Page 13 of Property of Max
Max dips his head solemnly. “Apologies.See you later.”
“Don’t forget to hug Mama,” she calls out as he straightens, and suddenly Max is standing in front of me, arms opening wide.
“Come on, Mama,” he grins. “You heard the little butterfly.”
Heat rushes up my neck as I shake my head, but there’s no escape. My daughter is beaming at me, waiting, and Max looks like he’d wait all day if I made him.
So I step forward, stiff at first, until his arms wrap around me.
And oh… my… stars.
He’s both hard and soft all at once. Strength under my hands, warmth pressed against me, the kind of solid I didn’t know I’dbeen craving until now. My face burns as I force myself to hug him back, my hands sliding across the leather of his cut.
Then I sigh, close my eyes, and let myself relax for one dangerous moment. I allow myself to dream. Just for a few seconds.
Max has one arm firm around my back, the other cupping the back of my head, holding me steady against his chest.
A lover’s embrace.
My dreams deepen in that space, the need I try so hard to bury clawing its way up. For a heartbeat, I let myself imagine what it would be like if this were real…if I belonged here in this man's arms.
Then I feel him stiffen.
Shame scorches me. I made him uncomfortable.
I pull back quickly, laughing in that awful way people do when they’re covering nerves. “Well, thanks again. I should get these two home. Have a good evening, Max.”
“You too…” His voice is quiet, almost rough.
“Lila,” I blurt, realizing I never actually gave him my name. He must’ve only known Bree’s and Micah’s because I’d said them.
“Lila,” he repeats, slow and deliberate, like he’s testing how it feels on his tongue. His gaze holds mine. “You take care of yourself, Lila. Have a good life.”
The words hit me harder than they should. Final. Distant. Like a door closing. My chest tightens.
“Yeah,” I manage, shutting the van door between us and the kids. I glance up, my emotions locked up tight to hide the ache inside. “You too, Max.”
With one last look…his eyes memorizing me, mine memorizing him…I turn away.
Sliding into the driver’s seat, I force my voice steady. “Let’s get home, kids.”
As I pull out of the lot, I adjust the rearview mirror…not for him, but to keep Micah and Bree in sight. To remind myself of where my heart belongs. Even if another part of me is already longing for a man I have no right to want.
***Max***
I stand there long after the van disappears, the taillights swallowed by the street. My arms still remember the weight of her brother, solid but fragile all at once. My chest remembers the press of her body against mine. And my heart remembers the way her little girl clung to me like she’d known me forever.
Lila. Bree. Micah.
I don’t even know why I’m standing here replaying every second. But something shifted the moment I met them. Something I don’t have time for.
I scrub a hand down my face, scowling at myself. I’ve got no business thinking about a woman like her. A woman who juggles two lives on her shoulders and still manages to smile. She doesn’t need my baggage on top of it. She doesn’t need a man whose club just let him back in. A man who still doesn’t know where he belongs.
But my mind won’t let it go.
I see Micah’s eyes, sharp and alive even when his body is frozen. The flicker of humor when his niece said something that he found comical. The quiet strength it must take to keep fighting when the world’s locked you inside your own skin.
I hear Bree’s laugh, wild and free as Tank lifts her high. And then…her hug. She wrapped around me with everything she had, no hesitation, no fear. Just trust. I didn’t realize how much I needed that until her little arms squeezed the fight right out of me.
