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“Oh. So they haven’t arrived yet?” she asked.
He could tell that she knew he was lying. And he didn’t want to have lies between them even about this.
“I don’t hang photos on the wall of family. For one thing we haven’t taken many, for another it’s not my aesthetic.”
“But what about your brother?” she asked.
“What about him? Hanging a photo isn’t going to bring him back,” Max said turning off the heat on the frying pan.
He walked over to her and stood close because he had the feeling that this wasn’t something she was going to drop. “We’re not like your family. My brother and I weren’t talking when he died so a photo of him would just remind me that I can never say the things I should have said.”
Like what?He imagined Cal’s voice in his head.
Like I’m sorry. I should have taken you back in.
Dude, I was never going to get clean. I loved you for trying. But you had to let me go for both of us.
He cursed and turned to walk away from her before he said something he shouldn’t, but she stopped him. She came around and put her arms around him, pushing his arms up and around her. “I’m sorry I pushed.”
He didn’t say anything else because he still felt the love that Cal had for him and the love he had for his brother. He wished he could have done something different but he’d never been given the chance. He wanted to share more with Angelica but he honestly didn’t know how.
Chapter Thirteen
Angelica hadn’t pushedMax any more after his comments about his family. He mentioned he had the rest of the day free and she suggested he come with her to pick out a Christmas tree. She and Cosima were having friends over for chili and tree decorating the next evening. So Angelica had volunteered to get the tree.
“Um, not sure how good I’ll be but sure. I don’t think the Lamborghini will work for getting a tree. I have a pickup truck in the garage that Logan said I’d need if I was going to have a house in Texas. Should we take that?” Max asked as he went over to a large key board that held a lot of keys.
“Yes, that’d be great. My convertible isn’t great for hauling big things either, but I just don’t like driving a big vehicle,” she said.
“Why not?”
She shook her head as she followed him from the house to the garage, which held four other vehicles aside from the pickup that he led her to. “Don’t laugh but I always sort of feel oversized in one, like I’m too big for the road. Also they are a pain to get into. You have to sort of heft yourself up.”
He did laugh as he opened the passenger door and offered her his hand. She took his hand as she got up into the cab of the truck. “I guess when you’re tiny—”
“I’m not tiny, I’m normal size. You’re the one who’s half-giant.”
“Babe, I’m all giant.”
She could tell that getting out of the house and away from the conversation about his family was restoring some of the equilibrium to both him and them. She watched him get behind the wheel and start the truck.
“Bet you wish you had a pair of Kelly Boots on.”
“I don’t. This truck already makes me feel like a poser.”
But she knew he was teasing. He drove with the same skill and confidence she’d seen when he was behind the wheel of the sports car. If anything this simply demonstrated that he was very adept at whatever vehicle he got behind the wheel of. But then again, he was very adept at everything.
“Where to?” he asked.
“Uh, since we abandoned our salad should we stop and get lunch? There’s a barbecue place on the outskirts of town that is on the way.”
“Sounds perfect. I hope you don’t feel like I rushed you out of the house,” he said.
“I do, but it’s okay. I know I was pushing too hard and you are perfectly within your rights to say no.”
“Thanks. I just…family’s not something I have ever felt comfortable discussing,” he said, as he pulled the truck into the parking lot of the barbecue place. It was really just a roadside café with no place to sit inside and just three big smokers in the back and a few picnic tables.
She ordered the pulled pork and he got beef brisket. They took their plates, which included baked beans, fries and two slices of white bread back to his truck. He was about to climb in when Angelica stopped him.
