Then for some stupid, insane, irrational reason, five stupid, insane and irrational words came out of my mouth. “Why do you like me?”

His hands slid from my behind to the small of my back as his head tilted to the side and he asked, “What?”

“Why do you like me?” I threw out a hand and continued. “Why are you so sure about all of this?”

His grin came back and he stated, “It ain’t because you know how I like my coffee.”

My stomach melted to non-existence at him imparting the knowledge that he remembered what I said that morning and my hands slid up to his neck.

“You take your coffee black, Max, that isn’t hard to remember,” I told him and my hands gave his neck a squeeze. “And it also isn’t answering my question.”

“Think I just mentioned your pretty face, your beautiful eyes and your spectacular body,” he reminded me.

“That’s it?”

His eyes roamed the area of my head before they came to mine and he added, “You got great hair.”

“Max.”

He held my gaze for a long moment then his brows drew together and he asked, “You’re serious?”

I leaned back a bit in his arms and answered, “Of course.”

He watched me another moment then muttered in disbelief, “Fuck.”

“Fuck what?”

“You can’t be serious,” he told me.

“I am,” I replied.

“Babe,” he said.

And that was it. I waited for more but apparently that really was it.

“That’s it? Babe?”

“Nina, for Christ’s sake.” Now he sounded impatient and I started to get scared.

I drew back further but his arms got tighter.

“Max, I asked you a question,” I prompted, the fear becoming full-fledged as the impatience hit his features.

“Think you were there when you got in my face about rentin’ this house,” he told me.

“Yes, but –”

“And stomped on your high-heeled boots in your cute little tantrum when you walked out that first night and took me on again outside in a f**kin’ snowstorm.”

My tantrum wasn’t cute. It wasn’t even a tantrum. I was angry.

I let that slide and started, “Of course, but –”

“And you’re a zombie in the mornin’ and it’s f**kin’ adorable.”

The fear started sliding away and I started melting back into him.

“Max –”

“You were also there when you told me you loved my house. And when you told me beer was invented in Germany. And when you told Cotton how his pictures made you feel. And, if I remember, you were there when you looked at the bluff like you’d stepped into heaven. And when you went on about some television character’s lipstick. And you were also there when you took on Damon for Mindy. And when you practically threw Mindy in Jeff’s arms. And when you threw down with Kami and Shauna, both in one night. And you were definitely there when you saved Mindy’s life yesterday and you were also f**kin’ there when you did what you did for Mindy today.”

I couldn’t believe he remembered all that. Heck, until then, I hadn’t remembered all that. Some of it but not all of it and some of it I was trying to forget because it hadn’t been all that fun.

“Max –”

“The people in this town are friendly enough with outsiders, Duchess, but only as much as they gotta be. They’re friendly with you because they like you and they like you because, like me, they see all that, that’s a f**kuva lot to like and they know that’s just scratchin’ the surface.”

I couldn’t take anymore, I wanted to, but I couldn’t.

“Stop talking now,” I whispered because if he didn’t I’d start crying.

“You asked.”

“Okay, I did, but you need to stop talking now.”

“Baby –”

I looked down at the cookie sheet. “And don’t be nice anymore, I prefer you annoying.”

His body started shaking with laughter and he called, “Nina, darlin’, look at me.”

I kept my face averted. “No, I need to put the pasta in the water.”

“Honey –”

I pushed against his shoulders. “Let me go, Max.”

I felt his face in my neck. “You’re demonstrating another reason I like you right now when you act crazy and cute.”

Only Holden Maxwell would think my neurotic crazy was cute.

I kept pushing his shoulders and demanded, “Stop it, Max.”

His hand slid up my spine, his fingers sifted in my hair and his lips went to my ear. “All that, and there’s a lot of it, Duchess, I can hold in my arms. You wanna know why I’m so sure, that’s why.”

I choked back my tears and this made a girlie noise so I shoved my face in his chest.

He held my face there with his hand in my hair and he held me close with his arm around my waist. I held back the tears and I did this by deep breathing loudly.

Once I succeeded, Max kissed the top of my head again and offered, “I’ll put the macaroni on.”

Then he let me go and I turned back to the biscuits and hot dogs instead of downing the entire glass of wine which was what I wanted to do or, better, move back into Max’s arms.

* * * * *

We’d sat at the stools to eat the macaroni and cheese and pigs in a blanket.

We took our slices of cake up to the loft and ate them in bed while watching the horror movie.

The dirty plates were on the nightstand, I had my wineglass in my hand. The pillows were piled up and I was in the curve of Max’s body as well as his arm.

I was thinking that horror movies were a bit less scary watching them curled into Max, though not that less scary.

We were coming onto the cl**ax and I was thinking we were in the homestretch. The heroine had to survive, of course, or how could there be a sequel? She was the only one left of the original crew, someone had to survive.

Though it wasn’t looking good for her.

She ran into the deserted, broken down cabin which was a mistake, seeing as the psychopath used to live there before he hacked his whole family up with an axe and that was his favorite haunt.

She turned a corner into a room and there he was, him and his axe and he was ready to strike.

So he did.