Page 70 of Moonlit Kisses

“Yeah. It’s uncanny. The first time I laid eyes on you, I couldn’t stop staring. The resemblance was remarkable to Nicole and to your sister and brother. I went home and told Beth about you. She didn’t believe me until she laid eyes on you the day we bought the car from Max.” He glances away, then his eyes lock back on me. “When she had to come and pick me up from your place that day we worked out that you are my daughter. Beth wanted to pack you up and bring you home. We lost Nicole all of those years ago and then we lost her all over again that day.”

The breath in my lungs seizes. I was so overwhelmed that day and I’ve been caught up in my own grief and loss as well as coming to terms with meeting my father, that I hadn’t taken the time to consider his and Beth’s loss. I’ve been so selfish. “I’m sorry you had to find out about Mom like that. It would have been tough.”

He shrugs. “Is there anything you can share with me about you? What’s your favorite thing to do?”

A genuine smile spreads. “I love to sketch. My stepdad, Jack, taught me and my brother, Ethan, how to draw. Ethan mostly drew cars, but I’ll draw pretty much anything.”

“Really? Holly’s always sketching new designs for her clothes.” The tension disappears between us as we find some common ground. Conversation flows more easily as we chat about Holly’s passion for design.

I glance at the time. “Oh, my gosh. I need to get back. I only get thirty minutes for lunch.”

“Sure.” We quickly clean up our mess and head back to the workshop. Martin parks out front, then turns in his seat toward me. “Uh, would you like to come over for dinner one Saturday night?” I freeze. I’m not sure I’m ready to face his whole family at once. “You can bring Max with you.”

“Do you mind if I think about it and let you know?”

He shakes his head. “Of course. No pressure.”

“Thanks. And, uh, thanks for today. This was … nice.” I open the door and climb down.

“Thank you for agreeing to have lunch with me. I hope we can move forward, Molly.” I nod.

“Bye, Martin.”

“Bye, Molly.”

I close the door and head inside the workshop. A squeal escapes as I’m lifted off my feet from behind. Muscular arms wrapped around my waist tightening to keep me in place. Max’s familiar scent swamping my senses. “You scared me.” He places me back on my feet and I spin around. Immediately, I’m engulfed in his warm embrace as he studies my face closely, his brows scrunched together. I smile at him. “I’m okay. Lunch went well.”

He blows out a breath and glances between my eyes and mouth, then leans in to kiss me. It’s not a kiss to welcome me back, it’s a kiss that fills me down to my toes. It makes me feel cherished and cared for. He’s reminding me he’s here for me and I don’t have to deal with my new reality on my own. I return his kiss. Pouring my appreciation for his support into it. We separate slowly, gradually opening our eyes. “You’re sure?”

I nod. “I’m positive. We even got invited to dinner one Saturday.” His eyebrows shoot up. “I wanted to check that you would be able to come with me before I accepted.”

“If you’re there and you want me to be with you. Then that’s where I’ll be, Dimples.” He presses his lips to my forehead, pulling me in tighter to his body, and I sigh. “Even if I had something on, I would cancel to be with you.”

Luckily, he’s holding me tight; I think my knees would have given out on me if he weren’t. “Thank you. I’ll let Martin know later. Now what’d I miss?” With our arms wrapped around each other, we make our way into the office.

CHAPTER34

–molly–

Max strollsinto the kitchen as I’m opening and closing every cupboard. “What are you looking for? Maybe I can help.”

“Do you have any lunch boxes?” I wave my hand in the general direction of the cupboards.

He glances around, then shakes his head. “I don’t think so. Why?”

I fidget with my bracelet. “Today, at lunch, Martin had a lunch box that Beth had prepared for him. I wanted to start making our lunches. It’s expensive to buy it every day. I can pack them the night before, and it’ll be easy enough to keep them in the fridge at work.” I hope he doesn’t think it’s a stupid idea.

He moves into my space, hooking his fingers through the belt loops of my jeans. He pulls me forward and smirks at me. “You wanna make lunch for me, for us?”

“Yeah. You don’t think it’s stupid, do you?”

He shakes his head. “Nah. Dad always made our lunches for us when we were living at home. But I buy our lunch every day to support Lawrence’s business. I could have been taking lunch to work, but I’d rather help him out. He gives us a discount because we buy from him every day. But if it would make you fee–”

Of course, he does it to help his friend; that’s Max all over. “Oh, I didn’t realize that’s why you did it. Forget I said anything.” I press into him and lick his bottom lip. He opens and I slide my tongue inside to share a heated kiss. I love this man. “I love you.”

Max’s eyes widen and his lips spread wide to match. “Say that again, Dimples.”

“I love you, Max. You’re such a good man.” I press a chaste kiss against his mouth.

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