"I’m not asking him a thing." I hold my hands up in surrender. "I’m just here to spend time with you, those sweet girls you have, and Mom." I hit the unlock button on my key fob.
Mal laughs. "Mmmk, we’ll see how long that lasts," she says, pulling the handle on my car door open and sliding in. When I settle into the driver's seat, the car smells like him—I wish I hated it. "He’s Mage Hollow royalty, you know? You could do a lot worse than spending your summer with Max O’Reilly. That family practically runs this town."
I put the key in the ignition and turn it. "Yeah, well, I’m busy. I’ve got Beth’s puzzle book, remember."
"Oh please, you’ll have that shit done in no time." She reaches across the center console and grabs my hand, but I shake her off. "What? You don’t want to hold my hand? You didn’t seem to have any problem holding Max’s."
A groan slips between my lips as I ease my car out of the alley and onto the street. We walked over, so this is a convenient surprise being able to drive back the six blocks. "It wasn’t like that, Mal. Drop it, please."
"No can do, sis. I have a photo of it and everything. Mom’s gonna lose her mind, and Seb… maybe I should make a bet with him over this."
I roll my eyes. "If you've ever asked yourself why I don’t visit more often—this is the reason."
"Sure. Did he give you his number?"
"He did. Not that I intend to use it."
Mal claps from the passenger seat, and I don’t know why, but it makes me giggle. She’s ridiculous, like an overjoyed mom whose daughter just got asked on a date with the prom king.
The truth is, I don’t plan to text him. The only exception would be if I need something and there’s literally no one else to call. He’s nice, too funny for his own good, and charming as hell. But I don’t have time for any of that. I only have time for solving Beth’s clues and finding a way to get back to work.
Unless… maybe he could help me solve the next one like he unknowingly did the first time.
ten
Max
Role Play
"Hunny, I’m home!" I push through the front door of Sam and Olive’s house, kicking my shoes off.
"Back here!" Sam’s voice floats through the open-concept home.
Making my way toward the back screen door, I notice all the little touches Olive has made. When Sam bought her this house, Bridget did the decor. Since then, it’s become a little more lived in, with books scattered on the coffee table, wedding signs leaning against the wall near the fireplace, and about a million pairs of shoes scattered around. Olive is a clean freak, unless it comes to footwear.
I press my hand to the wood frame, slipping out onto the covered deck. Olive is perched on an iron chair, surroundedby what look to be lists—or maybe schedules—while Sam is sprawled out on a wicker loveseat with a beer in his hand.
"Should I have brought a Franklin Covey?" My brother laughs at my comment, knowing full well I’ve never owned a planner.
Olive huffs, grabbing a stack of the papers and tapping them on their glass tabletop. "Laugh it up, boys." She lays the same stack down on top of another pile. "You’ll both be thanking me when this wedding goes off without a hitch."
Sam sits up, pursing his lips to stifle his laugh. "Babe, everything is going to be perfect." He motions for me to sit while widening his eyes at me. "Isn’t that right, Max?"
I slide into a chair opposite my clearly stressed-out and soon to be sister-in-law. "Of course it is." I reach across the table and pat her hand. My eyes catch sight of her tattoo, one that she now cherishes, and my thoughts immediately go to Sadie. Could she really be cursed?
"Hey Ollie, I have a few questions about the wedding… and one that’s completely unrelated."
Olive settles back further into her chair and grabs a wine glass that’s full of sparkling water to take a sip. The girl has developed a serious addiction to Pellegrino recently—she’s not pregnant, just fancy.
"Wedding first… so then I can stop thinking about it for the rest of the night."
I grin at Sam, wiggling my eyebrows. This may or may not be payback for all his heckling yesterday—or, my whole life. "Okay. So I was thinking about my role, and I’m wondering how Richard is going to take the news."
Her face twists in confusion. "What news?"
"Well, I mean, Sam said I could walk you down the aisle. I’m just wondering what your dad’s going to do during that part."
My brother practically spits out his beer. "I did not say that, and you know it."