13. Maxon
Devon is talking and I’m not listening, specifically, he is talking to me and I’m not listening. The man showed up on my doorstep this morning at the butt crack of dawn to bring me the newest information he’d gotten about one of my LA clients. He’s very resourceful like that. The only issue is I’ve neglected to mention the fact that the woman he’s been concerned about me falling for again, or, more accurately, the woman I might try to get to fall in love with me again, is currently sleeping in my spare bedroom.
I steal a cautious glance towards the hallway. It’s early still and I’m in the kitchen making breakfast while my assistant sits at the island with his paperwork listing out names and numbers.
“Are you even paying attention?” Devon catches me as I look towards the hallway again. He glances over his shoulder to the hall. “Is there something going on I should know about?”
I guffaw. “No.”
Smooth Max.
Devon watches me as if he doesn’t believe my words before glancing at the hallway again. His attention snaps back to me, then to the food that I’m preparing and then jumps from his seat. “Is there someone here?” He accuses, his eyes growing wide.
I let out an uncomfortable laugh. “What? Why would you say that?”
He shoots me a dead look. “You’re making pancakes.”
I glance down to the bowl I’m currently mixing. “So?”
“You never eat pancakes.”
“That’s not true.” I wave the spoon at him, flinging a bit of the batter at him in the process, as well as getting it all over my own shirt. I mentally swear before shucking the thing off and tossing it in the corner.
“It is true; you’ve always said that pancakes are too sweet and that all you need in the morning is coffee and bitterness to survive.” Devon crosses his arms over his chest.
I set the bowl down. “I’m kind of dramatic, aren’t I?”
“Without question.” He steps closer to the counter, dropping his voice into a whisper. “Who is she? I didn’t think you had any women you saw in Buffalo.”
“I don’t.”
“Morning.” Paige says and both my and Devon’s attention snaps to her in the hallway. She’s still wearing her pajamas and a smile grows across my lips, it’s the same sweatshirt and pants that she was wearing when I ran into her at Danika’s Café. I couldn’t have been sure that day with how quick our interaction was, but now that she’s standing in front of me I have no doubt about it…
That sweatshirt was mine.
Although it’s faded against the blue, I can still vaguely make out the 67 of my old football number. I never got it back after the game where we won against her high school for the chance at the state championship. Jealousy had gotten the best of me that night, especially when I saw some Bulldogs player’s number painted on her cheek. Not that I had any claim to her, back then we were playing some stupid game of keeping any kind of relationship in the safe parameters of only existing for a few weeks out of the year.
“Morning,” I say, and I know I sound far happier than I should considering the hour.
Her calculating eyes travel me for a moment, a thin eyebrow arched before snapping to Devon and then back to me. “Why aren’t you wearing a shirt?”
I glance down at myself and wince. Okay, not what I’d planned for her first morning here…
“He spilled pancake mix all over himself.” Devon supplies.
Her eyes light up. “Pancakes? They’re my favorite.” She grins, stepping towards the counter and peeking into the mixing bowl in front of me.
“Of course they are.” Devon says in a dry tone, his unamused look directed at me from behind her back, as if he was already expecting her response.
Well, I didn’t hire him because he was an idiot.
“I’m going to go get another shirt.” I say, backing away from the bowl and starting towards my room.
“Do you have chocolate chips?” Paige calls from the counter.
“In the pantry.” I holler back as I slip into my room. By the time I step back into the kitchen once again, Paige has donned an apron and has stationed Devon at the cooktop, his own apron hanging from his neck and an unamused look on his face. Biting my lips together to keep from laughing, I step up towards the counter. “I was supposed to be making those.” I say, peering into the bowl that has at least half the bag of chocolate chips being mixed in.
She hums a response and I glance towards Devon who’s greasing a pan, I nod. “How’s it going over there?”
“Do not talk to me.” He says shortly causing Paige to snort a laugh.
“I like you.” Paige shoots him a grin, then turns a sly look towards me, her gaze piercing through any kind of armor I’ve convinced myself that I have against this woman. “You put this boy in his place.”
Now it’s Devon who laughs, a sound I scarcely hear, as she hands him the bowl of batter and he begins to pour some into a pancake shape. “You know what, I think I kind of like you too.” He says with a wink that would have bothered me if I didn’t know for a fact that Devon is absolutely in love with his female roommate back in LA who has firmly placed him in the “friend zone” category.
Yeah, the guy can give me shade about my love life all he wants, but he’s not exactly sitting in a better camp.
Paige beams at the compliment and then turns her attention back towards me. “So does that mean I can steal you away?” She’s still speaking to Devon as she begins to tidy up the few ingredients that go into a boxed pancake mix. “Because any assistant that shows up for breakfast is the kind that I definitely want.”
Devon makes a grunting noise. “I can assure you, he isn’t making this breakfast for me.”
She narrows her gaze at me, then leans in closer to whisper, allowing a good whiff of her honey scent to drift over my senses like some cruelly timed joke. “Are you trying to win me over?” She says, her voice filled with accusation.
Mirroring her movements, I lean in as well. “Is it working?” I arch a brow at her in a challenge.
She narrows her gaze at me, the stormy grey in her eyes containing the full force of a hurricane as she determines if I’m worth her time or not. She turns to Devon. “Well, I’m inviting you to breakfast from now on. Tomorrow we’re having breakfast bagel sandwiches, do you prefer bacon or sausage?”
I, apparently, am not worth her time.
Devon’s attention snaps towards me, color draining from his face as I hang my head, giving it a slight shake before shrugging in defeat. He flips the pancake in his pan before nodding. “Either is fine with me.” He says but there’s a different note in his voice, like he just witnessed all he needed to see to know how devastating Paige is on me.
“Then we’ll have both.” She nods firmly, untying her apron and draping it over the counter. “I’ll stop at the store after work today and Max and I will have it ready in the morning.” She gives a firm nod in decision.
I raise a finger. “You and I are going to be out late tonight.” I say.
She knits her brow together in question. “We are?”
I nod, snagging a few chocolate chips from the bag that lays on the counter between us. “Yeah, we’re going to a party.”
She lets out a bark of a laugh, stealing the bag of chips from me as if it was the idea of a party and she just snagged it away. “That’s funny.” She says shortly before turning on her heels away from me and shoving the chocolate chips back into the pantry where she found them.
“Not a joke,” I say, cutting a glance to Devon who’s watching with a perplexed look of his own. “I have a party I need to be at and thought you’d want to come. There’ll be a lot of high society there… people who like to party.” A smile picks up at the corner of my lips as Devon gives an understanding nod.
Paige spins on me, her interest piqued at my words but her face still scrunched into a frown. “It’s a Tuesday.”
“Rich people don’t care about that.” Devon mutters from his position at the stovetop.
I nod with a slight laugh at my assistant before turning my attention back to Paige. “I figured you might want to brush shoulders with some of them.” I shrug. “But if you’re not interested…”
She narrows her eyes on me. “I didn’t say that.”
A breathy laugh escapes from my lips. “So, you’ll be my plus one?”
Her teeth peek out as she bites her bottom lip, contemplating how much she should trust this olive branch I’ve offered.
“In a friendly, non-committal way.” She says and I nod.
“Of course, I’d never ask you to be my fake girlfriend.” I say with a wink.
Paige rolls her eyes before nodding. “Alright. I’ll be there.” Then she glances back at Devon. “You’re coming too, right?”
His eyebrows shoot up and he glances to the pancakes in his pan. “Uh, I suppose?” He says it more as a question than a statement but I figured he’d be coming along anyway. I had work I needed to accomplish while at the party which meant Devon had work that needed to be accomplished.
“Good!” Paige grins. “But we’ll still do breakfast in the morning. Maxon, you’ll be on bacon duty.” She points an accusing finger at me before starting back towards her room.
“Where are you going? What about the pancakes?” I call after her.
“I have to get ready for work.” She says over her shoulder without so much as hesitating on her way towards her room.
Once the door has latched behind her, Devon turns his attention to me as he pours another pancake into the pan. “Well, she’s a treat.” He watches me, then his focus drifts back to the pancake. “I don’t even know how I ended up in an apron, one second I was standing there and the next thing I know she was handing me a pan and giving me instructions.”
My shoulders shake as I try to keep from laughing. “Yeah, that’s Paige for you. She’ll volunteer you herself if you’re not careful.”
“Why do you think she hates you?” He asks, but his eyes are trained on the pancake he’s flipping.
“Well, thank you for not sugar coating that question.” I try to joke but the words still affect me like they were an actual gut punch. I watch the hallway. “I don”t think she hates me… She just likes to pretend she does.”
“And you think taking her to a party is a good idea?”
A smile touches the corner of my lips. “What could go wrong?”
His brow scrunches into a frown as he pours another pancake. “What about the paparazzi? They’ve been on you ever since you stopped being seen with Honey. They’re waiting to see who your next victim is.”
I glare at him.
He winces. “Poor choice of words. But the concern stays. If you’re seen with Paige, they’ll be on her like wild dogs. She’s not the type that you’re usually seen with, is that the kind of image you want?”
My body goes tense and I stare at my hands on the counter. “I’m not embarrassed to be seen with Paige, that’s never been the problem.” I say shortly, but the question that danced in my head instead was if I want to bring that kind of chaos into her life? Paige would probably hate me if paparazzi suddenly start ambushing her at every corner. She’s never liked being the center of attention. “They’re only a concern in LA. Not a single pap has ever followed me back here.” I shrug.
He makes a dissatisfied grunting noise and I would be lying if I said his concerns didn’t nag at something inside my chest. “Are you sure she even likes you?”
I nod with a wide grin as he flips another pancake, that at least wasn’t one of my concerns.
“What makes you so sure of that?” He shoots with an apprehensive look.
“Because,” I say as I lean over the counter and snag a pancake from the growing pile. “She just volunteered me to make breakfast tomorrow.”