"This is amazing," she told Max as they made their way through the fourth course. "But how many more courses do you think we're getting? I'm pretty full."
"I think there are at least two more," he said.
"Do you always eat this well on Dominic's dime?"
"On his dime? Absolutely. On mine, not so much. What about you? Are you a foodie?"
"I like to eat, but this kind of meal is nothing I'm used to. I can't wait to tell my cousin about this place. She's an aspiring chef and has a food channel on social media. She would love this."
"Do you have a lot of family in New York?"
"A ton," she said. "My immediate family is small, just my mom and my younger brother, Hayden."
"How old is he, and is he also in law enforcement?"
"No. He's twenty-nine, and a newly minted doctor of orthopedics. My mom said it was a great specialty for him because he broke a lot of bones when he was younger. Hayden loved skateboarding, and he was great at it. But he liked to do tricks, and he took a lot of falls," she said with a smile. "My Uncle Danny and his wife, Beth, have four kids ranging from their early thirties to their early twenties. And my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Tim have three kids ranging from twenty-five down to fifteen. And my Uncle Joe and Aunt Linda have five kids ranging from twenty to eight."
He shook his head. "That's a lot of family."
"And a lot of fun," she said. "I miss my dad terribly, but it has been great to have so much support from everyone else. My mother has been a single mom for much of my life, but it hasn't ever really felt that way. What about you? What's your family situation beyond your dad and you? I haven't heard about any siblings."
"No siblings. A couple of cousins, but I haven't seen them since I was probably twelve. Our extended family fizzled out years ago. The traveling put too much distance between us, and now my dad doesn't seem to even care about trying to keep up with any of them."
"That's a little sad."
He shrugged. "It is what it is."
She sat back as the server put a fancy cheese plate in front of her. "Cheese, really?" she whispered.
He laughed. "It goes with dessert."
"I've never understood that."
"You don't have to eat it."
"Oh, I'm eating it," she said. "When in Rome, right?"
He laughed and picked up his fork. "When in Rome."
As they finished their cheese plates, Olive engaged Max in conversation once more, and she found herself studying his profile: the firm jaw, dark brows, the slight crook in his nose that suggested it had been broken at least once. He really was handsome, in that dangerous, unpolished way that made her pulse quicken. He was a sexy chameleon who could probably blend into any environment, become whoever he needed to be.
Max suddenly turned and caught her eye, raising his brow in a silent question. "Everything okay?"
"Yes." She picked up her water glass and took a long drink, feeling a little too warm, but it had nothing to do with the heat in the room and everything to do with him.
"You're supposed to be observing the room, not me," he added quietly.
"I wasn't looking at you."
"Yes, you were. What did you see?"
His challenging gaze held hers. "It looks like you broke your nose at some point," she said
"Bar fight in Dublin."
"What were you doing in Dublin?"
"Drinking. Which led to the fight." His smile was crooked. "I was younger and stupider."
