The Summer Proposal by Vi Keeland

I took her. “Who is this?”

“Moana.”

“Oh. Is she a princess?”

The little girl nodded and held out another figure. This one was a crab. “Tamatoa.”

“Tamatoa, huh?” I glanced over at Max. “Are these lucky? Is that why you carry these around?”

She shook her head.

I grinned. “Of course not, because you’re a big girl.” I leaned closer. “You want to know a secret?”

She nodded.

I pulled Max’s plastic Yoda from my purse. “This little guy.” I pointed to Max. “Belongs to this big guy.”

The little girl covered her mouth and giggled.

I nodded. “I know, right?”

The waitress laughed. “What can I get you?”

I ordered soup and one roll, and Max ordered four rolls. The little girl waved to me before following her mother away.

I set Yoda in the middle of the table.

“I didn’t know you carried him on you,” Max said.

“It’s probably why I did so well at aerial yoga, and you, well, sucked.”

Max laughed. “She was cute.”

“Do you want kids someday?”

Max sipped his water and shrugged. “I’m not sure. If you had asked me that five or ten years ago, I would have said no. But now I’m not sure.”

“How come you would have said no?”

“I watched what my mother went through when Austin died.”

“That’s right. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Of course that would have an effect on you.”

He shrugged. “Since my nieces were born, I guess it’s made me a little more open. Or maybe it’s that I’m getting older now. What about you?”

“I definitely would like to have kids. A few, actually. I had a nice childhood, but it was just my mom and me, and I was always a little bit envious of my friends who have big families.” I paused. “Maggie and I always said we wanted to have our kids at the same time so they could grow up together. I remember when we were thirteen, saying we wanted to have three kids each and be done by thirty so we were young moms. I guess that’s not happening, considering she’s in the middle of a divorce and I’m…no longer engaged.”

Max looked away. “Life doesn’t always go as planned.”





CHAPTER 15




* * *



Max



Ten years ago



“This is different than what I expected.”

“What did you expect, Animal House?”

I’d taken Teagan to a party tonight, just not one I’d normally go to. All of my friends were a few blocks over, probably making Animal House look tame. Instead, I’d taken her to a party thrown by the architectural club my brother belonged to. He had said he’d be here, though he was nowhere to be found as of yet.

Teagan sipped her beer and watched me. It felt like she was trying to put her finger on something that felt off, so I lifted my chin to a guy walking by. “Hey, what’s up? How ya been?”

The guy looked over his shoulder to see who I could have been greeting. Teagan caught the exchange and narrowed her eyes.

“Do you even know anyone here?”

“Sure.” I pointed to a random guy across the room. “That’s Chandler over there.” I scanned the room and pointed to another guy. “That’s Joey.” A woman I’d never seen passed by and smiled at me. I offered a friendly wave. “Hey, Monica.”

“Really, Max?”

“What?”

She pointed to a blond girl. “Is that Phoebe? I’ve seen Friends, too, you know.”

I grinned. “Sorry. Do I at least get an E for effort?”

She shook her head. “You get a D for dimples, and they are the only reason I’m still standing here. What’s the deal? Why did you bring me to a dull party where you don’t know anyone?”

“You want the truth?”

She rolled her eyes. “Max…”

“Okay, okay…” I huffed. “These are my brother’s friends. Mine are at a different party.”

“Did you just want to hang out with your brother?”

“I thought his friends would make a better impression.”

“Why?”

“Because hanging out with my buddies ends one of two ways on a Saturday night: someone gets arrested, and occasionally that’s me, or someone starts a fight, which is also occasionally me, and then the entire hockey team jumps in. You said you could tell a lot about a person by the company they keep. I figured it would be safer to have you fall for me before bringing you around those clowns.”

She raised a brow. “Oh, that’s the plan? Tell me, exactly how are you going to make me fall for you?”

I smiled and pointed to my cheeks.

Teagan laughed. “They are adorable. I’ll give you that. Though I think you’re going to need more than a great smile. How about we go to the other party, and I promise not to hold your friends against you? Believe it or not, I was in a sorority and went to a fraternity party or two.”

“Thank fuck.” I dropped my head. “This party sucks.”

We were both laughing as we headed to the door. I waved at the two guys I’d pretended to know. “Later, Joey. Later, Chandler.”