“I know, but you saved his ass. He went back and fired his finance department,” Max tells Mason and Olivia.
Ari grabs my hand, swinging it between us.
“I’m not the one who lent him employees until he could get some good ones hired,” I remind Max.
He shrugs. “Jacob is a friend. He would do the same.”
I roll my eyes, kneeling before Ari.
“Do you want any snacks? I can go get you some,” I tell her.
“No way. Your Uncle Max will get them,” Max chimes in.
“I want Twizzlers. Oh, and popcorn.” She claps her hands.
“Coming right up,” I tell her, standing.
“I’ll go get it,” Max tells me.
“I want to go. I want to get something for myself.”
He smirks at me. “I can get you a snack. I’ll be back.”
When he steps forward, pressing a kiss to my forehead, I freeze.
That’s not something we do often. Especially not in public. He walks away, Mason following him as they chat.
I look over to Olivia, who has a smile on her face.
“Are you sure you are stilljust friends?”
I throw my hands up, not knowing what to say.
“Aunt Iris is my friend. My best friend,” Ari tells me, grabbing my hand once more.
“Aw, I thought I was your best friend, Bug.” Olivia pretends to pout.
“You are my mom and best friend. I can have more than one best friend. I have like ten,” Ari tells her.
“Do you? Well, aren’t you popular?” I tease her.
“Everyone wants to be my friend,” she informs us both.
“Are you friends with everyone?” I ask.
She nods. “Even the mean ones. Mommy says they might need a little more love because someone in their life isn’t nice.”
I look over at Olivia. “You are an amazing mom.”
She blushes. “Thank you.”
The guys come back then, their arms full of snacks. They set it all on the back table of the balcony before handing out watersand snacks. Ari is practically bouncing as she grabs her popcorn and candy, going to take a seat in the front row.
“Aunt Iris, I want you to sit next to me. Will you sing with me?” Ari cannot sit still in her seat.
I make my way over to her, sitting on her left side, and I smile down at her. “We can’t sing until the very end when they say it’s okay, but yes, I will. I’ll even dance with you.”
“Really?” She looks up at me with wide, excited eyes.
