a moment, before saying, “So, basically any time it has to do with Dawn just being Dawn?”
“Precisely.” Celeste leaned in close and whispered in his ear. “As well as around sexy men – such as yourself.”
Knox grinned, more than a little relieved and happy to hear it. He shook a mocking finger at Celeste, “Now, don’t go flirting. You had your chance. I offered you pizza and you declined it.”
“Pizza? Did someone say pizza?” Max’s voice reached them a moment before the short woman herself. She looked around the small group, her face falling comically. “There’s no pizza.”
Knox bowed low, “I am so sorry to disappoint you, my lady. But we were talking about metaphorical pizza.”
Max’s brows knit as she thought about it for a moment, before deciding, “It’s hard to choose what is better at this stage. I’m so hungry. But then, Ryker cut me off two days ago,” she revealed.
“Cut you off from what? Pizza?” Dex asked, confused.
Celeste giggled, “Dex, pizza is a euphemism for sex.”
Dex’s eyes popped wide. “It is? Since when?”
Knox laughed, enjoying the easy banter as well as the camaraderie. He watched as Ryker, Lark, and Beyden moved swiftly toward them, he and his three sons making room for Max’s three paladins in their little circle.
“Max.” Ryker’s voice was exasperated. “Please do not disappear like that.”
“Although, how she can be so stealthy with that stomach of hers is anyone’s guess,” Lark chimed in, softening the words with a quick smile.
Knox looked at Max’s pregnant belly and took note of how far it extended from her body now. It was also very, very round looking. To his inexperienced eyes, she looked about ready to pop, but he knew she still had a couple of months to go. But then, she was very short and the only place for her belly to go was straight out. When Evangeline had gotten pregnant with the triplets, she had also been huge, but she had been over six-feet tall, creating the illusion of a smaller bump for the better part of the pregnancy. But then, she had done her best to hide all signs of the impending birth for the longest time as well. Shaking his head to rid it of thoughts he had not dwelled on since his return, he refocused on the ongoing conversation.
“I was just telling everyone how you won’t have sex with me anymore,” Max stated.
“You what? Max!” Ryker bellowed.
“What? It’s true,” Max fired back.
Ryker looked pained but also resigned as he took Max’s hand in his own. “Babe, we’ve talked about this. No sharing details of our sex life with the world.”
Max shrugged, “It’s just Dex … and Celeste … and Knox … and the triplets … oh, and Slate. Hi Slate,” she added, waving to the man.
Knox winced, having entirely forgotten the earth warden was even there. He had stepped away when Celeste began talking about Dawn, and although he wasn’t exactly within the gossiping ring, he was still close enough to hear all that was being said.
Slate smiled small, nodding at Max. “Hello, my lady.”
Knox found it interesting that Max didn’t correct Slate. Usually, Max hated being referred to by any formal title.
‘It’s because he needs to. It would make him uncomfortable to call me Max. He feels the need to make amends.’
Max’s voice rang clear and true in his mind. It wasn’t the first time she had spoken to him directly, so it no longer surprised him. Max was powerful and full of unique abilities. He simply nodded back to show he had heard and made a mental note not to tease the other man about it. If Max felt it was important, then it was important to Knox as well. Still, he addressed him, drawing him into the conversation. “I’m sorry I interrupted earlier.”
“It’s fine. We were just discussing the landscaping for the back area here,” Slate divulged.
“Cool,” Max chirped, “What did you decide?”
“Slate thought that instead of getting a bunch of earth wardens and chadens to stimulate everything with their powers, that it would be good to put out a call for everyone to come and join in a planting day,” Celeste replied, smiling widely at Slate.
Slate looked slightly uncomfortable under everyone’s scrutiny. “It was just a thought.”
“It’s a wonderful thought. Thank you, Slate. Let’s do it. Start spreading the word. We can have kind of like a community day where everyone can have a look through the new HQ and the orphanage – even though the latter isn’t ready