Max had almost forgotten they weren’t alone, until Holden said, “How about you take Sadie out for some fresh air, to see the stars, Maxy?”
Sadie, seeming flustered, glanced at her watch. “I should probably get going.”
“Why on earth would you do that?” Holden said. “We have a guest room all ready for you. Unless you’d rather share with Max?”
“Dad!” Max exclaimed. He didn’t know what else to saybecause, of course, if he and Sadie were the couple they said they were, they wouldwantto share a bed. They were grown adults after all.
“The guest room is great, thank you. Max snores,” Sadie quickly replied.
Holden chuckled, and Max frowned. He didnotsnore.
“I had Martha set out some toiletries and a pair of pajamas,” Holden said.
“It’s decided, then.” Holden capped the crystal whiskey decanter after refilling his glass, grinning at the happy couple.
—
I’m sorry about my dad. The whole sharing a room thing. And that story...” Max paused, drawing in a deep breath. The two sat in comfortable lounge chairs under the backyard pergola, which was lit up with red, green, and white twinkle lights—festive and bright against the dark night sky.
“Nothing to apologize for,” Sadie replied. “Thanks for inviting me, Max. If I wasn’t here I would be... I don’t know. Eating frozen pizza for dinner?”
“Well, technically I didn’t invite you.” Max looked up at the black sky, noting the stars were putting on quite the show. And now that he was out in the cool air he felt better—like he could take a full breath, finally.
“Why do you always have to do that?” The irritation in her voice was hard to miss.
“Do what?”
She turned to him. Her face lit up by the Christmas lightsthat lined the pergola’s open-air roof, Max couldn’t ignore how beautiful Sadie looked tonight. In moments like this he felt confused about how he was supposed to act toward her. They spent a lot of their time convincing everyone around them that they were more than just duet partners. It wasn’t real, of course. Sure, some days hedidexperience more than a comfortable camaraderie with Sadie. Yet, other days he wished he didn’t have to listen to her tell him all the ways he was a jackass, like right now.
“It’s like you go out of your way to be nasty. To make sure people don’t like you or get to know you,” Sadie said.
Max leaned back in the chair, let out a sigh. “What you see is what you get.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it,” she retorted.
He noted her mouth held in a tight line, her arms crossed over her chest, her hands still cozy inside the fingerless gloves.God, if she wasn’t as gorgeous when she was mad at him as when she wasn’t. He thought back to the kiss, only ten minutes before. Max knew it didn’t mean anything, and yet... he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Whichhadto mean something.
“Why are you always fixin’ to start a fight? Can we just have five minutes of peace, Sadie?” Max asked, trying to shift his focus away from her full lips and how they had felt against his own. “It is Christmas after all.”
“Fine,” Sadie replied with a huff. “Whateveryouwant, Max.”
Max had been on edge much of the evening, especially when he thought about his birthday gift, or the fact that he hadagreed to propose to Sadie in a couple of days. But none of that was Sadie’s fault. And even though she could start an argument in an empty house, she didn’t deserve to be on the receiving end of his frustrations. He was about to apologize for being “nasty” when he noticed Sadie shivering.
“Are you cold?”
“No.” Her body shook with a strong shiver.
Max went to the pool house and grabbed two thick blankets, soft and warm. “Scooch forward.” He wrapped the woolen plaid blanket around her shoulders.
“Better?” Max asked.
They both looked out across the darkened, expansive lawn that in the light of day boasted mature fruit trees, elaborate gardens, and marble statues.
“This place is really something else. I can’t imagine what it was like growing up here.” Sadie’s tone had softened.
Max took a moment before responding. “Things often look better from the outside,” he finally said. “It wasn’t always so... glamorous.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean it like that,” Sadie said. “Sure, it’s impressive as hell. You have two kitchens. And six bathrooms!”
