“Took you long enough,” July says, then her eyes roam over me and narrow. “Do you have company?”
“Yes.” I step back to let them inside. “And I didn’t know you were coming over this morning.”
“She wanted to bring you your cat before you changed your mind.” Wes grins at me when his wife smacks his chest with the back of her hand.
“Well, thanks for the heads up. I still need to pick everything up for him.” I squat down and open the kennel when Wes sets it on the bench next to the door.
“You’re in luck, because I brought you almost everything you’re going to need,” my sister says as I hold out my hand in front of the dark cage.
After a moment, bright green eyes meet mine before a cold nose touches the tips of my fingers. “Hey, baby.” I run a single finger over the top of his tiny head, and he hops out and walks toward my touch, then rubs against my knee. Carefully, I pick him up, and my heart melts. “Hey, Binx.”
“Oh my God, he is totally Binx from....” Her words trail off before she can say Hocus Pocus, and I turn to see what caught her attention and find Maxim coming down the stairs, looking as gorgeous as ever in a pair of basketball shorts and a plain white tee.
“July, Wes, this is Maxim,” I introduce.
“What’s up, man?” he greets Wes with a handshake, then looks at my sister. “July?”
“That’s me.” Her eyes come to me and widen as he leans down to give her a one-armed hug.
“So this is the cat?” He comes to my side, and I nod. As I hold Binx out, he grabs him with ease. “He’s cute.”
“He is.” I look at my sister and Wes. “Have you two had breakfast yet?”
“No,” July says as Wes says, “Yes,” and I frown at the two of them. “I mean, we ate breakfast, but it was a while ago, so I’m hungry.”
“No, you’re nosy,” Wes corrects, and she rolls her eyes at her husband, then looks at me when I laugh and Maxim chuckles.
“I can help you set up everything for Binx.”
“All right.” I take my new kitten and head upstairs. When I reach the kitchen, Maxim places his hand against my lower back, and I look up at him.
“Pancakes okay?” he asks.
“Yes.”
He lifts his chin, then touches his lips to mine. “Go get him settled, and I’ll start cooking.”
“Thanks,” I say, and he looks at Wes, who is sitting at the island. I hear Maxim ask if he wants coffee while July and I head up to the third floor.
“Oh my God, it’s Maxim.” July spins on me after shutting my door when we get to my room.
“Yes.”
“Maxim—your first kiss, Maxim. Why didn’t you say that?”
“Because it’s not a big deal.” I place Binx on my bed, and he cautiously walks around, smelling the pillows and blankets.
“It’s a huge deal.” She plops down on the end of my bed. “And good Lord he’s hot, like a million times hotter than he was when we were kids, and he was hot back then.”
“I’m going to Vegas with him,” I tell her instead of confirming how hot he is, and her jaw drops.
“What?”
“He was here when I got home last night and said he came back early to convince me to go home with him, ’cause he still has work to do but missed me.”
“Holy shit.”
“I know.” I glance at the door.
“You really like him.” It’s a statement, not a question, and I nod.
“Well, then I’m really flipping happy for you.” Her face softens, then she yelps when Binx claws his way up the back of her shirt. Laughing, I grab him and tell him no. “He’s probably hungry. I brought the food I’ve been feeding him, but you’ll have to get more.” She frowns. “Wait, are you going to leave him with Matt, or should I take him home with me until you get back?”
“Maxim said he could go with us, since we’re flying private.”
“Oh, look at how fancy you are, flying private.” She laughs as she stands and heads for the door, and I realize how pompous that sounded. Shaking my head, I pick up Binx and carry him out of the room.
When we reach the kitchen, July takes the food and bowls out of the bag she brought with her and fills one with water, the other with food, before placing them near the edge of the island. I set him down in front of them so he will know where they are, then watch him sniff it before wandering off.
“Everything all right?” Maxim asks, snagging me around the waist when I’m within reach, and I nod up at him.
“Yeah, I was telling July that I’m going to Vegas with you.”
“And I have to say, I’m actually happy you’re leaving for a few days, especially with the two murders,” July says, taking a seat by the island, and Maxim’s head swings her way.
“What?”
“There was another realtor found murdered the other day,” I tell him softly, going to the coffee pot to fix myself and my sister a cup of coffee.
“You didn’t tell me that.”
“It slipped my mind after everything that happened yesterday.”
“Everything that happened yesterday?” he asks, and I press my lips together, scooting my sister her cup of coffee. “Besides what happened with Harris, what else happened?”
I take a sip from my mug, not really wanting to tell him, but also knowing the truth tends to always finds its way to the surface, so I might as well put it all out on the table. “Cohen showed up at my first appointment yesterday.”
“You’re kidding me,” July hisses.
“What the fuck?” Maxim bites out.
“Who is Cohen?” Wes asks.
“Her ex,” July answers, her lip curling.
“The musician?” he asks for confirmation, and she nods.
Feeling Maxim’s eyes on me, I look up at me. “What happened?”
“Nothing.” I hop up on the counter next to my sink, where he is mixing a bowl of pancake batter. “He just wanted to talk, so we talked, then I took off.”
“He wanted to talk, so you talked?” he asks me with his jaw ticking, and Wes makes a whistling noise. I send him a dirty look, then focus on Maxim when he growls, “What did he say?”
“He told me how he felt, and I told him that I didn’t want to see him again. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“You and the women in your family really know how to bring the drama,” Wes mutters to my sister, who shrugs.
“You’re not helping.” I glare at them.
“Just saying you should give the guy a heads up, since you’re talking about murders and an ex who obviously showed up where he wasn’t supposed to. It’s not like there isn’t a history of fucked-up shit happening in your family.”
With no comeback, because he’s not wrong, I pull my eyes off him and look at Maxim. “It’s fine. Hopefully he listens to me and moves on.”
“Yeah, hopefully he does, or else I’m dealing with him next time,” he tells me, while the air in the room thickens with the anger rolling off him. I look at my sister and widen my eyes, and she gives me a knowing look in return.