“You’ve been putting your life on hold to be with me,” I concluded, feeling renewed guilt wash over me.
He cocked his head to the side. “Don’t you get it, baby? You are my life.”
I’d always known Max was intense, but nothing could have ever prepared me for the weight of his stare in moments like this.
“We barely just started dating,” I protested. “Isn’t it fast?”
He shrugged, undeterred. “So? Did you expect me to put everything on the line for something I wasn’t dead serious about?” He looked almost angry now.
He leaned against the counter, eyeing me as I stood across from him. “I don’t make decisions lightly.” This was something I already knew. “When I make up my mind, I’m all in. And when it comes to being with you, at the end of the day, it was the most freeing decision I’ve ever made, like gears shifting into place. I’m not gonna play games or beat around the bush. It’s just not how I’m made. Now, if you can’t handle that, that’s another thing entirely.”
“I can handle it.”
His mouth quirked at my quick response. “That’s good, babe. Because honestly? For me, I don’t think there’d be any going back.”
“Me either,” I whispered truthfully. I’d been sure Max was it for me when I was ten years old. Whether or not he’d ever decided the same, I’d have been lost to him for the rest of my life. I knew that instinctively, without doubt. The fact that now I got to be lost in him was just about the very best scenario I could have hoped for.
And I had hoped.
“What do you think about dinner?” he asked, releasing me from the intensity of his gaze.
I had to take a deep breath and shake myself out of it before I could even answer him. “Do you even have anything here?” I asked skeptically.
“Nope.” He chuckled, as though realizing it for the first time. “Are you up for going to the store?”
I looked at him incredulously. “Are you kidding? After being laid up, it’s sad how excited I am about going to the damn grocery store.”
He chuckled. “All right, new plan. Let’s hit the store, I’ll make you dinner, and then we’re going to bed early. Can’t tell you how many goddamn weeks I’ve been waiting to get you in my bed.”
My face suffused with heat.
“Just to sleep,” he amended, his eyes dropping to my ribs. “For now.”
Well, damn.
Chapter 18
MAX
“Why am I not surprised coffee is the first thing you throw in the cart?” I chuckled as Wren marched around the grocery store with purpose. A warm feeling settled in my gut watching her pull items from the shelf to place in our cart to put in our home. She might have thought she was just staying a few days. I had other ideas.
She shrugged. “I’m not ashamed of my caffeine addiction. Other habits I might wait a bit on,” she muttered then slapped a hand over her mouth as though she hadn’t meant to speak.
“Like what?” I asked, intrigued as I leaned against the cart, pushing it leisurely alongside her.
She blushed, something I loved to make her do. I couldn’t wait to find out if that blush went all the way down.
“Come on, babe,” I pressed, truly curious now.
“I just like weird stuff—weird combinations of food,” she was quick to amend when I shot her a raised brow.
“Like…?” I asked as we made our way down the cereal aisle.
“Like Cheetos and milk,” she blurted out. “And honey on pizza. It’s actually really good,” she defended before I could even say anything. “French fries dipped in honey… I could go on,” she said it as though it was a threat, which had me biting back a laugh.
“Wow, so this is a whole thing,” I replied, trying hard to sound weirded out rather than flat-out laughing like I wanted to. I had to fuck with her; I couldn’t resist. “How did I not know about this?”
“It’s not a thing,” she defended.
I slung an arm around her shoulders, kissing her temple. “I’m just fuckin’ with you, babe. I don’t care what you like to eat, especially since its working for you so well.” I grabbed her ass for emphasis.
“Max!” she exclaimed, darting her eyes around the store, her face bright red.
I pulled her into my side. “I want to know everything there is to know about you. I’ll try honey on pizza. Sounds weird as fuck, but if you say it’s good, what the hell?”
She shot me an adorable attempt at a glare before marching ahead of the cart, pulling cereal off the shelves as she went.
When she put a couple of dog bones and some catnip in the cart, I raised a brow. “You trying to bribe them?”
“No,” she defended. “I just thought they could use a treat.”
“That’s sweet, baby, but I have some bones at home. Plus, those would be gone in about two seconds,” I added, eyeing the tiny bones she’d picked out. “And the catnip, I wouldn’t buy that unless you want to be up all night with a crazy-ass cat.”
“Oh,” she mumbled dejectedly, and I wanted to kick my own ass.
“Tell you what, Frank loves playing with pipe cleaners. We’ll get a few more of those, and maybe we’ll throw the dogs a few hotdogs as a treat,” I bargained.
Her eyes lit up at that, and she nodded.
I wrapped my arm around her and kissed her temple again. “You don’t have to give them treats though, babe. They’ll love you regardless.”
“I just never had pets growing up. I want them to like me, which I realize sounds really stupid.” She wrinkled her nose.
“It doesn’t, and they will. Now let’s get the rest of our shit and hit the road, all right?”
“Sure,” she agreed.
An hour later, empty dinner plates beside us, we were sitting on my back deck with beers in hand.
Despite the darkness, I could still smell the pine trees and sense the wide-open space that surrounded my property. After the first few years of my life growing up in such a small house that was never clean, the fresh mountain air was like a balm I never knew I needed.
I didn’t think about that time of my life much, but I knew certain decisions I made as an adult were still dictated by how my childhood had begun.
“This is beautiful.” Wren sighed contentedly. “Did you always know you wanted this much space?”
I shrugged, taking a sip of my beer, not wanting to get into the details. “Not necessarily, though I knew I wanted to be out of town away from things.”
“This is your sanctuary,” she deduced, looking affectionately at both dogs sprawled at our feet.
“Never thought about it that way, but I guess you’re right,” I acknowledged. “I want it to be yours too.”
She turned her head to smile at me, looking more relaxed than I’d seen her since her accident. “I could see that happening easily. But, Max,” she began somewhat hesitantly, “I miss my friends and being out.”
I knew where she was going with this, and knew I’d likely waited too long to lay it out for her.
She emitted a soft growl of frustration, misinterpreting my silence. “I know I’m still sore, but the doctor said its fine,” she protested.