“You’re making me feel like a bad guy.”
Cocking my head, I partially unzip the suitcase and shove the nearly forgotten necessities inside. “You’re not a gentleman, that’s for sure.”
“Never said I was.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“When you go into a dark parking lot at night, what do you do to protect yourself?”
He frowns, “Protect myself from what?”
“Exactly! Because what I do is hold my keys in my hands.” Pulling them from my pocket I demonstrate with one of the sharp points sticking out between my index and middle finger. “I hold them like this in case I get attacked, so I can punch the guy and it might hurt more than my fist, because I don’t have these.” I point to my roommate’s muscles. “I also walk fast at night, look around me at all times. Quickly check the back seat before I get in to make sure nobody’s waiting in there for me.” Holding his eyes I pause. “Men don’t have to do that, A.J., but we do. And you know what I want? I want to feel safe. Because a lot of the times I don’t. But you can’t understand that since you were born a man. A large man. With an insensitivity to anyone’s needs but your own. So I will pay the rent until the lease is up, because that’s the type of woman I want to be—one who keeps her promises and doesn’t leave her roommate high and dry. So don’t worry. You’ll get your money. You’re safe.”
Grabbing the handle I roll the suitcase out. As I approach our front door, it knocks. I pause, open it, and see Max standing on our welcome mat. “Hey, just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
I kiss him, tense lungs deflating with relief. “Sorry I kept you waiting. Almost forgot my makeup and stuff. And I had to talk to my roommate and tell him where I’m going.”
Green eyes flick behind me and I glance back to see A.J. standing in the entrance to the kitchen. The two check each other out, but I know only one measures up to a real man.
And I’m leaving with him.
“That’s A.J. We used to be friends. Let’s go.”
“I’ll take care of her.”
My roommate calls out, “Natalie!” I look back and watch a decision flicker over his eyes. “I’ll find someone to live here before January. You won’t be stuck paying rent.”
“Thank you.”
He nods and the door shuts him out of my life.
Turns out…for good.
CHAPTER 37
N ATALIE
F lipping eggs I ask Max, “Hand me my coffee would ya?”
He pauses from buttering toast to reach the cup up over to me. “Good, huh? These beans are dark roast with a hint of chocolate. I can taste it.”
“Mmhmm.” Licking my lips I set the cup next to the stove. “You want cheese on these?”
“I’m allergic to dairy.”
My eyebrows go up. “You are?”
“Hives.” He makes a face. “Pretty ugly.”
“Well I’m having some cheese.” I stick my tongue out and he crosses over to bite it. I laugh and push him back to the toast. “Put some jelly on mine?”
“We’ve got blackberry and that’s it.”
“Are you kidding me? I love blackberry!” Doing a happy dance I scrape the eggs onto our plates and open the fridge. “Where’s your cheese?”
Looking over my shoulder I meet his smiling eyes. “I’m allergic to dairy, Natalie.”
Straightening up I pout, “Oh. So obviously you don’t have any cheese.”
“Nope!” he laughs and scoops fried potatoes with basil and olive oil next to the eggs. “But I loved you sticking your tongue out at me, and then you don’t get any after all. Hilarious.”
“Wait, if you’re allergic to dairy, then why are you using butter?”
He holds up the package and shows me, “Vegan.”
“Grrrr. At least there’s orange juice.”
“Woohoo.”
“Are we eating in the living room again?”
“I need to get a dining table, huh?”
Shrugging I head for the couch with our glasses, him following with our plates. “You know what I’m going to do, Max?”
“Tell me.”
“I’m changing nothing.”
He sits with me, exchanging plate for glass. “So you’re not gonna make me buy a bunch of furniture now that you’ve moved in?”
Digging into my cheeseless eggs I nod, “What is stuff, really? I got that throne chair, as you called it, and did it make me happy? Nope. I’m going to sell it. You know what makes me happy? This mostly empty bachelor pad. It’s simple. Easy. No fuss. And then it’s just about you and me, not a bunch of crap, you know? We forgot the coffee cups.”
Crunching the crispy toast he nods, “This is where we sleep. The world is where we live. And the next film I do—”
“The next film?”
“This isn’t the only one!”
“Do you have a script already?”
Stabbing potatoes with his fork he shrugs, “In my head, yeah. Tons of stories waiting to happen. You watch.”
I sip my juice, thinking about it. “Remember when you said finding someone you can do multiple projects with, that kind of chemistry is rare?”
“Yep, I remember. And I’m so glad I found Rain.”
I stare at him.
He glances over, blinks at me. “What?” He cracks up. “Your face, Natalie!”
“You’re fucking with me, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Grrrrr.”
He leans over to plant a kiss on me. “Growl for me, Partner. You know I like it when you go primal.”
I push him away and we finish our meal discussing last night’s shoot until a question pops into my mind—this entire production process is new to me.
“Can I ask you something, Max?” He nods, mouth full. “When you said, ‘It’s a wrap,’ how did that feel? As good as you thought it would?”
Swallowing so he can answer, he’s already smiling. “Felt amazing. Better than I thought it would.”
“So all that money you’ve invested, was it worth it?”
“Mmhmm. Every cent.” Meeting my eyes he asks, “Why?”
Moving my eggs around I mutter, “I wish I had cheese.”
“We’ll get you some.”
“When I saw you tell them it was a wrap, I could see the joy.”
“Joy?” he laughs. “I wasn’t throwing my arms up and dancing hallelujah.”
Bumping his shoulder with my foot I inform him, “Joy isn’t always expressed like that! You can see it in someone’s eyes! Joy can be shown in very subtle ways, Max. As someone who directs actors for a living, you should know that.”
“Oh yeah, smarty-pants? You think you know things?” Setting his fork down in a hurry, he plucks me off the couch and stands up, holding me off the ground like he might spin me around. “Remember I’m a guy. I don’t spend time thinking about joy, okay?”
“Why are you just standing here?”
“Because I don’t want you puking up your breakfast if I spun you around, that’s why.” He puts me down and we sit on the couch again, him raking his fingers through his hair as he mutters, “I was planning on spinning you but when I got you up there, realized that might not be a good idea.”
Laughing I point at him, “Ha ha, you fucked up!”
He bites at my finger, but I retract it in time.
Scooping the last bits of eggs with his last wedge of toast, Max says, “So, what’re you doing in a few days? What date am I thinking of? Oh yeah…December 25th.”
My mouth stops working on the four potatoes I shoved in it. Over them I ask, “Why?”
“I would like to introduce you to the rest of my family. Chew on that too, while you’re at it.”
Don’t have to tell me twice. I gnaw on the spuds and his invitation, until I finally can speak again. “Your immediate family?”
“If immediate means whole family, then yeah.”
“All of them?”
&nbs
p; He nods, acting casual.
With sinking shoulders I remind him, “Max, my family lives in town, too. I have plans to be with them.”
Throwing his napkin down he covers his face and groans dramatically, “Oh no, you mean we get to have TWO Christmases? I can’t handle that much fun!” Meeting my eyes with a pitiful grimace he repeats. “It’s too much fun! What will we do?”
Frozen a beat after he stops making fun of me, I lean over and kiss his goofy smile. “I love you.”
Max blinks with genuine surprise, and cocks his gorgeous head. “Oh, you’re sneaky. You picked then to tell me so that you could win!”
Laughing behind my juice glass I widen my eyes, “Who me?”
He snakes the glass away, gathers me up to sit on his lap, green eyes exploring my face. I don’t want to tell him that I see joy again, but as he confesses, “I love you, too,” I do.
CHAPTER 38
N ATALIE
Squeezing my thigh from the driver’s seat, Max teases, “I think your mom likes me.”
Under my breath I laugh, “You wish.”
“Your dad was eyeing me like, stay away from my wife, you sexy young hunk!”
“Please! He was eyeing you to see if you deserve me!” Looking out the window as we turn right onto a lovely residential street in Buckhead, I smile, “We’re so lucky to have snow this Christmas.”
Massaging my leg he agrees, “It’s just enough to add a little romance to Atlanta, but I’ll take it. Probably will be melted by tomorrow.”
“Mmm,” I hum, tracing his knuckles and giving his fingers a squeeze. “They liked you, though. Not that I’m surprised.”
“Wait, are you complimenting me?” His mouth makes a big ‘O’ like something from a comic book. “Hey, these houses we’re passing now, those belong to my cousins. That’s Emma’s, Ethan’s—they’re Eric’s brother and sister. The only siblings who all got the same initial for their names, like my dad and his brothers did. Nobody carried on that tradition besides Uncle Jake. And that right there is Hannah’s place, Gabriel’s older sister.”
“Beautiful homes. And that’s nice that they live next to each other.”
Max jogs his thumb back. “That biggest one I pointed out?”
“Long driveway? Yeah.”
“That one belongs to Ethan. He patented a software invention that made him a billionaire by twenty-five. The guy’s a computer genius.”
“What does Emma do?”
“Real Estate. That’s how she met her husband, also rich. But she wasn’t wealthy before she met him. Same with Ethan and Eric, neither of them started out with money. They earned what they have.”
“That really means something to you.”
“Mmhmm, it means a lot to me. I think it builds character. And there’s something about the sense of achievement when you achieve a goal. We’re here.”
Turning I see for the first time a beautiful home where Max’s dad and his brothers grew up. There’s a deep lawn covered with snow sparkling in the sunlight like someone scattered diamonds over it. Cars are stacked up the drive, and the street is full as well. We have to pass Nancy and Michael Cocker’s home to find a space. Since we spent the morning at my parent’s house with my brother, his wife and children, we’re probably the last to arrive.
Max jumps out, his coat unzipped over a forest green sweater and charcoal grey slacks. He opens my door and I set flat, knee-high boots on the ground and smooth my forest green dress over them, lifting my coat to put it on. “Will you help me with this?”
“You have to ask?” he teases, pulling it over my arms and kissing me as he buttons me up. “Now you’ll have to unbutton these in about two minutes.”
I pretend to strangle him, but then slip my arms around his neck. “I’m a little nervous so be kind.”
“Natalie,” he murmurs against my lips. “I’ve got your back. Would you do me a favor?”
“Anything.”
“Find out who my sister is dating.” I laugh and he raises his eyebrows to add, “If his name is Brad, you let me know, okay?
“We’ll see.”
He takes my hand and leads me up the driveway. “We’ll see? No no no, you have to be my eyes and ears.”
“We’ll see,” I smirk.
The door opens and Caden walks out, wearing a hideous Christmas sweater. “You like this?”
Max makes a face, “NO!”
Caden’s warm brown eyes crinkle. “Well, Grams loved it. I don’t wear these things for you. Hey Natalie.”
“Merry Christmas, Caden.”
Max asks, “How is she?
“Still kicking! She’s brought a red and green cushion with her this time.”
“Adorable.”
We walk into the living room where there’s an enormous Christmas tree glinting with strings of multi-colored lights and silver tassels. Six stockings hang over the fireplace with names embroidered in them. The stockings are weathered, the white now yellow, and you can tell they’d been filled to the brim many, many times.
“How sweet is this! Is this the order they were born in?”
Max nods, “Oldest to youngest.”
Jaxson.
Jerald.
Justin.
Jason.
Jake.
Jeremy.
“Who’s Jerald? I don’t think you mentioned him.”
Caden smirks, “That’s Uncle Jett. He changed his name to something that fits him. Because Jerald sure doesn’t.”
Max laces our fingers together. “Jett was named after his grandfather. But don’t dare call him Jerald, he hates it. Come on, I want you to meet everyone. You already know this jerk.”
“And she’s better for it, aren’t you, Natalie?” Caden grins.
Around the corner come two girls—a pretty redhead with a naughty glimmer in green eyes and a sweet-faced blonde with brown eyes and skin that glows. On their heels, like he’s got all the time in the world to get anywhere, is a handsome light-haired ginger with a smirk like Max’s.
The redhead smiles, “Is this your girlfriend? She’s so sexy! I’m Lexi!”
The blonde introduces herself, “I’m Samantha! So great to finally meet you.”
Hunter smirks from me to his older brother. “Lexi’s right. She’s hot, Max. Now I know why you stalked her.”
I laugh as Max punches Hunter’s chest. “What if I hadn’t told her about that?”
He shrugs, “Then I’d have removed the last of your secrets. You’re welcome!”
Lexi’s eyes glitter as she asks, “Have you met our mom yet?”
“Not yet, no.”
“MOM!” She looks behind her and shouts it again, “MOM!!!” while I meet Max’s amused eyes.
He cocks an eyebrow. “I told you. Never a dull moment.”
“What’d you say about me, Max?” Samantha pries, looking hopeful.
“That I never have to worry about you because you’re an angel.”
She frowns, not happy about it. “I just might surprise you some day.”
“Please don’t.”
Around the corner a short, older woman with curly red hair and a little extra around the hips appears with Jason following her. “What are you screaming about, Lexi?” Brown eyes light up at the sight of me and Max. “Oh, you’re here! You must be Natalie!” Hurrying over with arms wide, she says, “I’m Sarah, Max’s Mom.” Stepping back she checks us out. “Aren’t you cute with your matching green!”
“That was on purpose,” Max offers, to her surprise. “I’ve never brought a girlfriend home so I wanted to be as sappy as humanly possible.”
“I was against it. Until he brought this dress back to his loft. Kinda fell in love with it.”
Jason Cocker gives me a hug, “Merry Christmas, Natalie.”
Filled with gratitude I whisper, “Merry Christmas, Mr. Cocker.”
“Well, come on!” Sarah waves us out of the living room. “The party’s always outside!”
Lexi and Samantha start
asking me a ton of questions as the group of us walks by a staircase filled with framed family photographs of Jason and his brothers when they were growing up, and I see a sepia-toned picture of a man in uniform with a lovely woman beaming at him. “Who was that in the old photo, Max? With the man in uniform.”
We’ve just passed where he could see so he bends back and says, “Oh, that’s Grams and her husband Jerald. They married after he came back from World War II. She was only seventeen.”
Caden informs me, “That’s the Grams I wore this for. She’s over a hundred. Modern medicine, what it can do.”
Sarah glances back to tell me, “Did you know Caden is going to be a doctor? The first one in the family!”
Caden puffs his chest. “I’m pretty important around here.”
Max mutters, “When are you going to stop flirting with my girlfriend?”
“Never?”
We enter a cozy, spacious kitchen, not modern or cold in the slightest. Even with pots on the stove and evidence of party preparations, it’s tidy. I get the feeling these events are a well-oiled machine. Even as we head to the backyard people are carrying things, saying hi to Max, promising they’ll meet me right after they take this or that to the tables waiting outside.
CHAPTER 39
N ATALIE
With Jason and Sarah leading the way we walk out to a beautiful lawn that runs for miles, it seems. Trees form a fence around its perimeter, and to the far right rests an empty dolphin fountain. Everything is dusted in snow, except where the party is. Set up over five long tables, plus one filled with food, are canopies covered in twinkle lights and freestanding outdoor heaters.
“See,” Max smiles, “This is where I got those for my auditions. My grandparents have a bunch of them for the winter months so we can still have our BBQs outside.”
I tug his hand and whisper, “Look at all these people!”
Pride dances in green eyes as he scans the faces. “This is my family.”
His sisters are watching me with smiles that wonder what I think, and Lexi asks with mischief, “Are you nervous?”
But Samantha whispers, “Don’t be. We’re very laid back here.”
We head down the steps and the introductions begin. Eric and Wren greet me like old friends, and he introduces his brother and sister to me, and their spouses. I meet Max’s uncles, their wives, Jeremy’s kids who I haven’t heard much about just yet. I’m sure I will in time though.
Max Cocker (Cocker Brothers Book 15) Page 16
