Chapter Twenty-Three
Ruby
I have no clue who Max is, but when he jogs over to our group, I’d bet money that he’s another one of Dash’s relatives. In fact, they look so much alike, they could be brothers.
The only major difference is Max’s lack of beard.
His jet-black hair is straight, parted in the middle, lightly dusting over the tops of his ears.
He’s dressed in an honest to goodness pilot’s uniform, even donning tiny little wings on his white collared shirt pocket.
The man is just as gorgeous as Dash and his sisters.
The genes in this family…
“What are you doing here?” Dash asks Max as he envelops him in a massive man hug, smiling like his best friend just walked into the room. For all I know, he did.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Max laughs. “Here to see you, big guy.”
“How’d you get off work?”
Max winces. “Technically, I’m still working. I just switched for a flight to DC instead of Atlanta.”
“How long are you here for?”
“Three hours.” Max’s smile widens. “But when Aunt Donna said she and the girls were coming this weekend, I knew I had to make it work. It’s not often we get to have an impromptu family reunion.”
So he is family.
"Lexi wishes she could've come too, but she sends her love instead," Max adds, before filling everyone in on her condition. Sounds like his sister's been through quite the ordeal.
Watching Dash interact with his family has me wanting to disappear into the background.
There are so many of them—so many names to memorize—and I don’t want to be the eighth wheel that Dash feels responsible for.
I’d like to politely excuse Beck and myself, but maybe if I just turned and ran, they wouldn’t notice…
“Max, I’d like you to meet Ruby and Beckett,” Dash says, pulling me from my scheming.
“Uh, hi.” I offer Max a small wave. Beck does the same.
“Max is my cousin,” Dash offers, patting him in the center of his brawny chest.
“And let’s not forget best friend.” Max squeezes Dash on the shoulder before taking a step toward us. “It’s nice to meet you both,” Max says with a kind smile. “Friends of Dash’s, I take it?”
Dash’s mouth opens, then closes. “Yeah. Beck actually won tickets to Game One in the tournament from one of my livestreams.”
“Really?” Max brightens. “That’s awesome, man. Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” Beck grins. “And because Dash is the best, we’ve got tickets to the whole thing now!”
I squeeze Beck’s shoulders, willing him to pipe down. If he gives too much away, there’ll no doubt be more questions from the group. Questions I didn’t aptly prepare myself to answer.
“Is that so?” Max gives Dash a look I can’t quite decipher. Whatever it is, it makes me want to run and hide behind the lighted tree again. I cannot have Dash’s family thinking that we are taking advantage of him. Or that I’m monopolizing all his time.
We should go, give him time to spend with his cousin before he has to leave.
“Well, it was nice meeting you all,” I say abruptly, needing to remove myself from this family bubble before I make things more awkward. “We’d better head out before it gets too late.” I hook a thumb behind me.
The way Dash’s brows lower, immediately turning his expression into one of concern, has my stomach clenching. “Are you sure? You guys don’t have to go. We could—”
“No, no. We really do. Mom doesn’t want Beck out too late and—”
“Aw, come on, Ruby,” Beck protests. “It’s not that late.”
I send him a warning look. “You heard Mom earlier, Beck.”
“Wait, Ruby.” Dash moves a step closer, invading my personal space with his freshly showered scent. I swear if his mom and sisters weren’t around to witness it, I’d bury my face in his chest and take the deepest breath ever just to regulate my nervous system.
He lowers his voice. “If you want to go, I understand. But please don’t feel like you have to.”
I meet his eyes, silently pleading for an out. “Your cousin is only here for three hours.” When it doesn’t look like he wants to relent, I add, “And you only have so much time to spend with your family. We can text later.”
He gives me a firm nod. “All right. I’ll text you later.” Turning to Beck, he holds out his fist. “Thanks for coming tonight, Beck. Couldn’t have made that shot without you screaming at me from the seats.”
Beck laughs. “Hey, you got it, Dash.”
Dash’s heated gaze connects with mine. “I’ll text you.”
I nod and back away. “It was so nice meeting you all,” I repeat.
Dash’s mom visibly deflates and his sisters wear matching confused expressions. But that doesn’t make sense. Wouldn’t they want me to bow out to be able to spend more time with Dash alone?
“Nice to meet you,” Dash’s mom says, almost as if she’s asking a question.
“Good night, Ruby.”
“Night, Ruby and Beck!”
“Be careful on your way home!”
“It was great meeting you guys!”
I’m not sure who says the last few parting greetings, aside from the last one that was spoken in a male voice, because I’ve already turned to go.