Page 81 of The Sidekick

He bursts into laughter as he stumbles back in surprise.

“Please don’t tell him I said that,” I try to hold the words back, but now they’re out there. How angry would he get if he heard me talk about him that way? Instead of taking it as the weakness it is, Max nods and holds out his pinky to promise me in the most childish way. I love it.

“He’ll never know.”

Babygirl,

I made a better list. Perfect things I didn’t know I would miss.

Your smile

The little victory dance you do when you accomplish something and you’re proud of it.

The fact that you look around to make sure no one is watching before you do the victory dance.

The crazy dancing when you closed the bar and thought no one was there. The music was loud as fuck, but Max could sleep through a train driving over his head.

Basically, you dancing. You always look so happy when you do it.

The way you held Max that day. I knew right then that you loved him. That you could love me. It scared me.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Asher

When Max grins at me as he walks in, it sets off every internal alarm I have. It’s an open, blatantly happy smile I’ve never seen before.

“She’s giving me a chance! Can you give me some more smoothie recipes? She loves them.”

“You won her over by giving her my smoothie recipes?” I ask in disbelief. This woman is ridiculous at forgiving people. She needs a keeper.

“She, uh,” his smile wavers and comes down to a more normal level. “She’s having trouble eating, and I thought it would help.”

“Thoughtful of you,” I give him a nod of respect. “I’ll see what else I can find.”

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