To the Max (9 page)

There was a short silence, then a deep chuckle. “My girls? Since when are they girls and not rats?”

She knew he couldn’t see her, but she shrugged. “I get attached easily. And now that you’re in such great spirits, I want to ask you a favor.”

“Go ahead.”

Annie took a piece of crispy bacon and nibbled on it. “I was thinking about having an all-girls night in. I promise we won’t desecrate your man cave. We’ll just watch some movies and drink. Well, they’ll drink. I’ll watch. Get some mani-pedis. I assure you, next day there won’t be a trace left that any woman was there.”

“Sure. Have at it. Still munching on crispy bacon?”

“Yep. Now I’m dipping it in Nutella. Swear to God. By the time you come back, you’ll have to roll me down the hill to get me out of your place.”

“What about the aversion to sweet smells?” he asked, sounding amused.

Annie took another bite. “I don’t know. Nutella doesn’t smell or taste sweet to me.”

“No, I bet it doesn’t when you’re scooping it with bacon.”

“Hey, don’t judge until you try it.”

“True.” His chuckles melted into the busy sounds in the background. Someone was calling him. “Catch you later, Ace. I’ve gotta go cut off some heads.”

“Bye, Max.”

She closed the phone and rocked on the hammock for a while. The whole thing had grown on her, and now she understood why Max liked it so much. Making a superhuman effort, she left the Nutella jar with the bacon sticking out of it on the nearby table, and after wiping her hands, she reached for the accounting papers she’d planned to work on. She managed to go through several pages before the doorbell interrupted her.

“Barbara,” she greeted her stepmother after opening the door.

“I finally got to buy the champagne strawberries for your dad. At the shop, your employee told me where to find you,” Barbara said, leaning over and giving her an air kiss. “By the way, do you know you have a scary-looking…punk dressed in black, full of piercings and wearing a spiked choke collar, selling your candy? Are you in trouble? Your father and I worry. As if being homeless weren’t bad enough.”

Punk? Ahh, Paige.

“All is well. As you can see, I’m not homeless and I’m staying here, not in a work site.”

Barbara glanced around, letting herself in. “And where is here?”

“At a friend’s. I’m pet sitting for him.”

That granted her a reproving glare. “Your grandmother is going to be appalled you were rendered homeless and are crashing at some friend’s, pet sitting dogs or whatever.”

“Grandma won’t know if you don’t tell. And I’m not pet sitting dogs.”

As if on cue, Tango and Cash decided to enter the conversation. As soon as Barbara realized where the squeaking was coming from, she screamed.

Ha. That must have been what Annie’d looked like the first time she saw them. No wonder Max had found it so hilarious.

“Dear God. You’re taking care of…” Barbara seemed lost for words. Tango and Cash were not making it easier by being their hyper selves, now more than ever, popcorning and running up and down the floors as if they were rally racers.

“Guinea pigs.”

“You don’t have to feed them maggots or crickets or something like that, do you?”

“Of course not. I let them free, and they hunt by themselves. They bring some for me too. Kidding. Kidding,” Annie said, lifting her palms and trying to calm the situation.

Barbara moved away from the patio doors, putting distance between her and the beasts. “This place is not half-bad, but I still wish you’d reconsider coming to the estate. If you have to, you can always take those with you. I’m sure we can get one of the servants to watch them.”

“I promised to look after the house too.”

Barbara pursed her lips, looking annoyed, but before she could answer, Annie’s phone beeped. Max.

Bought bacon. Now on my way to get Nutella. I’ll keep you informed.

Annie smiled. After a couple of seconds, her phone beeped again.

Oh, and before I forget, if any of the girls end up on the swing, I want pictures.

She let out a chuckle. He was incorrigible. When she lifted her gaze, she found Barbara’s scrutinizing eyes on her. “You’ve been going to the aromatherapy I recommended to you? Because you look stunning. You glow.”

No, of course she hadn’t gone. She never listened too much to what Barbara said. Just on principle. The glow was due to the pregnancy. Now that she’d had several weeks of no puking, she was feeling fantastic. “It’s just the great outdoors,” she answered, gesturing around and then pointing at the bacon. “And that.”

“Honey, bacon will do nasty things to your figure. A second on your lips, a lifetime on your hips.”

Barbara didn’t comment on the Nutella jar. Probably after decades of training her brain to ignore certain things, she’d truly ceased to see them.

“Well, that’s why we have money and plastic surgeons, right?” Annie said, succumbing to the whispers of the devil on her shoulder.

After all, a lifetime on Barbara’s hips was a pretty short time, until the next liposuction.

They were silent for a short, awkward moment. Barbara’s uneasiness made Annie feel guilty.

“I better be going, before the strawberries melt. I’ll see you at your dad’s birthday?”

“Sure,” Annie said, walking her to the door and trying to hide her lack of enthusiasm. “I’ll be there.”

What other option did she have? None.

Chapter Five

Annie came down the stairs, still in pajamas and holding her e-reader. She loved wake-up-late, stay-in-bed-reading, lazy Saturdays. She made a turn for the kitchen and then stopped dead in her tracks. Holy mother of God, romance novels had fried her brain. She blinked several times to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Nope. No change. She heard someone entering from the back door, but she couldn’t bring herself to turn her eyes away.

“Annie? I got your decaf. We—”

Silence.

“You’re seeing this?” Holly asked in a whisper, nudging her with an elbow.

Annie nodded and took the cup Holly was handing to her.

“Good. I thought I was the only one hallucinating.”

In front of them, there was a naked hunk of a guy with only a towel covering his ass. All they could see was his back, but he was…wow! Tanned. Rugged. He was sporting a Mohawk, the sides of his head shaved and tattooed. Something like braids were linked together by several leather strips, the hair well past his shoulders.

“You have Angus the Highlander from the last book, in 3-D in your kitchen.”

Holly was right; he only needed the caftan, and there it was, Laird Angus of the Highlands in all his half-naked, braided glory.

“Which e-reader do you have?” her friend demanded. “Because mine doesn’t have this function.”

Annie lifted the e-reader she held. “Christy’s. I borrowed it.” And, yes, if she somehow had pressed a button and activated this function, she was so going to have it on all the time. As in for-freaking-ever.

“I’m buying one of those. High-end model. Highest of the high.”

“You and me both, sister,” Annie mumbled.

Holly cleared her throat and raised her voice a bit. “Hello?” No response. He was still facing the window, his muscular arms braced on the sink. “Pity it isn’t interactive. Do you think if we touch it, it will disappear?”

Annie pondered for a second. Probably. But what the heck.

As she was reaching for Angus, he turned. The towel hung precariously low on his gorgeous V. Perfectly defined abs. A metal bar piercing his left nipple. Corded neck. Broad shoulders.

His dark-blond beard was on the longish side, banded once with some shiny thing.

Split lip. Some bruises.

He looked like a…Viking.

She lifted her eyes. “Max?”

“Hi, Ace,” he said, pulling at the earbuds she hadn’t noticed he had on. “Didn’t hear you.”

Thank God. The only saving grace in this situation was that he hadn’t listened to them salivating over him.

Then, of course, Holly had to chime in. “We were about to grope you. To find out if you were an apparition.”

Max smirked and looked at Annie, whose arm was still reaching for him. “Lucky me, huh?”

She jerked her hand away. And blushed so hard her ears were on fire. “Holly!”

“What? Just be glad he didn’t turn after we both were squeezing his ass.”

There. By the feel of it, her ears had just exploded.

“What are you doing here?” she asked Max.

“Just arrived and took a shower.”

“You home for the weekend?”

“Nope. I’m home for good. Filming got postponed. I may be called back soon. Or it may take weeks. It looks like we’re roommates.”

She froze. “Hmmm. I—”

“Let me get dressed and we can talk then. Or would you prefer we do this now?”

She looked at him. “You better get dressed. I’ll prepare breakfast.”

“Ace, it’s almost one o’clock. I had breakfast long ago. And we have to leave for my aunt’s place. Barbecue. James and Tate came back yesterday. We’re both invited.”

He started climbing the stairs, then turned around. “By the way, what’s a door doing on top of the dining-room table?”

Ah, that
. “You gave me the go-ahead on the puzzle, remember? I bought a four-thousand-piece one. It didn’t fit on the table, so I got creative.”

He shook his head, chuckling. “That’s what you’ve been doing for fun here? Thank God I’m back.”

“Yeah, thank God,” Holly whispered.

Annie stared at him, dumbstruck, as he disappeared. Holly, visibly enjoying Annie’s predicament far too much, patted her on her arm. “Well, I’m going to be taking off too. I thought we could go shopping, but I better leave you to negotiate your living arrangements with Laird Angus of the Highlands. Have fun. Oh, and I suggest you go get dressed yourself. And try combing your hair.”

Hell, she’d totally forgotten all about it. She hurried upstairs, and when she made it back down, Max was already carrying two mugs and a small carton to the covered patio. In spite of it being mid-September, it was unseasonably warm.

“It’s sunny outside, and the dining-room table has a door on it,” he explained, handing her a cup. “This is yours. It’s the one that Holly brought.”

“Thanks. Sorry about the table. I’ll have the puzzle done and out of there in a blink of an eye.”

“Ace, four thousand pieces.”

“Yeah, but now I have reinforcements,” she said.

He barked out a laugh. “Me? You’re kidding. I’ll probably be banging my head on the door before finding a single piece. Just take your time. The door on the table doesn’t bother me.”

As she sat down, she noticed that Tango and Cash’s cage was out, and the animals were feasting on a big plate of veggies. It looked like Max had already taken care of the girls. At the same time Annie realized something smelled really good, they started sniffing the air. Ignoring their veggie platter, they squeaked and grabbed the bars.

“What do you have there?” she asked, pointing at the box.

“I brought you something. It isn’t from LA, though. I passed by Rosita’s on my way from Logan.” Max opened the box, and the unbelievably yummy smell became stronger, making her mouth water. When she saw what he’d gotten her, she laughed.

“Bacon?”

“Yep. Try it.”

She did, the flavors exploding across her taste buds. “Wow.”

“Italians do something similar to crispy bacon, which is fantastic. Not sure how they do it. It’s prosciutto and it’s baked; that’s all I know. Nils, Tate’s chef, won’t disclose any more info. He and my aunt have some kind of feud going on. I think he’s afraid of her stealing his recipes.”

Well, she couldn’t speak for Nils’s recipes, but she’d been eating aunt Maggie’s for almost a month and she was a crack.

“Thank you, Max. These are spectacular.”

“My pleasure, Ace.” Tango and Cash continued squeaking and ran to the second floor to beg from higher ground. “I see my girls are still missing the memo where it says they’re vegetarians.”

“Pretty much.”

While they munched on the crispy strips, she studied his split lip and bruises. “What happened? Some prop failed?”

“Nope. Plain old bar brawl.”

She was stunned. “Someone dared to engage you looking like that?”

“Believe it or not, there were a bunch of us all looking like this. LA is a tough crowd.”

No shit.

“I see. You were gone for what, three weeks?” she asked, motioning at his head. “I don’t want to know what happens if you don’t cut your hair for two months. You become Rapunzel?”

The corner of his mouth lifted up. “Extensions.”

Ah, well, that made much more sense. “You know you’re probably wearing the hair of some Russian prisoner, right?”

“Fuck, Ace. I’m already weirded out enough about having someone else’s hair glued to mine. The tattoos on my head will fade. Two more showers, and they’re gone. The extensions I’ll have to keep. I don’t know how long the film will be postponed. I’d hate to chop them off and then have to go through the whole process again. Plus, this hairdo is going to bug the shit out of Cole.”

“I don’t know about the braids, but you could hang yourself on the sex swing by that thing you have piercing your nipple. That sight would definitely freak the hell out of Cole.”

Max’s broad shoulders shook with laughter. “Let’s not get radical. He’s in his late thirties. We don’t want to give him a heart attack. As for the piercing,” he said, looking down at his chest, “I got tired of that fake thing that tickled like fuck and was falling off at the slightest movement, so I decided to get a permanent one. I’ll get rid of it after I’m done being a Viking.”

The mention of the bar piercing his nipple brought up the image of him naked in the kitchen and got her all hot and bothered. She needed a change of subject, pronto, before she had a mini-orgasm on the chair just from ogling the guy. And died from embarrassment. “How come the filming was postponed?”

Max narrowed those sexy, clear eyes of his on her, his lips quirking in a cocky smile. Jesus, he was handsome. “You don’t read gossip magazines much, right?”

“Not really.”

“There were some…compromising photos of one of the lead actors leaked to the press several days ago.”