“Yes.”
“Maxim—your first kiss, Maxim. Why didn’t you say that?”
“Because it’s not a big deal.” I place Binx on my bed, and he cautiously walks around, smelling the pillows and blankets.
“It’s a huge deal.” She plops down on the end of my bed. “And good Lord he’s hot, like a million times hotter than he was when we were kids, and he was hot back then.”
“I’m going to Vegas with him,” I tell her instead of confirming how hot he is, and her jaw drops.
“What?”
“He was here when I got home last night and said he came back early to convince me to go home with him, ’cause he still has work to do but missed me.”
“Holy shit.”
“I know.” I glance at the door.
“You really like him.” It’s a statement, not a question, and I nod.
“Well, then I’m really flipping happy for you.” Her face softens, then she yelps when Binx claws his way up the back of her shirt. Laughing, I grab him and tell him no. “He’s probably hungry. I brought the food I’ve been feeding him, but you’ll have to get more.” She frowns. “Wait, are you going to leave him with Matt, or should I take him home with me until you get back?”
“Maxim said he could go with us, since we’re flying private.”
“Oh, look at how fancy you are, flying private.” She laughs as she stands and heads for the door, and I realize how pompous that sounded. Shaking my head, I pick up Binx and carry him out of the room.
When we reach the kitchen, July takes the food and bowls out of the bag she brought with her and fills one with water, the other with food, before placing them near the edge of the island. I set him down in front of them so he will know where they are, then watch him sniff it before wandering off.
“Everything all right?” Maxim asks, snagging me around the waist when I’m within reach, and I nod up at him.
“Yeah, I was telling July that I’m going to Vegas with you.”
“And I have to say, I’m actually happy you’re leaving for a few days, especially with the two murders,” July says, taking a seat by the island, and Maxim’s head swings her way.
“What?”
“There was another realtor found murdered the other day,” I tell him softly, going to the coffee pot to fix myself and my sister a cup of coffee.
“You didn’t tell me that.”
“It slipped my mind after everything that happened yesterday.”
“Everything that happened yesterday?” he asks, and I press my lips together, scooting my sister her cup of coffee. “Besides what happened with Harris, what else happened?”
I take a sip from my mug, not really wanting to tell him, but also knowing the truth tends to always finds its way to the surface, so I might as well put it all out on the table. “Cohen showed up at my first appointment yesterday.”
“You’re kidding me,” July hisses.
“What the fuck?” Maxim bites out.
“Who is Cohen?” Wes asks.
“Her ex,” July answers, her lip curling.
“The musician?” he asks for confirmation, and she nods.
Feeling Maxim’s eyes on me, I look up at me. “What happened?”
“Nothing.” I hop up on the counter next to my sink, where he is mixing a bowl of pancake batter. “He just wanted to talk, so we talked, then I took off.”
“He wanted to talk, so you talked?” he asks me with his jaw ticking, and Wes makes a whistling noise. I send him a dirty look, then focus on Maxim when he growls, “What did he say?”
“He told me how he felt, and I told him that I didn’t want to see him again. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“You and the women in your family really know how to bring the drama,” Wes mutters to my sister, who shrugs.
“You’re not helping.” I glare at them.
“Just saying you should give the guy a heads up, since you’re talking about murders and an ex who obviously showed up where he wasn’t supposed to. It’s not like there isn’t a history of fucked-up shit happening in your family.”
With no comeback, because he’s not wrong, I pull my eyes off him and look at Maxim. “It’s fine. Hopefully he listens to me and moves on.”
“Yeah, hopefully he does, or else I’m dealing with him next time,” he tells me, while the air in the room thickens with the anger rolling off him. I look at my sister and widen my eyes, and she gives me a knowing look in return.
Hearing my cell phone ring upstairs, I hop off the counter. “I’ll be right back.” I don’t want it to seem like I’m running away from the conversation, but I totally am.
In no way do I think it would be good for Cohen and Maxim to be in the same space, so I need to make sure that never, ever happens. By the time I reach my room, the phone has stopped ringing and there is a missed call on the screen from Harris. I call him back and end up talking to him for a few minutes, making sure he and Molly are both okay after last night and letting him know I’m going to be out of town for a few days. Thankfully, he’s happy to have a little break to spend some time with Molly, which makes me feel less guilty about taking off on such short notice.