Page 47 of Moonlit Kisses

He nods. “Okay then.” He moves closer to Molly. “You can come.” He turns to his mom. “Molly doesn’t smell terrible like Mona did.”

An embarrassed huff escapes from my sister and she mouths an apology to Molly, which she kindly waves off.

“Yay!” Kenny jumps up and down in excitement. “Can I braid your hair like Elsa?”

Molly’s mouth opens and closes, her hand over her heart. “Thank you, Lachlan. I’d love to come to your party.” Then she turns to Kenny. “I’d love to have you braid my hair like Elsa. I’m not sure it’s as long as hers, though.”

“That’s okay. I’ll make it work.” Kenny nods to herself, then continues to spin.

“Okay. Well, that’s settled. We really must be going.” Em gathers the kids together. “It was nice meeting you, Molly.” Then she turns toward me. “Do you mind helping me with the kids, Max?”

That’s code for I need to speak with you about Molly. “Sure.”

The door to the outside is barely closed when Emma nudges me. Hard. “Oh my gosh, Max. She’s so gorgeous and incredibly sweet.”

We walk toward her car, and I help buckle the kids into their seats. “Yeah, she’s pretty great.”

“Pretty great, huh?” Em raises her eyebrows. “She thought I was a single Mom, who had turned up on the wrong day to get my car repaired. She was so freaking apologetic.”

Sounds like Molly. “Sheisan incredibly sweet girl. She’s been through a lot.”

Emma’s face turns sad. “Oh, the poor thing. Well, make sure she comes to Lachlan’s birthday. Everyone’s gonna love her.”

“Hang on a minute. You realize she’s just my office assistant. The family doesn’t need to ‘love’ her.” As I say the words, I know I’m not fooling anyone, especially myself. She’s already more than an office assistant to me.

“You keep telling yourself that, little brother.” She presses up on her toes and kisses my cheek before climbing into her car. “Whatever makes it easier to work alongside her. But mark my words. She’ll be part of our family soon enough.” She winks, then closes her door, not allowing me to respond.

And I know. I know she’s right. Damn it. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

CHAPTER23

–molly–

Max locksthe front door of the workshop, then turns to me. “I can come with you, if you want?”

I think he’s offered to come to dinner with Martin at least six times today. There hasn’t been another kiss since Tuesday morning, but he’s been checking on me at every opportunity. He’s being incredibly sweet, even if he’s not giving me what I really want.

It’s comforting knowing he’s concerned about me, and I don’t have to deal with the fallout from Monday’s revelation on my own. That he’ll be available if I need him. I don’t think he realizes the gift he’s giving me.

I smile. “I promise I can do this. Thanks for offering your support, Max. It means a lot to me.”

He searches for something in the top drawer of the desk, looking triumphant when he finds it. Placing the sticky note on the desk, he writes something and hands it to me. “My address.” I look at him for clarification. “If you need someone to talk to after you finish with Martin, I’ll be up late. Even if the lights are off, just knock. Okay?” He raises his eyebrows, waiting for my answer.

I take the paper from him as my heart expands to double its size at the gesture. “Okay. Thank you.” I want to land a kiss on his cheek, but I’m not sure it’ll be welcome since he hasn’t kissed me since the other day.

He smiles. “Good girl.” Flutters explode in my tummy with his praise.Shit!I had no idea I liked that so much. I can even feel my cheeks heating. “Where are you having dinner?”

“Parable?” I’m reasonably sure that’s what it’s called. “It’s got a heated outdoor patio area to sit.”

He nods. “I know that place. It has great food. Do you know how to get there?”

“Yeah. I looked it up at lunchtime.” He’s being a mother hen and I love that he cares this much about me.

He steps closer, placing his hands on my hips. His touch sears through the fabric of my pants and sends my heart racing.Will he finally kiss me?I tilt my head up, locking eyes with his olive-green ones. “Good luck. I hope you get the answers you need and that the two of you work out a way to move forward from everything that’s happened.” He finishes with a lingering press of his lips to my forehead, which isn’t exactly the type of kiss I want from him, but I feel it all the way to my soul, like a brand. “I’m only a phone call away if you need me.”

I swallow my emotions. I don’t want to burst into tears. “Thank you,” I whisper. “I promise if I need you, I’ll call.”

He nods and drops his hands from my hips. Leaving me cold. “I’d better let you get ready.” He lingers, making no move to leave. I think this may be harder for him than it is for me. His care and concern for my well-being fills the parts of my heart that have felt empty for the past couple of months.

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