Page 52 of Make Me Whole

“Sounds good.”

With another kind smile, she directed me to a chair in the kitchen and walked to the crock pot on the island. “Let me start off by assuring you that I’m no tattletale. I know you’re probably afraid of that.”

I blushed and looked down at my fingers, embarrassed. “Just a little. We barely know each other, and you seem to want to date my dad.”

She giggled. “We’ll talk more about that later, but yes, I would love to see more of Al. He’s yummy.”Gross!“But let’s focus on you, because if I’m keeping a secret, I want to know what kind of secret it is.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, genuinely confused.

“Is it just fun or are you in love with each other?”

My eyes widened at her bluntness. It had been nearly a decade since I had any friends, so knowing what was normal was hard. But she had been honest so far, and I felt the need to do the same.

“It’s not just fun. At least for me.”

“I didn’t think it was—for either of you.” She smiled as she poured apple cider onto two cups and walked back to the table to join me.

The smell continued to bother me, but I took a sip. Dad had taught me to be polite, after all.

“It doesn’t make things simpler, though. Max is big on loyalty, and he’s my father’s best friend.”

Molly shrugged. “Like I mentioned, your romance has a big complication. But you are an adult, Sky, and Al seems like a reasonable man. I’m sure he’ll be angry at first—livid, most likely—but as long as he knows that you two love each other and that Max would never purposefully hurt him or you, he’ll eventually understand. We fall for who we fall. We can’t help it. The real question is if whatever you two have is strong enough to carry you through the storm.”

Her words brought me hope, and on my end, I knew it was. I just needed to figure out whether the same was true for Max.

21

MAX

“This is a friendly reminder that it’s after six thirty. Unless you guys get your butts down here fast, all the good candy will be gone and we need at least six full-size candy bars in those plastic pumpkins for the sleepover to happen.”

The moment the warning was out of my lips, I started counting Mississippis. I made it to three before two pairs of small feet raced down the stairs. Their rush was such that I was afraid one kid would tumble down and end up trick-or-treating at the emergency room.

“We’re ready.” Aiden arranged the pillow Sky had sewn into his striped sweater to make him chubby like Pugsley Addams.

Ella, who followed closely after my son, frowned when she saw me alone at the foot of the stairs. “Where’s my mom?”

I shrugged. “Haven’t seen her since I went outside to help Al set up the fire pit and spooky candy station. She must still be in her room.”

The girl’s face turned as deranged as the real Wednesday Addams’s. Her twin braids swooshed around her face as she turned toward the staircase. “MOM! You’re gonna make us miss all the good candy.”

I wasn’t sure the outburst was her being in character or if I simply had never noticed that the sweet girl I had grown to love had this bossy side. Either way, it was hilarious. Through the corner of my eye, I saw my son rubbing his hands together with a wicked smirk as if Ella’s outburst was giving him all sorts of evil ideas.

The two of them were weird in the best way. I smoothed my glued on mustache and raised a brow, wondering if there was some kind of Halloween magic that was really turning us into the Addams family.

Sky’s door screeched—a spooky reminder that I had to oil all the hinges in this house—and her high heels clicked down the stairs. “Jeez, calm your panties, Ella. I’m here.”

“I’m Wednesday, Mother.”

I always found Gomez’s devotion for Morticia a little over the top in the movies, but when Sky reached the bottom landing and I took in her curve-hugging black dress, blood-red lipstick, and sleek hair, I completely understood it. She looked irresistibly good, and like Gomez, I was ready and willing to let this woman do whatever she wanted to me.

Getting into character as well, Sky fixed her luscious red lips into a firm line and said, “Pardon,Cherie. Now go get your pumpkins so we can go.”

The kids exchanged a wicked smirk and went to get the black pumpkins Sky had left for them by the front door. Finally alone, she smiled at me.

“You looktrès beau, Gomez.”

“And you look deadly gorgeous, my dear.” I reached for her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. From behind my back, I produced a bouquet of rose stems and handed it to her. “These are for you.”

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