Page 173 of Sinful Like Us
“Yes.No doubt.”
Farrow leans casually on the antique dresser. “Shit, how much did you see?”
“Far too much.”
“When?” Maximoff asks.
I explain the entire ordeal. Every little detail of how I went to find a condom and instead walked in on Luna and Donnelly, and somehow this explanation is the easiest and breeziest compared to everything else tonight.
By the end, Thatcher has returned and begun unscrewing the hinges. I’ve expected Maximoff to be upset, so I’m not surprised when he charges for the door.
Farrow catches his arm. “Where are you going?”
“To have a tea party witha bodyguard, who apparently decided to play Bill Nye the fucking Science Guy with my sister.”
I whisper to the door. “Thatcher?”
“Yeah?”
“Work slowly.”
“Copy that.” He understands that it’s better if Maximoff doesnotconfront Donnelly right now.
“The door is jammed,” Farrow tells him. “You’re not going anywhere, so just relax,relax.” He cups his jaw.
His eyes are reddened. “I’m totally relaxed.” His Adam’s apple bobs. “More relaxed than you.”
“Keep trying because you’re not even close yet.”
“Yeah?” He holds onto Farrow’s waist. “I feel pretty goddamnZen.”
I smile, but my lips fall as Maximoff hangs his head and pinches his raw eyes.
“Donnelly was doing what Luna asked,” I remind him.
He winces, looking up again. “Are we really going to justify this?” He turns to me. “She waseighteen.”
Farrow tosses his head from side to side. “Technically, she was about to be nineteen in a couple weeks.”
Maximoff glares. “Donnelly could’ve saidno.You told me I could trust him with her.”
“And you still can—”
“He went down on her!” Maximoff yells and looks between us. “Am I living in the Twilight Zone? Why are you two okay with this?” Hurt pulses in his eyes, and he puts his hands on top of his head again, distressed.
I step forward. “Because Luna is an adult and she asked him.”
Maximoff is stone, staring painfully at the ceiling.
Farrow stands off the dresser and nears him. “Donnelly is good people. I know he has some rough edges, but he’d never hurt Luna. I’d swear on my life to that.”
“Would you swear on mine?” Maximoff asks.
He runs his tongue over his molars. “No. But not because I don’t trust Donnelly.” He loves Moffy terribly so, and he’s the type of person who’d never put his love in harm’s way, even at the sake of making a point.
Maximoff crouches, forearms on his knees. His adrenaline must be pumping. He looks up at me. “He’seightyears older than her, Janie.”
“I know,” I say softly. “But Aunt Daisy and Uncle Ryke have a seven-year age difference. It’s not so different.”
