Turn It Up (16 page)

She grinned. “Sorry, couldn’t resist giving you grief. I’m serious—I don’t expect you to be perfect right now, bro, but I do need a little guidance next week, or right after New Year’s, if you don’t mind. There’s a section in that project you gave me where I’m fudging a step—and I can’t untangle my coding errors, so it’s not working.”

“No trouble.” But not during the holidays. Those romantic memory-making things he wanted to put into place included a lot of private time for just him and Tasha. “At the start of January we’ll get together and work it out.”

A couple of the younger clan members darted underfoot and they both shifted their footing easily with the experience of years of attending crowded family events. “You two want to join me and Jamie after dinner for a walk?”

Max jerked upright. “You still seeing that guy?”

She grumbled back, “Yes, I’m still seeing him. We’ve been going out for the past three months.” The front door opened and she peered hopefully in its direction. Max followed her gaze, but it was just kids running in and out from the porch to the main house.

“So, where is he now?” Max asked.

“He’ll be here.” Her cheeks flushed and he wondered what the hell was going on. Protective instincts kicked into high gear.

“Maxy, is something wrong?”

She shook her head rapidly. “Of course not. He’s…not very punctual. It bugs me a little.”

“Jerk. He’s not pushing you anymore, is he?”

She flapped her fingers rapidly, motioning him to silence, then tugged him into a corner where they were no longer in the middle of the action. “Don’t do that. It’s bad enough you’re giving me the third degree, I don’t need everyone in the family asking what’s up.”

Max leaned back on the wall. His position let him see his sister, and still keep an eye on Tasha as she visited. “Sorry, you’re right. But ever since that date when he pushed you too hard… I don’t trust him, okay?”

Maxine fluffed her bangs, her fingers fidgeting. “He didn’t push, only he wanted to go faster than I wanted to. It was no big deal.”

Since it had interrupted his and Tasha’s first sexual encounter, maybe the incident was etched harder on his brain than on hers. “So you’re saying he’s not doing that anymore?”

“He’s not making me do anything I don’t want to do, no.”

And wasn’t that a non-answer to his question. Before he could dig any deeper, the front door opened again and this time they both reacted. Not only had Jamie finally arrived, he’d shown up at the same time as Lila. Max couldn’t let
that
situation go on any longer without intervention.

He gestured politely, motioning for Maxine to go ahead of him. “I guess we should go say hello to Twinkle Toes.”

She slapped his arm. “Don’t be a turkey.”

They walked together toward the door. “Sorry, brotherly territorial rights and all that. Just…” He pulled her to a stop for a moment. “Be careful, okay? I don’t think he’s a bad guy, but I think you could do better.”

She patted his cheek and went to grab a horrified Jamie away from the children circling his ankles. Max stopped himself from sniffing in disgust. Okay, that was it. He was moving Maxy and her pretty boy up the to-do list. Maybe a few choice questions over dinner would be enough to either scare the guy off or make him shape up, because right now? Max wasn’t too impressed.

He turned to his cousin, offering his hand to take her coat. She was another one he wasn’t too impressed with, but with her, at least, he had the ties of family. That gave him the right to let her know what he thought without any farting around.

“Afternoon, Junior.” She turned to walk away, but that wasn’t good enough.

“We need to talk.”

Lila glared at him. “I don’t know that we
need
to do anything, but since you asked so politely…”

She strode across the room to nearly the same spot he and Maxine had been standing, the tall floor-to-ceiling windows letting in the December sun and filling the area with a lot more warmth than came from his cousin and her sour expression. One deliberate crossing of her arms later and her body language screamed
shut up.
He laughed.

“Very nice, now how about you throw a bucket of cold water on me and announce to the room that I’m a blood-sucking lowlife. I doubt it will make you feel any better, but you’d get it out of your system.”

“Don’t be stupid, you haven’t done anything wrong.”

Max fought his temper. “But you’ve refused to speak with Tasha for almost three months, and you ignore her at family functions. You only answer the phone if I call or email.”

“Right. See? I’m not mad at you.”

Damn it all. “
You’re supposed to be older than me and more mature, stop acting like a pouty twelve-year-old.”

Lila narrowed her eyes. “Yes, I am older than you, aren’t I? Gee, like ten years or so. Maybe I’m a totally different generation than you, and I don’t see things the same way.”

He wasn’t going to step into that trap. “Or maybe it’s not the years but the lack of maturity after all, at least on your part. You’re telling me this is all because I’m younger than Tasha? You’ve turned your back on years of friendship because I fell in love with her?”

“I’m sorry, but I simply can’t see your relationship as anything other than a mistake.”

Max held up a hand to stop her from turning away. “I don’t understand why you won’t at least talk about it. Whatever the specifics are of this…” he waved his hands in the air, feeling very ineffective, “…misunderstanding between you. Can’t you get together for a drink and try to smooth it over?”

She shook her head. “This isn’t your business, and it’s not really something I want to talk about at a family event. I promise to stay on the other side of the room, and if you’ll do the same, we’ll have no problems. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to go say hello to everyone before I have to leave. I can’t stay for dinner, so you won’t have to choose your seating to avoid me.”

She walked away, her body tight and awkward as she carried her tension with her. It made no sense to him, the depth of her anger, and yet that emotion was definitely there. Something harsh must be hurting his cousin that she could be this bitter, this quickly.

Enough. There was other family he wanted to celebrate with, others who had completely welcomed Tasha as a new member.

As always, there was nothing quiet or calm about the gathering. Max spent the next two hours moving from group to group, visiting with aunts and uncles, teasing his nephews. The whole time he kept an eye out for Tasha, enjoying seeing her smile, hearing her laugh. She winked at him across the room right before he got hauled into an impromptu game of jacks with his nine-year-old cousins and impressed them all with his skills.

When he finally managed to pull himself free and track down Tasha, he found her with a group of the toddlers. One sat in her lap, another draped over her shoulder as they peered at the picture book she held. The expressions on Tasha’s face grew exaggerated as she changed her voice to match the wild monsters in the story, or the fairies coming to the rescue. The realization that she’d be doing this with their child in a few years’ time choked his throat so tight he had to turn away and retreat to the kitchen for a glass of water to calm himself.

There was nothing he had wanted more than to have a future with Tasha, and that future seemed to be arriving as ordered, and he was the luckiest bastard around. Now if he could just get her to fall in love with him, things would be perfect.

She’d seen him approach. Even as she read the familiar story, Max’s broad shoulders and distinctive walk had caught her eye. Just before he’d turned away, a moment of doubt struck—the worried expression that had crossed his face seemed out of place. He’d seen her with the children. Was it only hitting him now that this would be their life in a very short while? Full-time parenthood? She finished the book, kissed the top of the little one’s head, and passed him back to one of the teenage girls gathered in the area who were in charge of the children until dinner.

She caught up with him as the announcement was made for everyone to make their way toward the table. He pulled her close as a stream of hollering children raced past them down the narrow hall, and the comfort and familiarity of his body felt so right.

They had only a few minutes as the chaos settled in the great room.

“Hey. What’s up?” Tasha slipped her hand along his cheek, holding him for a minute.

He kept her trapped against him, even though the hall emptied out, his hands resting on the top of her hips. “Let’s see. I don’t like my sister’s boyfriend, there’s turkey
and
ham for supper, but no sweet potatoes because two of the family got their names mixed up in the email, and you smell delicious.”

His mouth brushed hers and she smiled even as she responded with a quick kiss of her own. But that wasn’t enough of an answer. “You seem distracted.”

He snorted. “You’re in my arms. Distraction at its finest.”

“That silver tongue is working well tonight, I see.”

Max rumbled, a sexy sound deep in his throat that made a shiver thrill up her spine. “I can show you exactly how well my tongue is working later, if you’re interested.”

Oh yes, now she was the one getting distracted. Max slipped his fingers through hers, drawing her to his side for a second and kissing her neck before leading her to a chair. As the rattling of plates and noise carried through the meal, he kept one hand constantly touching her.

Whatever had made him run and hide, she wasn’t going to ask. Tasha took in all the smiling faces down the long length of the table and gave thanks she was able to be a part of the family.

Chapter Fourteen

Max brought Tasha back to Gramma’s house a couple days after the big family gathering so they could tell her their news in private. Her enthusiastic response was exactly what he’d expected, and seeing the flush of delight on Tasha’s face made it even better.

Unfortunately, his timing was bad, and they barely had a chance for a cup of tea before the visit was cut short. Gramma kissed him and Tasha, then took hold of Uncle Maxdean’s arm, using him to help negotiate her way down the wide front steps. She spoke as she walked, her voice clear and strong as always. “Now I want you both to come back another day when I don’t have to run off. Tasha, I’ll be sure to find those albums I promised. And don’t you fuss about looking around the place without me here. Make yourself at home.”

“Love you, Gramma,” Max called after her.

“I know, but it bears repeating,” she called back and he laughed, leaning on the doorframe. Their standard response, filled with the familiarity of love.

When he turned, Tasha stood beside him, contentment etched on her face. “She’s amazing. I’ve always loved visiting with her, and to think I’m now related to that wonderful woman makes me warm, no matter how cold it is outside.”

Max shut the door before pulling her against him. He couldn’t seem to get enough of touching her. Holding her close. “You made her very happy yourself just now, telling her about having another great-grandchild on the way.”

“She did seem pleased.”

“Pleased? I thought she was going to get up and dance a jig, she was so excited.”

Tasha smoothed his hair, running her fingers along his nape and his motor revved. She definitely seemed to be over the bump in terms of not wanting to be touched. It was making his plans for romancing her and trying to build a stronger connection between them both easier and harder. Easier, because she was willing to spent lots of intimate time with him. Harder—well, there had to be more to their relationship than sex, but that was difficult to explain to his body.

Her face lit with excitement. “You ready to show me around? That was sweet of her to offer to let me take a peek around when she found out I’ve never really had a chance to explore the house. Especially since she already had an appointment.”

“I honestly had no idea she had other plans today, or I would have arranged our visit for another time.”

Tasha pulled him toward the stairs, her fingers threaded through his. “That was a long-enough visit. We just had Christmas dinner two days ago, and you know there will be a ton of other family events over the next weeks.”

Then Tasha got lost in architectural design, admiring the construction and details of the old family home. He followed her from room to room, loving the exclamations of delight that escaped as she found some new feature that she’d studied about but never actually seen before. They went through every room in the house on the first and third floors. They skipped the rooms that his grandmother still used on the second floor—the master bedroom, and a couple others that contained her personal effects.

Three hours later he still had a grin on his face. Tasha’s enthusiasm flowed out of her in a constant stream as she shared ideas for slight modifications to their house under construction. He tugged her into the kitchen and pressed her onto one of the tall stools before handing her a glass of juice. She sipped without thinking, then blinked in surprise. “Oh, that is good. My mouth was so dry.”

Max grinned. “That’s what happens when you talk for hours straight.”

She glanced at her watch. “No. Way.”

“Way. I didn’t think you had it in you, to be that kind of chatterbox. Well, except when you’re very tipsy.” He stepped around to rub her shoulders, the tight muscles relaxing under his hands as she leaned back into him.

“Don’t nag about that. But you should have said something when I lost track of time. I didn’t mean to waste your afternoon.”

He slid his thumbs along the tendons in her neck and she moaned. His body tightened at the sound. “It wasn’t a waste at all. I told you, this entire week is a holiday for me, and I want to spend it with you.”

The height of the stool forced her to look up at him as she twisted to face him, her cheerful face a pleasure to witness. When she wrapped her arms around his waist, his body nestled between her open thighs. It was comfortable and easy and her smile was real.

Then that damn shadow intruded again. He swore he saw it—as if a physical cloud actually rolled between them. She shifted her position, lowering her hands to rest on his hips, pressing her body away from him slightly.