Page 34 of Make Me Whole

I looked over my shoulder and saw a shirtless Max strutting our way. This was exactly what I didn’t need.

He came to a stop beside me—almost on top of me, to be honest—and offered Molly a megawatt smile. “Hi. I’m Max.”

“Molly,” she cooed, making me wonder if that was the tone that had attracted three husbands.

Despite how strange our interaction so far had been, I liked Molly. I even thought we could become friends—I sure needed those since Eli had isolated me during our marriage—but her confidence as they shook hands and the perfect Jane Fonda smile woke up the green-eyed monster in me.

Still holding Max’s hand, she continued, “I left town to visit my daughter the day after you moved in and came back Saturday. I tried to catch you sooner, but y’all are so busy with your friends and kids, I didn’t want to bother. But today, I made brownies and came over to tell Sky that if she ever needs a cup of sugar, I’m right next door.”

“That’s very nice of you, Molly.”

Max was right. It was nice of her. Because she was nice, pretty, age appropriate, and unrelated to his best friend.

I hated her.

“We’re currently without a kitchen, and our kids have been begging for treats.” Max placed a hand on the small of my back and flashed me a smile. “They’ll love it, and so will we. Thank you.”

Dumbfounded at the touching and plural, I was silent. Then, he poked me in the back and I smiled, returning to my manners. “Max is right, Molly. Thank you so much. And as soon as the kitchen is finished, you’ll be welcome to the pantry. And to a Sunday barbecue.”

She literally squealed like Ella. Then, she handed me the plate, kissed my cheek, and invited me for sweet tea one of these days. Max and I waved as she walked to her home. Once she was gone, I turned and entered the house.

As soon as the door closed behind us, I placed the plate of brownies on my desk and turned to look at Max. “What the fuck was that?”

His relaxed face scrunched up in confusion. “What?”

“Wedon’t have a kitchen.Ourkids.We’lllike the brownies.”

“What’s wrong with any of that?”

I didn’t know. Most likely, nothing, but for some reason, this interaction with him and Molly had turned my previous frustration into anger.

“After everything that has happened between us, you come here shirtless, talking in the plural, and touching me like . . .”

Max raised his brows in amusement, which pissed me off even more. “Like what?”

I huffed. “Like we’re something that we’re not.”

“I didn’t touch your ass, Sky. I touched your back. Friends do that, and you are my friend. As for the plural, both of us spend our days in a kitchenless house, have kids, and will enjoy brownies with the aforementioned kids. My use of plural was appropriate.”

He was right. He knew that. I knew that. It changed nothing.

“She thought we were together, and you confirmed it.”

He shrugged. “So what? If she’s Eli’s spy, that’s a good thing. He’ll know you’ve got a man keeping you safe.”

Right again.Fuck!

“Still, I’d rather you hadn’t done any of that.”

“Why?” He took a step closer, igniting the flight instinct that had dominated me since Saturday.

I took a step backward. “Because it’s not right to lead people to believe things that aren’t true. It can hurt and confuse them.”

His cocky face fell, and the light dimmed in his green eyes. “I feel like this isn’t about Molly anymore.”

No shit, genius!

I groaned out loud, then turned around and escaped to the laundry room. I knew that if I stayed around him much longer, I’d end up doing and saying things I’d later regret.

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