Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Rainey
“Hello.” I wedge the phone against my ear, cradling it with my shoulder as I whisk the bowl of icing.
“Is this Miss Collins?”
“Yes, it is. Who’s this?”
“This is Lori at Life is Love Recovery Center in Utah. I’m calling because you are listed as the contact for Mr. Hector Cano. We have an update on his progress and have opened up visiting days if you’d like.”
Fudge, how did I forget? Okay, I didn’t.
It slipped my mind. Max hasn’t mentioned Hector to me lately, but I did hear him tell one of his tech guys to install cameras at his dad’s so that he can see when he gets back.
I plan on letting Max know once I find out how Hector is doing.
“Hello, Lori, thank you for contacting me. How is he doing?”
“He’s turned a corner. Those past weeks were rough—they always are when someone’s detoxing.
His body’s bouncing back. You can see it in his face.
The sessions with Dr. Jimenez—that’s where he struggles most. All that shame bubbling up, all those memories he can’t drink away anymore after spending so long pickling himself in booze.
He sees what it costs him. Grief is hard on a person when you close yourself in.
We can discuss his progress more when you come for a visit. A visitor would help Mr. Cano.”
I suck in a breath, leaving the bowl on the table. I walk into my office. How in the hell will I make a two-hour trip without my protective boyfriend knowing? “Sure, when will visiting hours be? I do live in Vegas, though, so I’m two hours away.” I just hope what I’m doing is well worth it.
“Visitors are welcome on Fridays and Saturdays from nine a.m. to three p.m.”
“I won’t be able to this week, but you can put me on the list for next Saturday.” Max has been training hard these last couple of weeks, as the fight is this weekend. I’m excited for him, and I’m terrified at the same time. He’s worked so hard for this.
“Perfect, I’ll write it down. Mr. Cano will be pleased.”
Mr. Cano Jr. will not be pleased. I hid this to surprise him. But will it be a good or bad surprise? I just wanted to lift the weight off his shoulders.
I end the call and resume prepping for tomorrow’s orders. The restaurant sits empty and silent around me, doors bolted early. Everyone else clocked out hours ago.
I plug in my playlist and connect it to my Bluetooth speakers. Recently I created a new playlist featuring music that reminds me of my childhood. It has been bringing back memories I didn’t know I still carried. “Lost Boy” by Ruth B plays, and it takes me back.
“Oh, come on, Sol. Don’t be such a cheater.” Max groans when I move the queen on the chessboard. He’s a pro at this. It’s not fair that he keeps winning. “You can’t jump the queen over my pieces like that,” he adds with an eye roll.
“She should get to if she wants. Why does the king get to hide behind the rook and swap spots? Queens are better rulers. She should if she’s the queen.” I stick out my tongue playfully.
He giggles. “I don’t make the rules, sunshine.”
My stomach grumbles. Mrs. Sara is working a little late tonight, so Max suggested we hang out in the tree house until she or Drake get home.
We decorated our playhouse with lights. Max made it look like a fairy house.
The second he hears my stomach growl, he digs into his bag and pulls out a foil-wrapped sandwich.
This boy is always feeding me. He splits it in half.
“Here, I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And yes, I added extra jelly.”
I take it from his hold. “Thank you.” I take a big bite. My mom always added extra jelly.
“Is this like a picnic date?” I tease.
A flush creeps up his neck and settles in his cheeks. He’s cute when he gets shy. I can’t believe we pinky promised to be married someday when we are grown-ups.
“If you want it to be,” he says in a small whisper.
“Okay.”
Max hands me a bag of pretzels. I open it and place it in the middle so we can share.
“Kids. How many kids should we have?”
Max nearly chokes on his sandwich. I need to stop saying crazy things when he eats. I’m going to kill him one day. Gently, I smack his back a couple of times.
“Kids? Don’t you think that’s way too early to think of? We have about twenty years for that, and besides, if we get separated, we have to find one another.”
Separated. The word settles in my chest like a stone. My heart hurts just thinking about not being close to Max and Drake. Max told me this house is temporary. Nothing is permanent. What if he never finds me? What if we never see each other again?
“I like to live in fairytales. Picturing stories in my head helps me.” I take another bite of my sandwich. “Promise me you’ll find me if that happens.”
Max’s green eyes soften as he extends his pinky. “I promise to find you.” We do a pinky promise. “Six,” he blurts, stuffing pretzels in his mouth.
“Six what?”
“Kids.” His words are muffled.
My eyes widen. That’s a lot of kids for a woman to pop out. “Wow. Estás loco.”
He shrugs and peers at me. Max has jelly stuck to his chin, and he wipes it off with his shirt. “I’m not crazy, Sol. Hey, you asked. I wish I had siblings. You know, a big family.”
I understand him completely. I wish I had sisters and brothers.
My mom and dad had thought about having more kids when he got back from the service.
“Me too.” We finish up our pretzels and share a bottle of water in silence, both of us lost in our thoughts.
Mine go to Mom and Dad, and I’m sure Max is thinking of them as well.
“Hey, lovebirds.” Drake stands on the wooden steps of the tree house, interrupting our silence.
Max gives him a side-eye. “Stop it, Drake.”
Drake ignores his pink cheeks. Drake and Max act like brothers. They are always teasing one another. He ruffles Max’s hair. “What are you two kiddos up to?”
“We were playing chess, but Sol keeps trying to make her own rules,” Max tattles on me, and Drake laughs and tugs on my braid gently.
“It’s unfair how he always wins.” He’s so good that he should join the chess club at school.
“You will need to find a game you’re good at, and he’s not.
Max has been playing chess for a long time.
He whips us all.” All girls love Drake. Even my friends at school say my foster brother is hot.
I roll my eyes at them. “Here.” He shoves his hands in his jeans pocket and pulls out caramel candies.
“For the stash.” Max and I reach for them excitedly. “Lynn sent them for you guys.”
His girlfriend is stunning. He always has his hands all over her. “Tell her thanks. She’s so sweet.”
Drake’s dimple indents. “She is. How about we go inside? I’ll find us something to eat. Maybe Jason’s asleep already.”
We climb down the wooden ladder. My smile widens when Max curls his pinky with mine.
Memories like these, I live for. The smile on Max’s face as a kid puts a grin on mine.
“What a smile you have on your beautiful face.”
My hands go to my chest, startled. I was so lost in the memories that I didn’t hear him come in from the back. “You scared me, you sneaky man.”
His sexy smile widens. Max’s gentle hand covers my neck.
Our gazes connect as always, and a swarm of butterflies takes flight in my belly.
His lips slant on mine with an open kiss, my tongue caressing his.
With one hand on my bottom, he lifts me onto the metal table.
The kiss is deep and passionate. My body liquefies against his.
A moan leaves my lips, followed by a groan from Max.
The way he’s kissing me is bruising with desperation, his teeth catching my bottom lip, his breath hot and ragged against my mouth.
My fingers run through his black hair, thick and slightly damp at the nape of his neck, curling around the strands as if I could anchor myself against the storm of his need.
He drinks from my lips as if it were a shot of aged whiskey poured neatly into a crystal glass.
His mouth is warm against mine, sending a touch of electric spark down my spine, spreading through my limbs until the initial burn mellows into something smoother, the way good bourbon slides across your tongue.
His stubble grazes my chin as he pulls away, leaving my skin tingling like a lingering empty glass.
I’m breathless and completely melting. His wicked lips are my addiction.
“Wow, what was that for?” I say, trying to catch my breath. Max’s lips are red and swollen. He’s dressed to the nines in his black slacks and dark blue button-down shirt. He looks incredibly delicious.
“Am I not allowed to kiss my woman?”
My hands rub on his chest. “Oh, you are absolutely allowed to kiss your woman.” My face heats when I peer into his eyes.
I think about those times when we would peck at each other’s lips.
We were young, innocent kids. He completely flustered me.
Of course, I was so straightforward that my mom and dad were probably rolling in their graves.
My dad used to say, “No boyfriends until you’re thirty.
” Well, Dad, I met a boy who captured my heart.
Max licks his lips to savor every drop. “Now tell me, what has my girl grinning like the sunshine she is?”
For once, I tell him the truth. “You.”
He points at himself playfully. “Me.”
“A memory I had.”
“Ahh, I get it. From last night. I knew it would be good to have you daydream about it.”
I shake my head, laughing. “No, that’s not it.” Although it was spectacular. “It was us as kids… God, you were good at chess. Annoyingly good.”
He wags his dark brows, then peers at me as if lost in time. Max’s fingers wrap around a lock of my hair. “I whooped your ass every time. Didn’t I?”
“I let you.” I roll my eyes, and he laughs even harder. A part of me feels a twinge of relief at admitting something about our childhood. It’s the horrible things that I have a hard time talking to him about—the grief of it all.
“Oh, yeah?”
“You know I was in the chess club in middle school; seventh and eighth grade.”