Page 45 of Dangerous Play

Ander’s face mirrored pure disgust at our exchange, but thankfully, the waitress arrived to take our order.

Ander ordered pancakes with maple syrup and bacon; an acai bowl for Daisy. I ordered an avocado toast and milkshake, while Max picked the salmon and egg toast with a side of fries for us to share.

“Isn’t that too much food?” Ander asked, glancing at me after I put in my order.

My chest tightened as anxiety raced through my veins and panic gripped my throat. “No… it’s…” I started to defend myself, but Max gripped my shoulder tighter, stopping me from talking.

“You’re right, we should share a pancake stack,” he interrupted and waved at the waitress. “Chocolate and hazelnut to match your milkshake?” His dark eyes held my gaze and a calming wave washed over me as he drew me in.

“Sounds perfect,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.

Ander scoffed. “You’ll need to do a lot of cardio.”

“You know what they say, sex is the best cardio,” Max retorted with a deadly sweet smile. “And we can go for a run as well.”

Daisy looked from Max to Ander and finally to me before she glanced back at Ander. Concern swam in her hooded gaze as she shifted next to him.

I placed my hand on Max’s thighs and gripped it. We shouldn’t be pushing Ander, not when Daisy looked that uncomfortable. Guilt knotted my stomach, and catching Max’s eyes, I gave him a subtle shake of my head.

Food arrived, and we silently dug into our meals. Daisy devouring her acai bowl, as Max and I shared some sweet smiles and looks.

He stole my milkshake, wrapped his lips around my used straw and groaned with pleasure, before he dipped a fry in it and gave it to me to try it.

“I would have never tried that combination,” I confessed as he fed me two more fries. “It actually tastes good.”

“Were you questioning my taste?” He grinned, pleased with himself that he managed to pull me out of my head and put me at ease with my ex and sister across us.

“Gross.” Daisy grimaced, pushing her bowl away from herself. “I would never eat that.”

“You’re missing out.” I shrugged as I cut a piece of my avocado toast and offered it to Max.

He bit down on my fork and smiled. “I’ll have to get that next time.”

The wordsnext timemade my stomach flutter.

“I’ll pay,” Ander said as they cleared the plates. “My treat, Aarons.”

Max chuckled, pulling me closed to his side. “Already got the bill, but appreciate it. We should get going, it was great to spend time with you two. We should do this again soon.”

“Definitely,” Ander clipped as we stood.

Max offered me his hand, helping me up, and we remained with our fingers interlaced as I waved bye to Daisy and made our exit.

Max’s shoulders relaxed when we stepped outside into the sun and let out a long breath.

“I ate so freaking much,” he muttered as he opened my car door.

“That’s your conclusion?”

“Yep. Let’s do something fun when we get back, we both need a distraction.”

Nodding, I slumped against the window and stared back at the coffee shop watching Ander and Daisy. I couldn’t shake the bad feeling wrapping its arms around me as I watched them. It felt like I have already seen that movie and I knew way too well how it ended.

MAX

“How did you beat me again?” Dex groaned, throwing the controller on the table. The glass on the tabletop rattled from the force, and Ivy grinned.

“I’m just better than you.”

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