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“It took me a while to realize it’s him.” The second I utter the words, I want to take them back.
Max groans. “I’m gonna punch that little fucker.”
“No, you’re not. He’s your brother. You can’t be jealous of him.”
“I’m jealous of my own damn shadow when it comes to you, Emilia.” His gaze is so intense, I swear it has the power to set every cell in my body ablaze. “You are mine.”
I nod, licking my lips. He follows the gesture with his eyes, dragging his thumb across my mouth. “Your mouth is mine.” His hand drops to my waist, reaching between my legs. “Your body is mine. Everything.”
“Everything,” I agree. Max claims my mouth, turning my knees weak with the power of his kiss. Energy zaps through me and our surroundings blur as my entire being focuses on the spot where our lips touch.
“Someone’s naughty,” Max says when we come up for air. One look down reveals that my nipples are showing through my flimsy dress.
“It’s your fault.”
“Because I’m so irresistible?”
Grinning, I decide to tease him now that we’ve put the critical moment behind us. “Because you brought me into a house full of sexy men. There are some incredible genes in your family. Your brothers are all panty-dropping gorgeous. Especially Christopher.”
“Really?” he deadpans, his eyes serious. God, riling him up is such fun.
“Hmm. I have a hard time deciding which one of you is hotter.”
“You’re too naughty for your own good.”
I shrug one shoulder. “Nothing you can do about it tonight.” We agreed that he’ll drive me home, but won’t stay the night, because he has a very early meeting tomorrow morning. But he’ll stay at my house tomorrow and Saturday. I sense I’ll get plenty of payback for teasing him.
“Wait until tomorrow.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Emilia
“Thank you for coming to our house on a Friday evening,” I tell the neurologist the next evening as he steps inside.
He shakes hands with Max, Grams, and me and then the four of us walk to the living room. Once we’re seated, he focuses on Grams, who is very much herself right now.
He goes into detail about Grams’s medication. We see her usual doctor about every two months, because as the disease progresses, some of the pills lose their effectiveness or the goal of the treatment shifts.
The most heartbreaking part of every visit though, is reading out loud the List. Grams writes on a piece of paper every single thing she feels has worsened in her mental health since the last visit to the doctor. I keep a list of my own.
“And last week,” Grams concludes, “I got lost in my own damn house.”
I bite down on my lip, my eyes stinging. The doctor watches Grams with kind, warm eyes, nodding.
“How long until I completely lose my mind?” she asks him bluntly. I startle in my chair, and Max, who sits next to me, puts his palm at the small of my back. The reassuring gesture is exactly what I need to keep strong.
“Mrs. Campbell,” the doctor tells her gently, “every patient is different. The new medication should help mitigate some aspects, such as the headaches you told me about.”
But it won’t help you not get lost in your own house.
He doesn’t say the words out loud, but they hang in the air like a thick fog. After writing down the prescription for her new set of pills and giving us some more helpful pointers, he leaves. Max walks him to the door, while Grams and I remain seated in the living room, the usual sadness that follows a doctor visit rearing its ugly head again.
We order some pizza, and I can’t take my eyes off Grams during dinner. She is lost in thoughts, and I’m convinced she’s slipped away from us when she surprises me. “Emilia, any news on finding your father?”
Sucking in a deep breath, I swallow the last bite. “The detective is trying to locate him. I’ll let you know as soon as I have a definite answer.”
“Thank you for doing this. Both of you.” She looks at Max and me with adoration before returning to her dinner. After she’s done, Grams excuses herself, saying she wants to go to bed early.
