Page 45

Max

"Well, well, well." Jack's chuckle crackles through his cell phone. He has snuck his own phone in there so he doesn't have to use the prison's. "Look who finally called back."

I throw my head back on the couch. I knew this wasn't going to be easy.

"Sorry," I say. "I've been busy."

"So I've heard! Pissing off Marco Ferrara—which nearly gave our grandfather a heart attack, raiding a cult for some pussy."

"Don't you fucking refer to her like that," I hiss, ready to end this call.

"Ah, fuck. I'm sorry, man. Too much time locked up to remember my manners."

I rub my temples, having no idea what to even say. I thought I was healed up enough from my fights with Dad and Grandpa to reach out to Jack, but I'm worried it was too soon. The silence between us makes my palms sweat, and I'm praying for an EMP bomb to knock out cell service.

"Hey, can we start over?" Jack asks. "How are you? I've heard you met a nice young lady."

I can't help but laugh. "I'm doing better now that everything's calmed down."

"I was worried. Sofia said you were depressed."

"Well, that's Sofia. Not waking up at four in the morning to make some type of protein-veggie-shake-from-hell is depression."

He laughs.

"Nah, I was pretty bad. I shouldn't talk shit about our sister like that," I say. "Anyway, I'm better now and I'm planning on visiting you soon."

"My schedule's been pretty booked up with a checkers tournament, but I'm sure I can pencil you in somewhere."

"Thanks, man."

He clears his throat and swears under his breath.

"Alright, I probably won't have the balls to say this to you in person, so here it goes.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about what happened ten years ago.

The fact I killed an innocent man still keeps me up at night and I'm not sure if that will ever change, but something else that bothers me is how much blame you took from the family for this shit.

For fuck's sake, I was the one behind the wheel.

Drunk. And you were a kid. I mean, we both were.

.. but you know what I mean. Anyway, where was I going with this? "

"Jack, we both know no one tolerates snitches in our family. I should have known better, even as a teenager." I rub my hands through my hair, wanting this conversation to be over.

"You didn't even snitch, though. You gave them barely any information. It was enough to convict me, but still. It's not like you told them directly that I killed that person."

"I know but—"

"No," he shouts. "I'm sick and tired of our relationship being so distant because of this mess.

Get over it. Seriously. Stop feeling so fucking guilty.

I want you to come visit more. I don't want everything to feel so.

.. forced between us anymore. You barely answer any of my calls.

" His voice trails off, emotion bleeding through.

"Jack, I'm sorry. Like I said, I'll come visit soon."

I want to say more, but it's hard being vulnerable with him. I need to clear my head before going over there. He's right—our relationship has never been the same since that night.

"Good," he grunts. "Well, there's some shit going down in the cafeteria, and I want to watch. Make sure it's not one of my guys."

"Of course."

We say goodbye and hang up. I sit there, thinking about everything he said. Ten years. Ten fucking years. Why haven't I gotten over this mistake yet? Because my brother is in jail for life, that's why. But still, ignoring Jack and burying my feelings wasn't helping anyone. Maybe he's right.

I get up from the couch and head upstairs where Hailey's getting ready. We're off to my parents' house for dinner.

I linger near the doorway of the bathroom before she notices me, admiring her as she puts on her makeup. I swear she looks more beautiful every day.

"You're sure they really want to meet me?" Hailey asks when she spots me.

"Absolutely. No one ever had a negative opinion of you, but they viewed our relationship as risky. That gift from your dad sorted out a lot of things, though."

She smiles and rolls her eyes.

I'm simplifying things. When we returned from Illinois, the family exploded. To them, I'd torpedoed our alliance with the Ferraras by standing up Elena. It took threats of walking away from everything—for Hailey—before they finally came around.

"Can we leave early if it gets awkward?"

"Of course." I pull her into my chest and rest my chin on her head, watching her finish up. "But I don't think we'll need to. Besides, my sisters will be there to keep you company, too."

Her face lights up. They've come over to visit a couple times since we got back, and I think she's grown closer to them.

Hailey and Sofia are going to attend an exercise class together, and I suppose Bianca's even a good influence on Hailey too; she never had the chance to have a rebellious period in her life .

"I'll be thinking about ripping that dress off of you all evening," I groan in her ear, looking down at her chest. She's wearing a modest sundress, but somehow I find this sexier than the little dresses she wore at the casino.

Not that she's going to work there anymore now that she's officially with me.

"Stop." She blushes and giggles in the mirror.

I squeeze her ass and let her put her makeup away. If I don't stop myself now, we'll end up on my bed and late for dinner.

I sit on the edge of bed until she's ready to go. I've kept my distance from everyone for a couple of weeks to spend time with Hailey and give my family space after all the fighting. But it's been long enough—we can't keep to ourselves anymore, and I'm starting to miss my mom.

Hailey emerges from the bathroom, and I feel like the luckiest man in the world when I look at her. Her beautiful golden curls, piercing blue eyes, the curves of her body.

"What?" She catches me staring.

"Just appreciating your beauty." I smile.

She rolls her eyes but smiles back. We walk over to my parents' place. It's a gorgeous day, cooling off as we get into September. We stroll side by side up the familiar driveway, past freshly trimmed hedges and the tennis court.

"Maybe I can ask Sofia to teach me how to play," Hailey murmurs.

"Don't." I groan.

"Why?”

"She's so goddamn competitive. It's miserable. Trust me."

Hailey laughs as we reach the front door. Mom opens it before I can even reach for the handle.

"Hailey! Hi! I'm Jennifer. Look at how beautiful you are in this dress."

"Thanks for having us over," Hailey says. "You have such a lovely home."

She gives Hailey a hug. "I hope you came hungry. You're not a picky eater, are you?"

"Not at all."

"Perfect." She looks past her and smiles at me. I return it, knowing she'd love anyone I brought home, even if I screwed up a potential family alliance.

Dad approaches next, wearing a loose Hawaiian shirt.

He gives Hailey a warm smile and says hello.

I relax a bit; I was concerned he'd be passive aggressive or try to sabotage things out of spite.

But we got a lot out of our system with that fight, and in some dysfunctional way, I think we're in a better place.

"Mind if we talk shop for a second?" he asks, throwing his arm around my shoulder and guiding me toward the garage.

"Sure."

"Your grandfather and I have made up our minds about this, but I wanted to keep you in the loop."

"Yeah?" I assume this is some mundane business decision.

"There's another marriage proposal coming from the Ferraras."

I stop in my tracks, eyes narrowing. You have got to be kidding me .

"Alessandro and Sofia."

I relax, relieved it doesn't involve me, but not thrilled about the match. Sofia will have to move so far away. "If Sofia's fine with it, that's all I care about."

He pats my back. "She's excited about moving to a warmer climate, I think. She can play tennis outside all year long."

"Dinner's ready!" Mom calls from the other side of the house.

She wanted to cook the meal herself today and not bother the staff.

We make our way into the dining room, and I take a seat next to Hailey. She smiles at me, then goes back to chatting with Bianca and Sofia.

"So, Max?" Mom says as we pass plates around the table. "When are you proposing to Hailey?"

I shift in my seat, shooting Hailey a glance.

Honestly, I'm ready to marry this woman now, but her life has been so tumultuous that I haven't discussed it.

I laugh, trying to keep it light. "Maybe we ought to date for at least a year before talking about that.

" I glance at Hailey and relax when she nods in agreement.

"And kids?"

"Ma!"

She shrugs, serving herself some salad. "I know it probably won't happen soon, but I want to know these things."

Hailey saves me. "Someday." She smiles at me. "But maybe in... ten years?"

"That's perfect," I say, reaching for her hand, noticing my mother frown slightly at how long we're planning to wait .

"Besides," Hailey says. "I haven't told you this yet, Max, but I'm thinking of going back to school.

For a law degree." She gets a faraway look in her eye.

"It would take a while; I went to a school run by the cult, so that was more brainwashing than education.

I'd want to attend a college I can commute to from your place.

But I think it's something I'd be good at. "

"That's great," Dad says encouragingly. "Our family's lawyer is getting old. We could use a replacement within the next decade."

I smile at her and give her hand another squeeze. I'm happy she's figuring out what to do with her life. I'd be completely fine supporting and spoiling her, but I know Hailey—she'd go insane doing nothing at home all the time.

Bianca groans, jerking her head toward Sofia. "So I'm going to have to deal with two argumentative people?"

Sofia scratches her face with her middle finger at Bianca.

"Sofia's not that argumentative," Hailey says, trying to be polite.

"Oh, that's a sign we need to have you over for dinner more often, Hailey," Mom says with a warm smile.

We slowly finish our meal, and I get lost in the various conversations happening at the table until it grows dark outside and it's time for us to go. We say our goodbyes, promising to come again soon. Hailey fits into my life so well; I'm sure she's happy coming here as often as I'd like.

As we're leaving the house, I recognize Nick's car driving down the street, but it looks like Savannah's driving.

She rolls down the window. Nick sits next to her wearing a stained T-shirt and sweats.

He looks healthier than the last time I saw him; he's put on some weight and can walk short distances again.

I bend down and shout over Savannah, "Well, look who decided to get out of bed today! Lazy piece of shit."

He points a finger at me, trying to hide the smile on his face. "Watch yourself, Maxy. They’ve got me doing all types of exercises to get my strength back. And when I'm back in business, I'm throwing your ass into that lake over there."

"Try that and I'm taking you in with me. Those doctors better be teaching you how to swim."

"I can't help it that I'm not buoyant!"

"I'm not either! You have to move your fucking arms and legs to stay afloat."

Savannah rolls her eyes and looks past me. "Hi, Hailey."

"Hey!" Hailey chirps.

"You're leaving me alone with them at the casino?" Savannah fakes a look of despair.

"I know, I'm so sorry." Hailey laughs. "You can take classes with me."

Nick snorts, and she elbows him in the side.

"Jesus, woman! You see what she does to me?" He clutches his side. I think she might have actually hit his old wound, but I'm sure she didn't mean to by the brief look of shock on her face.

"You kind of deserved it, man," I say .

"Yeah, well, you're probably right," Nick says. "Anyway, I have to talk to your old man about getting my responsibilities back."

I reach past Savannah, slapping my hand against his in a handshake. "Glad to have you back." I pull my arm away, remembering the time I saw him in the hospital, nearly dead. I never thought he'd be up and working again this quickly.

"Look at him," Nick points at me, looking at Hailey. "He's getting all weepy."

I slap the car. "Fuck off," I laugh.

Finally, Hailey and I walk back toward my house, holding hands as we stroll down the street. I feel a warmth in my chest, loving my family and feeling optimistic about the future.

"That went well," Hailey says.

"It did." I smile. "Lawyer?"

Her face flushes. "I feel bad for not telling you first, but it's been in the back of my mind for a while, and it just came out at dinner."

"No problem," I shrug. "It's going to be hot watching you study."

"Yes. I'm sure having an over-caffeinated nervous breakdown over a textbook at three in the morning will be such a turn-on for you."

"Anything you do is a turn-on for me."

She playfully bumps into me as we walk up my driveway. I turn around, making sure we're alone, and slip my hand up her dress. "I told you I was going to rip off this dress when dinner was over," I whisper in her ear.

She gives me a kiss, biting my bottom lip before I pick her up and carry her inside the rest of the way.