Page 68 of Except You

And now he bought me a goddamn hammock and is going to plant some trees.

My dream man.

“How about Thai?” he asks, and I nod.

“Oh yes, anything you order will be amazing. I gobble that stuff up.”

He nods and then starts the order, stopping only when his brother, Magnus, messages him.

It’s only then that Max takes a deep inhale and holds his breath.

“What did he say?” I ask, reaching down to pet Doggo’s head.

“He asked me what books I’m reading and then he sent me another pic of the kids. They’re so fucking beautiful.”

He looks almost teary eyed, and I scoot my chair over to be closer to him, to offer him some comfort.

“I fucked up. I fucked up and they may never get to know me.”

I reach out and grab on to his arm, squeezing it gently. “No, Max. No. I’m manifesting good thoughts. It’s gonna happen. You’re gonna be able to meet them. Maybe not soon, but it will happen.”

He lets out a shaky breath and then meets my gaze. His eyes are watering and his lips tremble.

“Fuck, Bow-tie. How did I ever live without you?”

I shrug but feel my heart nearly pound out of my chest. “I don’t know. I’m simply amazing.”

“That you are,” he says and then wets his lips, shifting in his chair.

His gaze seems to go a little unfocused and then he’s back to looking at his phone, responding to his brother and then ordering the food.

We spend the night eating and cuddling on the couch, my body against his as we fall asleep together, Doggo at our feet.

And when we wake up, we do it all over again.

A couple days later, I’m at Max’s place, cooking us dinner while I wait for him to come home. He handed me a key this morning and told me to just let myself in. I tried not to squeal like he was proposing marriage. It came out as an ugly snort whistle. Very unattractive.

When I slid that key into his front door, I nearly fainted.

This is all too fucking unbelievable, and I’m loving every minute of it.

Max texted me after work, telling me he was meeting his brothers for a game of basketball, and I hope that doesn’t put him in too much of a mood.

I know how he feels around them now. His life is split unbearably. I’m pretty sure neither of them know about me. And I think I’m okay with that. I don’t know if I want them to know.

The idea of it makes me nervous.

A moment later, the garage door opens just as I’m stirring the sauce in the pan and Doggo goes wild. He brings Max a pillow from the couch and wags his tail so much that he almost falls over from the force of it.

“Hey, Daddy,” I say, trying to immediately lighten the mood.

Max’s dark gaze brightens when he sees me and his shoulders seem to sag.

“Hey, Bow-tie,” he says as he moves toward me, throwing the pillow back onto the couch and setting his duffle bag down. He’s freshly showered in athletic shorts, a t-shirt, and a backwards cap. When he reaches me, he pulls me into a hug from behind, burying his face into my neck.

I shiver, loving how he feels against me, and I warn my beating heart to calm the fuck down. This is not something I’m going to do. I am not falling in love with this straight man.

“Was it terrible?” I ask, and he nods, still not removing his face from my neck.