Page 31 of Cody

“Are you glad you moved here?” I picked up a menu before glancing across at him. Not for the first time, I noticed that Max was a handsome man. The deep lines at the corners of his eyes told me that he must smile a lot. The color of his shirt made his eyes appear darker, brighter, and the man bun looked good on him. I sighed internally. Why couldn’t I be attracted to him like I was to Cody?

“I actually am. It’s a lot like home. Small, friendly community, small-town values.”

“And where’s home?” I skimmed over the menu until I came to the item I was looking for. I recalled how good it had been the last time I’d tried it, and hoped it hadn’t changed.

“Cartersville, Georgia,” he grinned. “Haven’t been home in a long time. Got no reason to. Anyone I ever cared for is gone now, either passed away or moved on.”

I found that sad, but there was no sadness in Max’s tone, just acceptance that that was how things were. I watched as he closed his menu.

“Hi, Max.”

I glanced up at the server, who was smiling sweetly down at Max. I didn’t recognize her as anyone that I knew from my past. She was young, and there was a look in her eyes that I recognized. “Haven’t seen you in a while.” There was more than just friendliness in her tone, and to say that she was happy to see Max would have been an understatement.

He kept his response brief, to the point, and slightly unfriendly. “Been busy.”

I stared at Max, surprised by his rudeness. But I had to give the server credit for noticing his unwillingness to talk.

She nodded and asked, “What can I get you two to drink?” Her smile was directed at me this time.

I eyed her with amusement because it was obvious that she had a crush on Max. Was that flush of color on Max’s face from embarrassment or anger? “Iced tea, please.”

“Beer,” he grunted.

I barely held back a laugh when she turned and walked away. I met Max’s eyes. He held up a hand as if to stop me from saying anything. “I’m old enough to be her father,” he said, pointing out the obvious.

“Maybe she has daddy issues.” I personally found nothing wrong with their age difference.

He exhaled and shook his head. “What can I say, when you have it, you have it.” In spite of his insistence that he was too old for the server, I didn’t miss the mild regret he expressed. Did he have a thing for her, too? Was he letting his age get in the way?

“I think it’s cute, even though she took it for granted that we aren’t together. Age is just a number, Max. My ex was fifteen years older than me.”

He practically snapped, “I’m fifty, Alina, twenty-two years older, and I don’t want to talk about it.”

Fifty! I would never have guessed that Max was fifty, which meant the server was twenty-eight, older than I’d thought she was.

The next time she returned to the table, I checked out her name tag. Layla. And then I checked her out. Her makeup was lightly applied and impeccable, and I could tell that she was a natural redhead. She had her long hair in a thick braid and a whisper of bangs brought attention to her startling green eyes.

She and Max would make a striking couple.

She set our drinks down and got ready to write our orders, sweet as pancake syrup to me and cold as ice to Max. I held back my grin because he deserved it.

Once Layla had taken our orders and left again, Max leaned in close and asked, “Speaking of being together, are you and Cody?”

Who was speaking of being together? As if he’d heard his name, Cody chose that moment to walk into the restaurant with his date for the night. Tina was tall and curvy with a dark tan that no one in Coldwater could accomplish without a weekly visit to a tanning salon, and shoulder-length blond hair. She was a pretty woman, about my age. Her fitted clothes left nothing to the imagination the way they outlined her every curve.

“You can answer that question by turning around.” I suddenly felt lacking. Like, five inches lacking. Evelyn was tall, too. Was that Cody’s type?

Max cast a quick glance behind him. “Oh. I see Tina is the lucky woman tonight.” He gained their attention with a wave, which Tina returned, because that’s what people did in small towns. I quickly averted my gaze from Cody, but not before we’d exchanged glances.

“A different woman for every night, huh?” I tried to keep my tone light. “Do you have anyone?”

“No. I’m not looking though.”

“So then what makes you any different from Cody?”

“For one thing, I don’t sleep around. If I’m sharing my bed with anyone, she’s the only one in it. I have to have feelings for the women I sleep with. The only feelings Cody has are in his dick. He’s working his way through Coldwater.”

“That’s kind of sad.”

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