Page 17 of The Young & the Sinner

Exceptional? I supposed the service was something, although we’d been here plenty of times, and it wasn’t always like this. Sure, the staff were usually nice, but they hardly looked like they would jump through hoops to make us happy.

I looked down at the table and studied the lace pattern of the tablecloth while Max and Mason talked about work. Mason asked Max something about finance and I tried not to yawn. I never really understood what it was that Max did exactly, only that he had a pretty high position in the company, and that most of his work revolved around money.

My eyes glazed over as they continued their conversation. Mason then asked Max something about stocks, and Max said something which I was sure was a joke, considering Mason laughed. I smiled. Mason had a nice laugh. What would it be like to have him laugh at something I said? But I wasn’t witty. There was a better chance of him laughing at me than becauseof me.

I let out a soft sigh and leaned back against the chair, sneaking in glances at Mason every once in a while, having nothing more to add to the conversation.

I guess I could rule out majoring in finance in college. I had briefly entertained it a year ago, because that was what Max went to school for and I wanted to be just like him. But then he showed me what he was working on one night, and I felt my eyes getting heavy taking in all the numbers, much like what my eyes were doing now, and knew that wasn’t a career path for me.

He had laughed and said he swore he saw the light died from my eyes a little while he tried to explain what it was that he did. We hadn’t talk about that night again.

The server came back with our drinks and said something about giving us more time to peruse the menu before she left.

Max turned to me, a knowing smile on his face as he changed the subject. “So, what are we doing tomorrow?”

A grin pulled at the corner of lips when I looked at him. “Ooh, I have everything planned out. First, I’m going to cook your favorite breakfast, blueberry pancakes.”

“With maple syrup, right?” he asked, tugging on a single strand of my hair.

“Of course,” I answered seriously. Maple syrup was a necessity for blueberry pancakes. Like peanut butter and strawberry jam. It would be a crime to have one and not the other.

Max’s grin widened as I continued. “Oh, then we’re going to the Art Institute and Matty’s deep-dish pizza for lunch.” I gripped the sleeves of his shirt, getting more and more excited as I talked, and Max smiled indulgently at me. “We could even visit the Lake Shore and eat so many hot dogs for dinner, we’ll want to puke our guts out.” The thing about living in Chicago? You never get tired of doing all the stuff Chicago was famous for. It was like a new experience every time we did it. Especially the food. I would never get tired of the food.

Max laughed. “Ah, I don’t think we’ll be able to do all of that in a day. But we can save some of it for another time, how about that?”

I nodded and looked to Mason, who had the same smile as Max while he listened to me talk. I never realized how similar they looked, even though they were so different. Max was gentle and stable. He was everything I needed most, in a time of my life when everything felt so unbalanced. But Mason…

He was intense. And strangely beautiful for such a rough-looking man. And I was crushing really hard. “You should come with us,” I said, before I lost the courage. It would make the day even more perfect if I got to see Mason again.

Max turned to his brother, placing one hand on Mason’s huge shoulder. “Yes, you should. It’s been a while since we hung out.”

Mason playfully thumped Max’s bicep. “Does my big brother miss me?”

Max rolled his eyes, but his cheeks were slightly red. “Whatever. Still come. I expect to see you tomorrow at seven for breakfast.”

“Seven, huh? Can’t even sleep in on a Saturday?”

“When was the last time you slept in? And besides, Olivia is an early riser. She’ll have breakfast ready by then. Don’t be late.”

Mason looked back to me and winked. “I’ll be there.”

“Great!” I sounded a little too enthusiastic. I toned down my voice and said, “It’ll be fun.”

I hoped I pulled off being casual well. Hoped they couldn’t hear the booming thud of my beating heart. And I curse the fact that I didn’t bother putting on makeup, because I could feel my cheeks warming and knew I was blushing somewhat fiercely.

Fortunately, the server came back then, taking the attention away from me. “Have you folks decided what you’re going to have?” she asked sweetly. Before, I wasn’t really paying attention to her, but now that I was, there was just something strange about her expression as she took us in.

Her cheeks were red. Her eyes lingered a little longer on Max, then Mason, as if she couldn’t decide who to look at first. I might as well have been invisible. I frowned and glanced at Max. He looked like he wanted to laugh.

We quickly put in our orders, spaghetti and meatballs for me, and Florentine steaks for the men. Our server practically ran out of there. “What was that?” I asked.

Max didn’t look at me when he answered, “I don’t know.”

Mason choked on his water, and Max shot him a funny look.

“But she was acting weird, right? I’m not the only one who noticed.”

“Yeah, Olive. Really weird.”

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