Page 9 of Pucked and Pregnant

He’s ridiculous, but he manages to maintain the fake limp for the entire walk to his car.

“Seriously, Max, does that disguise actually work for you?” I ask once the doors are shut.

“I didn’t see us getting mobbed by reporters, did you?”

“It’s so glaringly fake.”

“To you maybe, but you always were smarter than the average bear.” He laughs. “It’s good to have you home again.”

“Not that I’m not happy to see you, but where’s Mom and Dad? I thought they were picking me up.”

“They’re meeting with their travel agent.”

“Travel agent? You mean they’re finally going to take that retirement trip? Huh, I never thought they’d actually go. I figured me moving home would push the timeline back a bit.”

“Well, I might have given them a little nudge.” He grins.

My eyes narrow. “What kind of nudge?”

“They had planned to wait to talk to an agent until after you got settled into your own place but?—”

Dread settles into the pit of my stomach.

“But what?”

He bites the inside of his cheek. “I may have convinced them you’d be way more comfortable at my place than crammed into your childhood bedroom. I added that I’d look out for you, maybe even sweetened the pot by saying I’d make my place so comfortable that you wouldn’t want to leave, that we’d end up being permanent roomies. We could be carpool buddies too—blasting the music, racing down the highway… just like old times, right, Squeak?”

My jaw clenches. “If you call me Squeak in front of anyone we know or any of my coworkers, I swear to god I will castrate you on the spot.”

He laughs and ruffles my hair. “Good to have you back, little sister.”

“You’re six minutes older. That barely counts,” I argue.

“Six minutes, sixty years, what’s the difference? I’m far more mature and worldly.”

“Says the man with the fake beard and the even faker limp.”

He sighs and smacks his lips. “Ah, this kind of banter is what keeps me young. It’s good to have whippersnappers like you around.”

There’s no arguing with him when he’s like this, so I just roll my eyes and give up.

It’s not until we’re in the elevator of his place that the reality of what he’s done hits me.

“How soon are they leaving? Did you seriously cut my time short with them so you could force me into living here? You get to have them all the time yet as soon as you know I’m coming home, you send them away so you don’t have to share. What the fuck, Max?”

I yank my suitcase out of the elevator with a jerk and step into his living room.

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch, Liv. It’s not like that.”

“My panties are none of your business,” I snap.

I turn and storm off only to come face-to-face with a room full of people.

3

AIDEN

Liv might have left my life quietly but she certainly came back into it with a bang.

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