“But Kami’s her friend, has been for years.”

“If you think about it so have I and so have Bitsy and Harry, she fucked us all without blinkin’.”

“Did you ever give her money?” I blurted and only his eyes sliced to me, his head still faced his plate and I whispered, “Sorry, dumb question.”

“I ain’t stupid either, Duchess.”

“I know that,” I said quickly.

“I know you do.” He scooped another chip, shoved it in his mouth, chewed, swallowed and continued, “Though, we went out, she never reached for her wallet.”

I bit my lip and twisted to put back my beer.

When I righted myself and studiously turned my attention back to my plate, at the same time vowing the next time we went out to dinner that I’d at least reach for wallet, Max spoke.

“Different, babe, totally.”

My eyes went to him. “Sorry?”

What he said next told me he’d read my face again.

“I was just fuckin’ her, you’re my woman, totally different.”

“I wasn’t your woman when we had buffalo burgers… or steaks at The Rooster for that matter.”

“Yeah you were, for both. Especially The Rooster, babe. We fought about you movin’ out here on the way there.”

Okay, I had to give him that one.

“But I’d practically just met you when we had buffalo burgers,” I pointed out.

“Yeah? So?”

“I wasn’t your woman.”

“Babe, you were.”

“How’s that?”

“You just were.”

I stared at him and he returned my stare. Then he calmly turned back to his plate and dug out another chip.

After he chewed and swallowed, I asked, “So, you’d let a woman pay for dinner?”

“Nope,” he stated firmly. “But don’t mind she goes for her wallet. She won’t use it but I don’t mind it.”

“So I should have gone for my wallet?” I pushed and his eyes cut back to mine.

“Did you not get my earlier point?”

“Max –”

He turned slightly toward me and dropped his plate to hold it at his thigh.

“All right, we should talk about this anyway and you’re obviously twistin’ this in that head of yours so we’ll get this straight. This works out, babe, I’m not gonna give a shit if a woman goes for her wallet because there won’t be another one I take out, ‘cept you. And you never go for your wallet. How we work out the money shit, we work it out private, at home. We go out, I pay, always. That work for you or do we have to talk about it for half an hour?”

“That isn’t the point, the point is –”

“The point is, you’re worried you’ve been rude when I’m sayin’, Duchess, it woulda pissed me off you went for your wallet. Shauna, I didn’t give a fuck because she didn’t matter. You matter.”

This was a really good answer, so good I wasn’t breathing properly so I kind of wheezed, “Okay.”

“You get my point?”

I was still wheezing when I said, “Yes.”

Max watched me wheeze awhile then when I controlled it and turned my attention back to my nachos, he queried, “How is it you can be irritating and adorable at the same fuckin’ time?”

“Just me, I guess,” I quietly told my nachos.

“Yeah,” he muttered and I looked at him to see he’d brought his plate up and was digging back in but he was doing it grinning.

“Max?” I called and he looked at me, chip held suspended.

“Right here,” he replied and put the chip in his mouth.

“About that job –”

He didn’t swallow before he said, “Yeah, about that.” He finished chewing, swallowed and turned to me again to state, “It’s happenin’.”

“Max –”

“Quiet, Nina and listen to me, yeah?”

I had his attention, his full, somber attention, and I nodded.

“George and Trevor have explained to Bitsy that Curt has contracts he can’t renege on or Bitsy’s gonna be fucked. I’ll see them carried through. Then Bitsy wants the business downsized. She wasn’t a big fan of Curt’s work either. I got some ideas that’ll keep some boys employed and we got contracts that’ll stretch out a good long while. The guys who want to move on’ll have time to make arrangements. I ain’t gonna live Curt’s dream. I’m gonna make it so Bitsy’s taken care of and then it becomes somethin’ that I can do to keep a roof over our heads, food in our stomachs and I can sleep at night. That work for you?”

I was staring at him being reminded, acutely, that that thing eating me up inside was very, very gone when I whispered, “Charlie.”

His brows drew together and he asked, “What?”

I swallowed, drew in a soft breath, smiled then turned my attention to my plate again, saying softly, “Charlie. You remind me of him.” I grabbed a loaded chip and looked back at Max. “He was able to make big problems little ones too. He was really good at it.” I shoved the chip in my mouth, chewed, swallowed and concluded, “Like you.”

I was preparing another chip with some beef, beans and cheese that had slopped onto the plate when I heard Max command, “Come here.”

My head came up and I asked, “Sorry?”

Then I saw the expression on his face and I started wheezing again.

“Babe, come here.”

“I am here,” I breathed.

“Closer,” he ordered.

I moved my plate to the side and leaned in closer. Max did the same thing, hooked a hand behind my neck and pulled me even closer. Then he kissed me hard, closed-mouthed and short.

When his mouth released mine, his hand didn’t move.

“You know, you can be nice too,” he told me quietly.

I didn’t answer.

“I like it, babe.”

“Good,” I whispered, he grinned, let me go and went back to his nachos.

“How tired are you?” he asked after swallowing another loaded chip.

“I woke up tired but it’s okay, it’s nothing fifteen days of sleep won’t cure.”

Max chuckled then, still grinning, suggested, “Another movie night.”

I really liked that idea so I agreed, “Sounds good.”

“I get to pick the movie this time.”

“Okay,” I said, twisting to get my beer.

“Babe?” he called as I twisted back.

“Yes?”

“Still scared?”

I saw his eyes were dancing and I knew he knew the answer to his question.

“A little,” I kind of fibbed. I was but also I wasn’t.

Max scooped up his last chip, muttering, “Another week, you’ll be good.”

“Arrogant,” I muttered back then took a sip of my beer.

When I dropped my hand, I looked at Max to see him chewing but doing it while smiling.

***

“Jesus, Duchess, you movin’ in there?” Max’s impatient voice sounded through the closed bathroom door and I stared at my black-eyed reflection in the mirror, trying not to hyperventilate.

I’d had an idea after nachos and during dinner clean up and now, putting it into action, I was thinking it wasn’t such a good idea.

“Nina!” Max called.

“I’ll be right out!” I called back and took in a deep breath.

So I was getting less and less scared about a lot of things Max and me.

Which meant, to have a healthy relationship (or, healthier), I needed to be able to do this kind of thing.

I let out the breath, squared my shoulders, went to the back of the door, put on my robe, tied it tight at my waist and pulled open the door.

Max was lying on his back on the bed, shoulders to the headboard, a new beer in one hand, his other hand behind his head, the pillows bunched up behind his back, my beer on his nightstand.

I stopped a foot outside the bathroom door, his eyes travelled the length of me and came back to my face.

I was in my robe with bare feet and legs, he was still fully dressed, therefore, he asked, “You gonna watch a movie or you goin’ to sleep?”

I moved to my right, stepped back and leaned against the wall.

Okay, maybe I couldn’t do this.

Max studied me then turned to his side, taking his hand from behind his head to hold his torso up on an elbow and he called, “Honey, come here.”

My feet moved me automatically toward the bed but they did this slowly. Max watched the whole time and I stopped by the side of the bed, stood stock-still and stared down at him. He leaned to put his beer on the nightstand, moved back and looked up at me.

“Jesus, Duchess, what happened in the bathroom?”

I pulled in a deep breath then before all courage fled, I yanked at the belt of my robe, shrugged it off my shoulders so it pooled around my feet on the floor and stood in front of him wearing nothing but a pair of Brazilian cut, white lace panties and my gold-sequined camisole.

Max’s eyes moved to my body.

Then his body moved and before I could blink I was flying through the air. I landed on my back in the bed and Max rolled over me.

Holding his torso away, he ran his hand down my side, the calluses on his fingers snagging at the sequins, his eyes glued to my body. Then his head came up, he looked at me and his beautiful eyes were unmistakably hungry.

“Baby,” his voice was thick, “you got this on, you better not be tired.”

My hand came up to curl around his neck under his ear, my fingers sliding into his amazing hair.

Then I whispered, “I think I got my second wind.”

His hand was at the edge of the camisole and it dipped under then slid up my skin and Max’s eyes held mine as I shivered at his touch.

I put pressure at his neck as my other arm pushed under his body to curl around his waist and I demanded softly, “Kiss me, Max.”

Max, unlike me, didn’t have to be told twice.

***

After, we watched the movie, me pulling on my nightie, undies and robe, Max yanking on a pair of pajama bottoms.