Page 99 of Last on the List
“Enough shop talk.” My mom waves her hands. “Max needs to go, and I need to go spoil my only grandchild!”
“No soda before bed, Mom,” I assert. “She sleeps like crap when she has soda at night, and then I’m paying for it the next day.”
She rolls her eyes and waves goodbye as I turn to leave.
“Hey, Max?” Dad calls out.
“Yeah?” I answer, turning back toward him.
“You sure you want all that?”
“All what?”
He sighs heavily. “The new company, the added responsibility. All the changes.”
My brow furrows. “Of course, Dad. Why are you asking?”
He blinks seriously at me. “Because you look happy right now, and I’d hate for the stress of this expansion to take that away from you.”
I grip the back of my neck and shrug. “Well, I’m probably happy because I’ve had Everly home with me all summer. It’s been nice seeing her more often. All that will change once Jess gets back, though.”
“I know.” Dad shoots me a wobbly smile. “I just want you to really think about this before you commit your life to it. Everly is growing up so fast, and I can tell you from experience if I could go back and flip less houses to be around more for you boys growing up…I would. I don’t live with many regrets…but I do live with that.”
The Butterfly Dress is a two-piece gown with a colorful blast of swirling pastels and a shaggy tulle fabric overlay. The top is a corseted sweetheart neckline with dramatic off-the-shoulder straps that drape down to my elbows. The full A-line skirt makes a statement of rainbow-like colors. It’s giving “Grecian Goddess at Pride Week” vibes all the way…at least, that’s what Tatianna said. But she’s right.
This dress makes a statement. Max told Tatianna beforehand that the attire at the Rainbow Project Gala goes anywhere from sleek glamor toRuPaul’s Drag Race. This dress is like the perfect combination of both.
And when I open my tiny house door to Max Fletcher standing before me in a muted dusty-blue tuxedo with a black bow tie hanging around his white pressed shirt, I forget all about his reaction to my dress…because he doesn’t just have a tie hanging around his neck…
It’s a bow tie.
Swoon mode activated.
“Cassandra, you look—”
Max doesn’t get to finish his words as I grab the tails of his tie and pull him down to my lips. Our tongues instantly find each other like two old friends who haven’t been together in years, when in fact, this man kissed me in the garage this morning while Everly was inside. He walked into my workshop, pressed me up against the closed door, gripped my jaw and took what he wanted from me.
And I was happy to give it to him.
Max isn’t a sexual dominant by any means, more so, a born leader. The past couple of weeks together have revealed a confidence in him that wasn’t there when we first became intimate. When we were first banging it out with each other, it was wild and exploratory…sort of a fun guess and check as we discovered each other’s desires. And “kinks,” which I love that he uses that term generously now.
Now, it’s like he always knows what I need—even if it’s just a stolen kiss that lasts ten seconds. It’s everything.
And the cuddling…I’ve never felt more cherished than when I’m sleeping with Max. Perhaps it was because the only sleepovers I really had with men were when I was working at my corporate job, so I was too exhausted to really acknowledge the feel of a strong man’s arms around me, or the sensation of his heavy breaths in my hair, and the sounds he makes when he stretches and yawns. God…if I would have never experienced those moments with Max, I think I would live a life with an uncomfortable sensation of missing something I never had.
I break our kiss and Max says, “Beautiful.” He pulls in a large breath of air and adds, “Cassandra, you look beautiful.”
Simple.
Classic.
Just like Max.
I glance down at my hands still gripping his tie. “You know what these loose ties do to me.”
A sexy smirk lifts the corner of his mouth. “Exactly.”
The drive to Denver is charged with sexual tension that makes it feel stuffy in Max’s SUV when in fact, the A/C is on full blast. Last weekend, Max hit me out of nowhere with talk about our future. At the time, I felt cagey and had to force myself to stand there and reassure him. It wasn’t easy.
