Page 80 of It's Not Home Without You

“Yeah, but if he would have believed your mom, your life might have been different.”

I grimaced. “I would have been a Hendrix bastard, no offense. Hell, I still am one, but I guess between breaking up a marriage and being a bastard, it’s not so bad.”

Oh my God. Abigail and I were related. Shit. I shook my head, not getting near that can of worms.

“So, we cool?” I got up. I had to meet Max. I had to pick him up at the factory since he let me borrow his car.

“We’re good,” he replied, and some of the tension I’d been carrying around disappeared.

Before I walked out the door, I turned to my brother and said, “If you don’t stop fucking around with Emma, I swear I will hook her up with Bear.”

Dex’s eyes darkened, not liking what I said. “You wouldn’t dare.”

I smiled sweetly at him. “We both know I would. Now, I want her as a sister, so go make it official or whatever.”

Dex gave me a playful push then closed the door in my face.

Great, I had another moody brother.

Love was a war;I knew that firsthand. I had lived with the scars of the battle for seven years. It was surreal, even after weeks of bliss, at how easy it was for your body to adjust to an old normal. Things had never been easy for me. Walking away from Max and being on my own was one of the hardest things I ever had to endure. It was scary how easy it was to get back to a point where, at the end of my day, Max was waiting for me. I was sitting on the hood of his car, waiting for him to finish his work. Emma was sending me pictures of what the workers were doing. Construction had begun, and our diner should be ready by spring. I looked up at the leaves that had fallen, and I still thought nothing beat Sunny Pines in the fall.

When Max came out, I jumped off the hood and ran into his arms. He dropped his briefcase and opened his arms wide so thatI could throw myself at him.

“I missed you.” I peppered kisses around his jaw.

“You have me, Freya,” he replied softly. He didn’t have to tell me he loved me. We didn’t always say it, but it was there—in every touch, in every smile, in the way we gazed into each other’s eyes.

“Come on, I’m starving.” He led me to the car and opened my door before going to his side. Man, I loved how chivalrous he was.

“Close your eyes,” Max said as he drove.

“Why,” I asked skeptically. “I thought we would visit my grandpa. I haven’t been over in two weeks. Either he comesto the shop to see me, or you take us out to eat. I need to see he isn’t starving.”

Max sighed in frustration. “Babe, can’t you do what I tell you for once?”

“Fine, I’ll close my eyes,” I bit out. “You’re not taking me to the old water tower again to relive old memories, are you? Because I gotta say, running into Blake was kindof a buzzkill for his girl and me.”

Then I laughed because that wasawkward.

I opened my eyes just as we passed the old bridge, and I got goose bumps. The rails got fixed, and they put up metal ones instead of wood. It was more resistant that way. The car halted, causing me to shriek. “What the hell, Max!”

My man took off his tie, and for a second, I thought he would bind my hands. Instead, he put it over my eyes, covering my sight. “Babe, is there a fantasy we haven’t talked about? Cause I don’t know how I feel about bondage.”

“Jesus,” he murmured. “I like the way your nails press into my skin, trying to rip me in two when I fuck you, and you won’t be able to do that restrained.”

I had to get my breathing under control. “So, where are we going?” I asked, getting impatient.

“Freya, shut up and wait.”

How rude. I sat in silence, trying to figure out where we were going, but Max was making all these turns either to throw me off, or he was taking me to the water towerafter all. When the car stopped, I went straight for the tie, but Max stopped me.

“I’ll take it off. Wait here.” I heard him get out of the carand waited for my door to open. He wouldn’t leave me here, would he?

“Max!” I yelled when he picked me up carried me bridal style. My arms were around his neck while he kept walking. When he finally put me down, I was a ball of anticipation. Max had taken away the tie, but my eyes were still closed.

“Freya,open your eyes, baby.”

When I did, I stared right at his green ones. The soft gleam he always had reserved for me was there, but also worry. I took a deep breath and looked ahead.

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