Page 7 of Make Me Whole

I didn’t correct him on my last name. Honestly, I much preferred being referred to by my maiden name, Holmes. The only reason I planned to remain Walsh after my divorce was because that was Ella’s last name.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Aiden.” I shook his little hand. “You may call me Sky, if that’s okay with your dad.”

His smile widened, showing a couple of missing teeth. “I think he won’t mind. He says I have to call older people Mr. and Mrs. unless they tell me otherwise. Which you did, and also, you ain’t that old.”

I chuckled.

At the door, Ella huffed with annoyance at the delay in her playtime. I bent over and whispered, “You'd better get going. Your new friend seems a bit jealous of the attention you’re giving me.”

He looked over his shoulder, then shrugged. “What can I say? The ladies love me,” he whispered back before pulling his hand from mine and running off after my daughter.

I waited before the two kids disappeared in the back yard and then let out my second over the top laugh of the day. The difference in my mood in only an hour was overwhelming, but exactly what I needed.

“What are we laughing at?” Dad asked.

“Aiden,” I replied and brought a finger to wipe a tear that had leaked from laughing too hard. “The kid is a riot.”

“Yes, he is,” a male voice that did not belong to my father replied.

I turned around and immediately stopped laughing. I might even have stopped breathing as well because the man standing next to my father was not the Mr. Preston I remembered from my childhood.

For starters, he wasn’t old like my dad. At least he didn’t look like it. He was ruggedly gorgeous, with sandy hair cut at a perfect gradient and just enough stubble to make a girl wonder if it would tickle during a kiss.

The man was tall—a whole palm taller than my tall father—and buff in a way that looked natural, like he worked with heavy stuff instead of being a gym rat. He also had the greenest eyes I had ever seen on a human, and when his gaze connected with mine, it was like fire consumed every naughty bit of me.

Heat creeped up my neck as we continued to stare at each other in silence. I could feel my Dad’s presence in the room, watching me and his best friend stare at each other like entranced people, and it made me uncomfortable. Dad had always read me like a book, and the thoughts swimming in my mind were not ones I wanted him to know.

I had to put a stop to this.

Shaking the lust from my head, I took a step toward the men and smoothed the fabric of my dress over my waist and hips—mostly to dry my sweaty palms before greeting Max. His eyes followed the movement like a mountain cat ready to pounce. He shifted from one foot to the other when I finally stopped in front of him.

“Good to see you again, Skylar,” he greeted casually, eyes still locked with mine.

The way he said my name made my legs feel like Jell-O, and the space between them pooled with hot liquid. Heart pounding, I extended a hand toward him. “You too...” I trailed off and licked my lips, trying to decide what to call him. I had never in my life used his first name, but calling him Mr. Preston when he looked this hot felt too weird. “Max,” I finally settled. Then, in a brain-dead moment, I added, “You look nothing like I remembered you.”

A hint of a smirk curled the corner of his soft looking lips as he placed his hand on mine. “Neither do you, honey.”

Innuendo mixed with the electricity that traveled from his hand to mine, making my head reel with inappropriate things.

“Now that we’re all reacquainted, c’mon, Max. Let’s go get the grill going before those kids get hungry,” my Dad said, reminding me that he was present. I pulled my hand away from Max’s like it was on fire and turned my gaze to my dad, who added, “Baby, can you bring the beers out when you’re done here?”

“Sure, Daddy,” I replied, voice rough and raspy.

Dad walked to the sliding doors, but Max hung around for a second longer, staring at me like I was something he wanted to eat. My heart pounded like a jackhammer because he was something I wanted to eat as well, and that just made this whole day very complicated.

A moment later, he followed my father outside.

Alone and finally able to breathe, I turned my back to the glass doors and dropped my head to my hands. It was so wrong that the first man I felt attracted to since high school was my dad’s best friend. It was like once again, the universe was mocking me and reminding me of what a failure I was.

I had no idea how I was going to survive today without making an absolute fool out of myself, but for all our sakes, I would have to do it. Then, I would avoid Max like the plague for another decade or so. Hopefully, by then, age would catch up to him and end this stupid attraction.

Somehow, I figured that even a hundred years wouldn’t be long enough for that, but a girl can hope, right?

3

MAX

Holy mother of sexy shit, what the hell happened to little Skylar?

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