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Thus, I'm completely shocked that Annabelle would consider ht now and I'm dumbfounded by what to do On top of that, I' to make decisions that don't fuck their heads up more than what they already are

And then there's Max

Big, beautiful Max walking intoroom and I don't have any idea what to do with his I want to do with hiht be the desperate part ofjust for myself, and that's completely selfish at this point in my life

When Max hits theroom, he points to my couch and says, "Sit"

I blink at him in surprise but his face is so earnestso intent on soI don't even think to disobey Besides,over to scrub out the bathtub tonight

I fall onto the couch heavily, huffing out a sigh of relief to be off my feet

Max steps into the space between the living rooot at a flea

ht, but impressively, it holds solid

He leans forward, puts his elbows on his knees, and says, "That bothered you Annabelle calling you Mommy"

I hold his gaze solidly so he gets me "It didn't bother me But it concerns me I have no clue if that's appropriate or not Should I remind her I'm her aunt and not her et her mom, or should I let her call me what makes her happy?"

"Not sure there is a right answer," he tellsthat he sees how murky these waters are

I give hi I need to let Annabelle do what makes her feel the most comfortable, and still work hard to keep the memory of Melody alive"

"I think that's wise," hea fantastic job with them, for what it's worth"

His gaze holdsSteady

I can't for the life ofhere looking atelse in my life, and for once I just wish I could easily identify what the hell is going on so I could deal

It will take work to figure it out I wasn't lying to him when I told hi of coives ood, I honestly don't think I could push him away He's the first real adult I've had in my life for a while, somebody whom I don't need to take care of

Patting the cushion beside me, I say, "Okayso tellin ood about myself"

Max's eyes crinkle with ae body off the table, turns, and drops down beside , the cushions depress, and I can't help thatour shoulders to co to just lay my head there on that solid support and close my eyes to rest

But Max's soft voice intriguesto the theater, horror ore ones They're okay, I guess, but the ones that are suspenseful and have you about cliers, can't stand onions, and I' when I say I really do like moonlit strolls on the beach"

I burst out laughing, angle my head on the cushion to look at him "Such a cliche"

"Not if it's true," he says in that deep voice that has a slight softness to it, the next word effortlessly starting before the previous one ends

"You have an accent," I say in an abrupt change of subject "I read you're French-Canadian"

"Je suis ne a Montreal Mon pere est quebecois et ues"