His Holiday Crush - Cari Z. Page 0,42

“It was nice to see you again.”

Max nodded to her. “You too, Lauren.”

I gave Steph a final squeeze before encouraging her to sit down on the cracked green vinyl next to Max. I straightened my jacket as I stood up. “I guess I’ll see you all tonight.”

“I’ll hold you to it,” Max replied.

Phee hid her smile behind a napkin.

“Bye, Uncle Nicky!” Marnie called out, thankfully still young enough to be immune to subtext.

Lauren didn’t say anything as we got back onto the road.

I drove for five full minutes before finally giving in. “So?”

She didn’t pretend to misunderstand me, at least. “So.” She glanced my way slyly. “I guess I can see why you haven’t dated at all before this, if he’s an indicator of your taste.”

“Right, because Edgewood has such a teeming population of available guys,” I said, secretly relieved she seemed to like him.

“More than it looks like at first blush. I can’t think of a single one that quite got Maxfield’s blend of looks, smarts, and presence, though.” She sighed. “He’s definitely like his dad that way.”

“Yeah.” That was true, but… “Not in all ways, though.”

“No,” Lauren agreed. “Not in all ways. I’m glad he’s sticking around a bit longer.”

I couldn’t quite stop the thrill that started in my chest and expanded up into a grin. “Me, too.”

…

The rest of the shift crawled by in a series of minor complaints around town and the growing threat of frostbite, and I was more than ready to clock out and head to Hal’s when five p.m. rolled around. I texted him to let him know I was coming, only to get back, Finally. Bring a gallon of milk.

A second later, I got, Toilet paper, too. And tissues.

I rolled my eyes. Anything else?

Gruyere.

Gruyere? Since when did Hal make anything with that kind of semi-fancy cheese? Why?

Max needs it for special mac and cheese. Bitch to him.

Mm, special mac and cheese. I could buy gruyere for that.

As always, it felt like eyes followed me around the grocery store. There was very little one could do unnoticed in a small town, but the gazes held an intensity today that made me wary. It had to be because of Max. Even when I’d just come back from the army, I hadn’t merited this level of curiosity.

I hurried to the cheese display. They actually had pre-packaged gruyere there, go figure. Maybe it was a holiday thing. I grabbed a pound of it then avoided people as best I could on my way to the checkout, choosing the self-checkout line near the door so none of the cashiers could start up a conversation I didn’t have the energy for.

Six months ago, I’d have given myself shit about that—I was supposed to be making an effort to become an active part of my community again, after all—but tonight I didn’t give a damn. I was hungry, and more than that, I felt like I’d shared Max enough for one day.

He’s not yours, I reminded myself as I drove to Hal’s. He came for Hal and the girls. He hadn’t even intended to stay past this morning. It was a sobering reminder, and by the time I parked and got the groceries out, I wanted to make my excuses and head back home early tonight. I could get some more work done on my house, which—I couldn’t believe I’d taken him there. It was a wreck. Not that he’d seemed to mind all that much, but…

Whatever. I needed to stop focusing on the negative, as my counselor would say. At the very least, I needed to get the groceries into the house. I got out of my warm Jeep and walked up the frosty sidewalk to Hal’s front door. I reached for the handle, but it opened before I could grab it.

Max grabbed my wrist and reeled me inside, relieving me of one of the bags while he did. “You have perfect timing,” he said, sincere and pleased. “The mac and cheese can go into the oven as soon as we grate the gruyere and stir it into the mix.”

I looked past Max to where Hal was working on a coloring book with the girls. He glanced at me. “You read what I wrote.”

“You’re a philistine, and your opinions definitely don’t count when it comes to my cooking,” Max snapped before I could reply. “This is going to be fu…fudging delicious, I’m telling you.” He led me to the kitchen and glanced in the bag. “Oops—no cheese in