Page 9 of Tempt Me

“And whoisgoing tolookafter herwhileyou’reatwork?”

He sucked in abreath.“Iwas kindof hoping you’d comewithmeandstayforacoupleofweeks until I found a sitter.”

“Thisisveryirresponsibleof you,Max,” shereplied,her disapproval giving her words somuch moreweight.“You’reunprepared. Youmayhavea job,butyou don’thavea placetostayand—”

Hecutheroff.“Ican’tstayhere,Mom. Itremindsmetoomuch of Chelsea. Besides,Evangeline hasan apartmentalreadysetup. It’s bigenoughfor Erin and me.”Heactuallyhad noideawhether thatwastrueornot. For allheknew,it wasashoebox.“Look,if you don’twanttocome,I’ll manage,butI thoughtI’d askyou. Thinkaboutitandwe’ll discussitwhen I pickErin up in the morning.”

He hung up and gotbacktowork. The prospectof nothaving todealwiththesame pretentious plasticpeopleanymorewas likeadrug toMax;the mereideaofithad himhooked.

*

Thenext morning,Max turneduponhismother’sdoorstepwithabag ofpastriesinonehandanda bunchofflowersintheother.Somemighthavesaid hewastryingtosweeten up theoldlady…and theywouldhavebeenright.HewasgoingtogotoNewYorkregardless,butifheknewhis mom would betherelooking after Erin,it would reducethestressofthewholething.

Hismomopenedthedoor inherdressinggown.Forawomanin herfifties,shestilllookedgreat.His parentshadbeen divorced forafewyears,buttheystillstayedintouch.Theyprobablyhadabetter relationshipnowthanwhentheywere married,and oftenwentouttodinnerwhenthe other wasin town.

Hesteppedintothehouse,pressingthe pastries and a bouquetofflowersintoherhands.He kissedhercheekandimmediatelymadehiswaydownthehall.Sheknewhewouldn’ttalktoher untilhesawhis maingirl.Nudgingopen the door of hisoldbedroom, Maxfinallylaid eyes onErin.Shewas lyingonherback,her tinyfingerswrappedaroundtheearofherfavoritetoybunny.Whenhe approached thecot,Erin’seyesopened and shesmiled up athim.

Scooping herintohisarms,heheld herasclosetohischestforaslong ashecould beforeshe startedsquirming free.

“Howareyou,babygirl?”he murmured,placingasmallkiss on herforehead.

“Ididn’thearapeepoutofherallnight,”hismomsaidfromthedoorway.Heturnedtofindher withtwocupsofcoffeeinherhand and asmileonherface.“ComeintothekitchenandI’llrustleup somebreakfast.”

WithErintryingtowriggle freefromhisarms,hetookherintothekitchenandsatheronhis knee. Hismomputoneof thecoffeecups down in front of himandthen tooka sip fromhers.

“So,”hestarted,“haveyouthoughtaboutit?”

“Ihave,”shereplied.“Idounderstandwhereyou’recomingfrom,Max.Butthisisahuge change.”Henodded,knowingshewasn’tdoneyet. “Ifyouthinkit’swhat’sbestforyourightnow,I won’tstop you fromgoing.”

“Butyouwon’tbecomingwithme,”hesurmised fromwhatshe’dsaid sofar.

“Oh,no,Max.I’mdefinitelycomingwithyou.IneedtobewithmydarlingErinforaslongasI

can,and if that means tagging along with you thenthat’swhatI’ll do.”

He stood up and moved totheother side ofthekitchen bench. Hewrapped his free arm aroundhismother’sshouldersandkissedher onthehead.“Thank you.”Hiswordswerechokedas theycameout, butitdidmean a lottohimthatshe’dagreed.

Shepattedhisarm. “You’rewelcome.”Pushinghimaway,shebusiedherselfbygettingaplate fromthecupboardandputtingthepastriesontoit. MaxrepositionedErinonhishipandsatback down again.

“Lastnightyou saidyou weregetting a flightoutthis evening. Is thatstilltheplan?”

“Yeah.EvangelinegotErinandmeontheeleveno’clockred-eye;wegetinalittlebeforesixin themorning.”

“Haveyou packed already?”She pickedup a Danish and bitintoit.

“I started lastnight,butI’mnowherenearfinished.”

“I’llhavealookatflightsthismorning.I’llflyintomorrowsoyou’llhavetimetogetsettled beforeI arrive.”

Aftertheyate breakfasttogetherandfedErin, Maxstoodup.“Weshouldgetback.We’vegota busyday.”

“Of course.”Hismomsmiledathim. “I’llcall youlaterandletyouknowthedetailsof whenI’ll be getting in.”

Hekissed her goodbye,loaded up Erin in his car and drovehome. Ontheway,helooked atall the palmtrees lining thestreets,sneered attherich taking their ridiculouslysmall dogs out ontothelush green lawnstoshit. LAwassofake.Moving herehad been a mistake,butitwaswhatChelseahad wanted.She’dbeentiredoftheforestsandtheraininWashingtonState.She’dwantedsunshine andpalmtrees.Itwasatoss-upbetweenCaliforniaandFlorida,butFloridawasthe stateyouwenttoin ordertoretirefromlife.

Oncehome,hesetErin onhisbed,andbroughtdownasuitcasefromthetop ofhisnow emptycloset.He’dmanagedtogetthatclearedoutafterworklastnight.Pullingopenallthe drawers onthetallboy, heemptiedthefoldedshirts andsweatshekeptin there,doingonefinal visualsweep ofeachdrawerbeforeheshutit.Whileheworked,hekeptchattingtoErin,explaining whathewasdoingandpointingoutcolorsorshapes. Shewatched,rivetedforthemostpart,but occasionallygigglingathimwhenhedidafunnyvoice.Zippingthesuitcaseupandleavingitthere, hepicked upErin and moved ontoher bedroom.

Herthingswereeasiertopack,andhewasdonetwentyminuteslater.Bythattime,Erinwas rubbinghereyesandpullingatherears—asuresignthatshewasgoingtocrashout.Heputher down for her nap and continued packing up a few other bits and pieces. As helooked around his house,hedidn’tfeelanything.Hesupposedheshouldhavebeensadbecausehewasleaving.He’d bebackin a few months in anycase,and hislifewould still bethesame,butatleasthecould escape theChelsea clusterfuckfora while.Maybehe’deven forgetabouther.

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