Page 59 of The Maxwell Brothers
The admission surprised me, and by the way his eyes widened, it surprised him too. Maybe he wasn’t ready to hearsomething so deep from me yet, or perhaps it wasn’t something he wanted to know at all, but I didn’t feel the need to hide from him. I wanted him to know who I was. But what if he didn’t like it? This was too much information for a first date.
I licked my lips before adding, “So, yeah, I would think that now in the age of Tinder, it’s easier to get dates, but every time I swipe—" That weird noise came again. I turned my head to him. “Did you make a sound at the back of your throat?”
He tilted closer. “Lexi, I don’t want to hear about you seeing other men now or in the past, ever. It drives me crazy.”
Oh my God. Thathadbeen him earlier. I swallowed hard, acutely aware of the heat of his body, his forehead pressing against mine, his fingers sitting in the small of my back possessively.
“You’re mine,” he growled. An honest-to-goodness growl.
“Okay. Fair enough,” I responded, breathless. His presence was all-consuming. For a few seconds, I completely forgot people surrounded us. We might not see them through the plants, but we could hear voices and the sounds of laughter and clinking glasses.
“Tate,” I whispered, my voice uneven.
His fingers were pressing into my back even more, and the corners of his mouth tilted up.
“You’re doing something to me, Lexi, and it’s even more dangerous than I thought.”
“Hmm,” I murmured, keeping my tone playful. “I like the sound of that.”
He leaned back, taking his hand away.
“And you think not touching me will make it less dangerous?” I teased.
“I sure as fuck hope so, because I’m close to throwing you over my shoulder and walking out of here with you.”
Oh. My. God.That sexy, determined voice was going to be my undoing.
I shifted even farther away on the couch. A twinkle of amusement popped in his eyes. I loved it.
“My mom always says that when a person makes you feel everything intensely, it’s a good sign,” I said before pressing my lips in a tight line. Oh sweet heavens. I’d only had one cocktail and I was already reciting Mom’s advice. I’d managed to scare off a lot of dates like this, and I hadn’t even shared half the things I just told Tate. I didn’t seem to want to hold back.
“You’re close to your parents, right? I mean, I know you’re helping them, but that’s not the same thing.”
“Mom is my best friend. I tell her everything. Growing up, she was the best mother I could want. She listened, and when I asked for advice, she gave it to me, but it never felt stifling or overly pushy or like she was taking away my freedom. We had a bit of a rough time when I was a teenager because, well, all teenagers seem to want to piss off their parents.”
“I’m sure Paisley won’t be like that,” he said stoically.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Right. Keep thinking that if it helps. Just prepare yourself for the worst.” Sighing, I added, “I miss being able to talk about everything with Mom. In the past few years, life has changed a bit, especially this last year with the surgery. I spoke more to Dad, but even so, most of our conversations were about health or bills. I’m sure it’s going to get better. Mom is already feeling loads better than before. I sent her a box of sweets last week from Le Chocolat, and she sent me, like, a dozen silly pics. That’s a good sign.”
Tate looked at me intently but didn’t say anything.
“You freak me out when you do this,” I said honestly.
“What?”
“You don’t say anything, just look at me.”
“Trust me. If I say everything that’s on my mind, it’ll scare you even more.”
I swallowed hard, whispering, “Try me.”
His eyes flashed. “Not tonight, Lexi. Not tonight.”
“Hmmm… this is a two-way street, mister. I want to know stuff about you too.”
“You can ask me anything. Except what you just did.”
Chuckling, I racked my brain for something I wanted to know. “I haven’t met your parents. Do they live far away from here?”
