s nice to have more time to spend with the girls.” He picked up his mug of coffee and took a sip, still looking at me. “And their uncle,” he added once he set the cup down.
Be still my goddamn heart.
Marnie spoke up then. “And now we can play ninja princesses today! I got all the costume stuff out, but Daddy said we couldn’t use it until Max was done with work, and then we needed lunch.”
“Sounds amazing,” I said.
Max nodded. “Ninja princess Max. I think it has a real ring to it.”
Steph giggled and shook her head against my chest.
Max grinned and played along. “What, you don’t think I have what it takes to be a ninja princess?” She shook her head again. “Is it my hair? Do I need to grow it out? I do, don’t I? All the princesses I know have long hair. Elsa, Anna, Belle, um…” His smile faltered for a second, and I knew he was thinking of Ariel their mom and not the mermaid princess. “Cinderella,” he recovered gamely. “The one with the arrows…”
“Merida,” I said.
“What? No, I’m talking about Mulan. Who’s Merida?”
“You haven’t seen Brave?” I shook my head. “This is a terrible oversight. We’ll have to watch it tonight.”
“It’s really good!” Marnie shouted from across the table, spraying crumbs.
“Swallow before speaking,” I reminded her. Lauren handed her one of the napkins.
“Will you be—” Whatever she was going to say cut off as our radios sprang to life, dispatch calling in a noise disturbance.
Lauren slid out of the booth. “It was nice to see you again.”
Max nodded to her. “You too, Lauren.”
I gave Steph a final squeeze before encouraging her to sit down on the cracked green vinyl next to Max. I straightened my jacket as I stood up. “I guess I’ll see you all tonight.”
“I’ll hold you to it,” Max replied.
Phee hid her smile behind a napkin.
“Bye, Uncle Nicky!” Marnie called out, thankfully still young enough to be immune to subtext.
Lauren didn’t say anything as we got back onto the road.
I drove for five full minutes before finally giving in. “So?”
She didn’t pretend to misunderstand me, at least. “So.” She glanced my way slyly. “I guess I can see why you haven’t dated at all before this, if he’s an indicator of your taste.”
“Right, because Edgewood has such a teeming population of available guys,” I said, secretly relieved she seemed to like him.
“More than it looks like at first blush. I can’t think of a single one that quite got Maxfield’s blend of looks, smarts, and presence, though.” She sighed. “He’s definitely like his dad that way.”
“Yeah.” That was true, but… “Not in all ways, though.”
“No,” Lauren agreed. “Not in all ways. I’m glad he’s sticking around a bit longer.”
I couldn’t quite stop the thrill that started in my chest and expanded up into a grin. “Me, too.”
…
The rest of the shift crawled by in a series of minor complaints around town and the growing threat of frostbite, and I was more than ready to clock out and head to Hal’s when five p.m. rolled around. I texted him to let him know I was coming, only to get back, Finally. Bring a gallon of milk.
A second later, I got, Toilet paper, too. And tissues.
I rolled my eyes. Anything else?
Gruyere.
Gruyere? Since when did Hal make anything with that kind of semi-fancy cheese? Why?
Max needs it for special mac and cheese. Bitch to him.
Mm, special mac and cheese. I could buy gruyere for that.
As always, it felt like eyes followed me around the grocery store. There was very little one could do unnoticed in a small town, but the gazes held an intensity today that made me wary. It had to be because of Max. Even when I’d just come back from the army, I hadn’t merited this level of curiosity.