He smirks, assisting my attempt at copying Poppy’s face without even trying. "Only every year since the time we could walk. Mabel is like a sniper. I’d watch out for her today."
Somehow, I’m not in the slightest bit surprised to hear that. Mabel O’Reilly is one of a kind—she’s definitely the type to take you out when you don’t see it coming.
"And will the ladies in the enormous hats be out there today?" They were perfectly nice, cutting up the dance floor last night without a care in the world. But something tells me that getting soaked in Mage Square wasn’t on their itinerary.
Max chuckles, smiling so big that his eyebrows nearly touch his hairline. "Nah, Ollie said they wouldn’t be into it. They will relax at the manor today, then tomorrow I think they rented some sort of yacht for the fireworks."
"That sounds about right, though it would’ve been fun to watch them out there." I finish up his face, turning to throw all the supplies back in my black makeup bag. "Are you going on the yacht?"
He shakes his head. "No, I was actually hoping you’d—"
"Sadie Marie… are you ready to go? We’re going to be late if you don’t stop flirting and get a move on," Dee Dee sings from the front door, cutting off Max’s question.
"Yeah, Mom. We’re coming." Max stands from his chair, extending a hand to me as I do the same. "She just had to get that dig in," I grumble under my breath.
Slipping into my sneakers by the front door, I tie my tennis shoes quickly as Max helps Sebastian load two huge bucketsfilled with water balloons into the back of Max’s truck—every family has to bring twenty balloons for each participant. But before we load into the vehicles to drive uptown, Max calls everyone for a meeting in the front yard.
Kneeling down so he’s eye level with the little girls, he gives us a pep talk.
"Okay, little ladies, there are going to be a lot of people where we’re going. I need you to promise me you’ll stay close to one of the adults at all times." Seb lifts his chin in approval. "Water balloons are going to be flying, so make sure you tell us if you don’t want to get wet so we can keep you guarded."
"I’m going to throw so many!" Mag’s shouts.
"I’ll throw more than you do, Magnolia. You’re still little," Lily chimes in.
"I stay with Max," Poppy leans toward him, placing her tiny hand on his knee.
Max grins up at me, a mischievous look that says,I told you sofrom our previous discussion.
"Okay, as for the adults, I’ve never lost this competition. But my family will gun for us since I switched teams this year. Target my mom because she’s slippery and will get you when you’re not looking. Remember, the rules state that once you’ve been hit three times, you exit the playing field. If you’re out, tell someone in our group so we can cover the little girls." My heart beats rapidly in awe of how much care he’s putting into making sure my nieces remain safe, and we know the rules. It’s a glimpse into how I assume he is as a coach—thorough and unwavering in his conviction. "There’s a spot near the far left corner that has three barricades set up. If we can hide behind those, we should be good to go."
My mother claps, bouncing up and down like he just gave us a super inspiring speech. My sister looks down at him withadoration, probably thankful for his thoughtfulness, and Seb slaps him on the back.
"Okay, everyone, load up." I grab Max’s hand, pulling him back to standing. "We’ll meet you in the lot behind Union. Lonnie gave us permission to park there."
My family piles into my sister’s van while Max hoists me into his front seat. Once inside, he tugs on my belt, making sure it’s secure, and backs out of the driveway.
"That was sweet." I toy with the edge of my black biker shorts.
Max flips on his turn signal, eyes trained on the road to avoid pedestrians. Some people walk to the event—we would if we didn’t have to carry so many balloons.
"I want them to have fun, but it would be easy to lose a kid up there." He shrugs. "Just want to make sure it ends up a good memory and no little girls run into the street chasing balloons."
Groaning at the callback to my mishap with Poppy, I stare out the window. He wasn’t kidding about the size of the event. I think it’s nearly tripled since the last time I participated based on the crowd forming.
We pull into the lot, finding an open spot at the end. Mal and the rest of my family park next to us, piling out of the van before I can unbuckle my seatbelt. Reaching for the red button, Max leans over, stopping my movement when he presses his lips to mine. His kiss is claiming, chaste but urgent.
"Sorry, I’ve been holding that back for the last hour."
Rolling my lips in, I fight a smile. "You don’t have to apologize. You can do that whenever you want."
"Good to know."
He leaps from the truck, helping me down before grabbing one of our buckets to carry around the corner and into the square. Mal, Mom, the girls, and I follow closely behind, with Seb bringing up the rear.
Once positioned on the sidewalk in front of Union, Max points out the spot we are aiming for. It doesn’t matter that it’s far from our balloon buckets since a few people from the town council arranged them around the perimeter of the sidewalk so there’s equal opportunity for everyone.
The O’Reilly clan, all but Sam and Olive, approach and dole out hugs to my family.