Maxie (Triple X) (7 page)

“Did you find anything?”

She shook her head. “No, and that’s the problem.”

“What do you mean?”

Her lips tightened further as she flipped through the papers in the nearest box. “No birth certificate. No adoption papers. No announcements in the town paper.” She folded her arms over her chest. “I didn’t find any bronzed baby shoes or even baby pictures. In the oldest ones I came across, I was already a toddler.”

She blinked a little faster, and Zac felt her disappointment and her desperation. They hung in the air as heavily as the humidity outside and made him feel a bit desperate himself. He’d told her he didn’t like seeing her upset, and it had been the truth.

“Something could have happened to them. They could have been lost or accidentally destroyed.”

She sent him a wan look. She was through being coddled.

He nodded toward the albums, changing tactics. “In the pictures that you did find, were you happy?”

“Yes.”

“Hold on to that.”

She hugged her arms around her waist. Her brown eyes had never been bigger. “Tell me they’re good people.”

He knew what she was asking and what she couldn’t say aloud. Not yet. They were her sisters, and she was their missing link.

“Lexie is a model citizen,” he assured her. “I couldn’t find so much as a traffic violation on her. I did find all sorts of commendations, though—awards from marketing associations and charities. It looks like she recently started a new company with a guy named Cameron Rowe. As for Roxie, she’s a bit more…let’s call it colorful.”

“How so?”

“She’s hell on wheels,” he answered honestly, “but nothing malicious or dangerous. I get the sense that she defends herself and her turf.”

“Can you blame her?”

He tilted his head. That tone was almost defensive. In fact, it
was
defensive, and it told him a lot. “No, I can’t. Given how she grew up, her record is pretty darn clean. She works at a bar called The Ruckus. I found the billboard they talked about. I can see why it caused a scandal.”

He watched as Maxie took the information in. They’d gone through that file of information together. Roxie’s childhood couldn’t have been more different than what she’d experienced with the Millers. Still, she nodded in understanding.

That didn’t mean she was okay with what was happening. In the blink of an eye, her entire life had changed. She had different genes, different family ties and a childhood she couldn’t remember. It had her wound tight as a steel coil. Her fingers were white against her elbows, and her right foot was cocked back on its heel. If she ground it into the flooring any more, there’d be a hole in the tiling.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

She took a deep breath and dropped her arms to her sides. “We don’t have to stay long. We can leave any time you want.”

“No, we’ll leave when you want. Just give me the high sign.”

“What is that?”

He mulled it over. “You could kiss me again.”

Her eyes popped open.

He put on his best innocent face. “Or, if you prefer, you could nibble on my ear.”

She let out an exasperated sound and picked up her purse.

“Run your fingers through my hair?”

There was a hint of a smile on her face. “How about I mention how late it’s getting?”

He rolled his eyes. “What fun is that?”

She rolled her eyes right back at him and started for the door.

“Come on,” he wheedled. “We don’t want them thinking we’re bored with each other.”

He was willing to do almost anything to get her to lighten up. She’d handle things much better if she didn’t go in tight and defensive. Besides, he liked getting under her skin, now that he knew what tweaked her. “You could put your hand on my leg under the table. Now that would get me out of there in a flash.”

“Flashpoint,” she said, stopping in her tracks. “Lexie’s flowers.”

She turned so quickly she nearly ran into him. Zac caught her waist to steady her, and her face flushed. They were toe to toe, nearly mouth to mouth. They stayed that way for a long moment until she shied away. Moving around him, she hurried to the refrigerator and pulled out a vase filled with a fiery arrangement.

“I had Laura bring them over.” She deftly shifted blooms and smoothed leaves.

Zac saw more than he thought she wanted him to see. There was hesitancy in her, but a spark too. She was nervous about what might happen tonight. Nervous, but curious.

And maybe a little bit excited.

A knot pulled tight in his gut.

He wanted things to go right for her so badly he nearly reached for his phone to call the sisters. He wasn’t above sitting them down and telling them how it was going to be.

But this had to evolve naturally. Questions had to be asked, and the right answers needed to be given. The three of them had to come to an understanding on their own and develop a relationship if they wanted. Or not. He couldn’t fix something that was already tangled and snared. All he could do was sit at Maxie’s side.

And pretend to be Mr. Right.

He held the back door open for her. “Ready?”

She took a deep breath. “As I’ll ever be.”

“Don’t worry. They’re going to love you.”

The Indigo Iguana was busy when they arrived. Families filled up the booths while happy-hour singles tried to get the bar to extend their hour into two. The atmosphere was casual, relaxed and eclectic. As the name indicated, the Iguana wasn’t normal restaurant fare. The walls of the place were deep purple, decorated with neon iguanas in oranges, yellows and greens. Keeping with the tropical theme, fish netting hung from the ceilings. Oars outlined the doorways, and sea turtles pointed the way to the restrooms. The effect was over the top, which was exactly the reason why cars often filled the parking lot.

The fact that their surf and turf was over the top too didn’t hurt.

“I don’t think they’re here yet,” Zac said, scanning the crowd. “We should grab a table, if we can.” He stiffened when he noticed the man heading straight for them. “Shit,” he muttered.

“Maxie,” Martin Shimwell called gleefully.

If there was one person in this town that Zac hadn’t yet found a way to tolerate, it was this guy. Marty Shimwell had been his opponent in the election for Indigo Falls Sheriff. His very presence made Zac itchy. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t like the guy. He was harmless enough in that weak, spineless way. In fact, Shimwell didn’t seem to carry any grudges and had been friendly enough in return.

“Don’t you look beautiful,” the man said, cupping Maxie’s shoulder.

It was
that
.

Zac gritted his teeth.

“And look at this.” Shimwell touched the bouquet in appreciation. “Bringing your own centerpiece?”

“They’re for…a friend,” she said.

“Gorgeous.”

He wasn’t looking at the flowers anymore, and Zac folded his arms to keep from bopping the guy’s hands away from her.

“Are you managing the restaurant now, Martin?” Maxie’s tone was open and friendly. No signs of shyness or hesitancy there.

“For the past two weeks.” He leaned in a bit too close to confide, “The cellular store was too slow for me.”

And the grocery store he’d worked for when he’d been running his campaign? The guy went through jobs the way Taylor Swift went through boyfriends.

Zac couldn’t take it any longer. Sidling closer to Maxie, he wrapped his arm around her waist. “You wouldn’t happen to have a table open so she can set those flowers down?” he asked.

With teeth bared like a tiger.

Shimwell wasn’t the only one who could reach out and touch. It was time he established his territory, especially if he was going to pull off his role of boyfriend tonight. If they were going to convince everyone, he might as well start getting into the act.

The smile on Martin’s face faltered. He looked back and forth between the two of them. When his smile returned, it was plastic. “Table for two, then?”

“For four, actually,” Maxie said.

Shimwell’s eyes narrowed with curiosity. “Wonderful.” He grabbed menus from the receptionist’s stand. “If you’ll follow me?”

He wasn’t the only one eyeing them as they crossed the restaurant.
The sheriff and Maxie Miller,
Zac could practically hear them whispering. It sounded pretty good to his ears. He was fine with gossip starting about the two of them, as long as she was. He sent a quick look at her.

He almost pulled up short.

She was so oblivious to everything she didn’t even notice people’s speculation.

Zac reined himself in. He needed to remember why they were here. This wasn’t all fun and games to her. She’d asked him to be at her side for a reason.

Shimwell led them to a table near the back. It was close to the bar, but away from the bathrooms and kitchen. In this place, it was in as low of a traffic area as possible.

“Thanks, Marty.”

The host stiffened, his posture yanked upright as if by a string. Setting their menus in front of them, he turned on his heel. “I’ll keep an eye out for your dinner companions.”

Zac pulled out a chair for Maxie.

“He doesn’t like being called Marty,” she said.

“I know.”

She frowned as he sat next to her. “He’s not such a bad guy.”

“To-may-to, to-mah-to.”

Leaning back, Zac watched her. She was fiddling with the bouquet again as she kept an eye on the entrance. He couldn’t see anything out of place in the arrangement and wasn’t sure there was. She was nervous, though, and he couldn’t blame her. She was a private person, and being out with him was drawing attention. What would happen when Lexie and Roxie walked in? That’s would surely knock all the gossipers for a loop.

Maybe meeting here hadn’t been a good idea.

“Do you think they’ll have trouble finding the place?” She pulled her hands away from the flowers and folded them in her lap.

“You’ve got their number if they don’t show up.”

“I hope they weren’t bored today.”

“They’re big girls. They can entertain themselves.”

She couldn’t keep her hands still. She drummed her fingertips together and twirled her thumbs. “I’m not sure what they’re going to expect from me.”

Zac draped his wrist over the back of her chair. “Don’t worry about it. Just be yourself. If you get uncomfortable, we don’t have to stay.” He patted his leg under the table. “Remember the high sign.”

That got her attention. Her eyes popped open before quickly scanning the area to see if anyone had heard. “Stop it.”

“One pat, and I can assure you we’ll be out of here before you know it.”

“I am not grabbing your leg under the table at the Indigo Iguana.”

He let one eyebrow rise. “But maybe somewhere else?”

Her cheeks were turning a pretty pink when Roxie stepped in the door.

Maxie saw Roxie the moment she entered the restaurant. With as much as the sisters looked alike, it wasn’t difficult for her to tell them apart. First, there were the clothes. That was the obvious distinction, but there were other things too. Roxie walked differently. She…well, she
strutted
. There was a confidence there that Maxie, personally, could never have.

“Watch this,” Zac said, leaning closer to her.

Martin was heading to the receptionist stand. Maxie watched as an easy, welcoming smile settled onto his face. His chin came up in recognition, but then confusion hit. His double take was comical, because it swiveled from Roxie to one hundred and eighty degrees across the room to her. Twice.

Roxie, for her part, gave him a wink. Seeing them at their table, she grabbed a menu for herself. She patted him on the shoulder and strode on by. More heads twisted and more eyes bugged as she
strutted
across the restaurant. Devil that she was, the sway of her hips actually intensified. With the assurance of a runway model, she flipped her hair over her shoulder.

Her expression was mischievous when she met them.

Zac stood and pulled back a chair for her. “Enjoy that?”

She grinned. “Now that was fun.”

“Where’s Lexie?” Maxie stared at the doorway. Had she been too cold and distant earlier? Had the other sister decided not to come? Nerves began to bubble up inside her. She liked the woman, even if she wasn’t ready to commit to being her sister.

“On the phone with lover boy, Cam.” Roxie fanned herself. “It’s like a sauna out there. I couldn’t take it anymore. She’ll be in soon.”

“So we can watch it all over again?” Zac smiled. “You’re right, this is fun.”

Maxie nibbled on her lip. Half of her was relieved, while the other half was puzzled at her own reaction. It was bizarre, was what it was. She’d thought she was prepared for it, seeing herself again in multiple forms, but she wasn’t. “Martin’s likely to swallow his tongue,” she murmured.

“The host?” Roxie swiveled in her chair. “Oooh, I wanna see.”