Page 80 of Playing for Keeps

Lucy yawned so wide that it looked like it might break her in two, but then she tried to deny it right away. “I’m not sleepy.”

“Of course not,” I said with all the seriousness I could muster. “You are wide awake. But you are definitely going to brush your teeth again.”

Lucy groaned like I had sentenced her to hard labour, but she let me pull her up. Max didn’t think twice; he just scooped Lucas into his arms. The little guy quickly curled up against his chest, resting his head on his shoulder as if that was where he belonged. It made my throat feel tight.

I followed them up the stairs. The house was quiet except for the soft sounds kids make when they’re too tired to fight it anymore: shuffling feet, a little sigh, and the creaking of Max’s steps as he carried Lucas like he was nothing.

Lucy made a whole production of brushing her teeth. She stood on the stool like she was on stage and scrubbed with all her might. Then she got into bed, moved her pillows around three times, and leaned over to me and whispered as if we were sharing secrets.

“Emma? Do you think Lyra would be good at hockey?”

I smiled. “I believe Lyra would do well at anything she chose to do.”

Lucy nodded, satisfied. “Yeah. That’s what I thought. Night.”

“Goodnight, Lucy,” I whispered, kissing her forehead.

In the next room, Max was tucking Lucas in with ridiculous care, arranging dinosaurs like they were royalty. Max lowered his voice. “The stegosaurus gets the pillow. Tough day.”

I whispered back, “Of course,” and wrapped the blanket around Lucas’s belly. Then I smoothed his hair until he fell asleep.

We tiptoed out. Back downstairs the house felt twice as still, the kind of hush that only comes when kids are finally asleep. Barney groaned and stretched out on the rug like he had been dealing with the kids all night. Max dropped onto the sofa and patted the space next to him. I curled up, tucking my legs under me. He slung an arm lazily over the back of the sofa, letting his fingers brush my shoulder.

“You were good with them,” I said softly.

He smiled. “Please. You were the one who got Lucy to brush her teeth without a court case. I just gave dinosaurs questionable accents.”

I laughed and leaned in a little closer. The silence stretched, comfortable and quiet, broken only by Barney’s snoring. I laid my head on Max’s lap. “Just for a second,” I whispered, my eyes already heavy. I hadn’t realised how tired I was until that moment. He brushed my hair back gently. I opened one eye and saw him looking down at me, soft and unguarded.

The front door clicked open. Aidan and Grace walked in, their voices low and happy.

“How was it?” Grace whispered as she looked in.

“Angels,” I said, getting up from the sofa. “Asleep in no time.”

“Thank you. Both of you.”

Aidan clapped Max on the shoulder, then looked at me with a grin. “If they wake up asking for you tomorrow, you only have yourselves to blame. And just so you know, you’re officially hired for next time.”

Max laughed. “We’ll check our schedule.”

Grace smiled, already taking off her shoes. “Don’t check too hard.”

We stepped out into the cool night air together, and I didn’t know if I was more scared by how natural it felt – or how badly I didn’t want to let it end.

37

MAX

I had been sitting on the porch too long, with my hands in my jacket pockets, trying to make sense of the mess in my head but failing. The game had been a disaster, the kind of night when nothing goes right and no amount of effort can fix it. But it wasn’t just the game. It was everything piling up, and the phone call I’d been trying not to think about all night. Now here I was, sitting on Emma’s porch like some dumb idiot who couldn’t figure out how to leave.

Headlights swept across the street. A cab pulled up, its brakes screeching, and before I could get up, there she was – Emma, beautiful as ever. When she saw me, she smiled, the kind of smile that usually undid me.

“Max,” she said, happy and surprised. “What are you doing here?”

I should have smiled back. I should have said that I just wanted to see her. But what came out was, “Where have you been?” My voice was sharper than I meant. Too sharp. Shit. I hated how obvious the worry was, hated that it leaked out before I could stop it.

Her eyebrows went up. “I was at a conference. I told you about that.”