“Cute,” Tilly repeated, grinning. “Don’t worry, big guy. I’ll get this figured out. You can still pay me triple if you want, though.”
“I think you’ll deserve it,” Maxwell said, ignoring the cute comment. Not to mention big guy.
“We’ll get this sorted, and then you and Chloe can—”
“Get on with our lives,” Maxwell said firmly. “Thanks, anyway.”
“Any time,” Tilly pointed him a set of finger guns as he pushed his way through the beaded curtain and out of The Oracle.
He didn’t expect to see Chloe leaning against the wall, clearly waiting for him.
“Hey there,” he said, feeling awkward. “Thanks for not saying anything to your brother. About me knowing about the curse. I…” He shook his head. “I should have told you right away.”
“It’s okay,” Chloe said, looking away and pulling her coat more tightly around her shoulders. Maxwell had a brief urge to wrap his arms around her and protect her from the chill air. Tilly would probably have said that was cute as well. Maxwell didn’t do cute. “He would have overreacted. And I get that it was kind of a hard thing to tell someone.”
“I’m sorry,” Maxwell said. “The way my life works, I’m not used to trusting strangers with personal information.”
“Oh, I get that,” Chloe said, nodding. “But if we’re stuck with this whole curse-breaking thing for the next month, you’ll have to trust me at least a little.”
“You seem like someone worthy of being trusted, if it helps,” Maxwell said gallantly, but he meant it.
“Thanks,” Chloe said, her cheeks colouring slightly. “I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other, then.”
“Seems that way,” Maxwell agreed. “I’ll be on my best behaviour, I swear.”
“No more lustful desire?” Chloe teased, and Maxwell let out a surprised laugh. He hadn’t thought she was the teasing type.
“I’ll do my best,” he promised. But when it came to keeping himself from desiring Chloe, that might be a hard promise to keep.