“All right, but you can come and help me serve it.” Together, Chloe and his mum cleared the table, taking everything to the semi-closed-off kitchen behind them. Chloe shot Max a wink as she walked past. When Max looked back across the table, he noticed Liam’s gaze trailing his little sister. Max cleared his throat loudly, and Liam jumped, then shot him a guilty look.
Erin turned to his dad, slipping one slim leg over the other underneath the table. “So, Roger, how’s retirement suiting you?”
Given that Erin was already engaging his dad in conversation about life in New York and how he was finding living in America for the first time, Max leaned in to Liam. “She’ll eat you alive, you know.”
Liam swirled his wine in his glass and gave Max an all-too-innocent look. “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.”
Max raised his eyebrows. “Is that so?”
Liam laid a hand across his heart dramatically. “Don’t you worry, you know she’s not really my type.” And it was true—Liam’s type tended toward the Erins of the world, long-limbed and sophisticated. Still, he was pretty sure that if Chloe had decided she was interested, then the man didn’t stand a chance.
Max let it drop for the time being, and sat back against the grey chair that was sort of an armchair without arms. It matched the rest of the apartment, which was mainly white and grey and clearly designed to make the place look bigger than it was. He let his eyes trail around the place: the wooden floors, the corner sofa, the fucking massive windows all around the living room. It was a bit uniform for him, but he could see why his parents liked it here. Though he hadn’t been able to quite believe it when they’d told him they were moving to the Upper East Side, of all places—one of the places known across the world for being home to the posh people of New York. He’d known their childhood home had gone for more than they’d thought it would when they’d sold up a few years ago, but still. Not that he knew exactly how much this place cost—but given his profession, he could guess. A three-bedroom apartment in this kind of high-rise fancy building was not cheap. Plus, you got the views across the city here, though currently all you could see were the lights of the other buildings and streets below. The place even had a fancy-arse doorman who greeted Max by name every time he saw him. It made him wonder whether his mother was really doing the hospital consultancy work “to keep busy” as she claimed, or if they actually needed the money.
When his mum and Chloe reappeared holding homemade apple pie and the dessert plates respectively, Max noted how Liam suddenly became ever-so-interested in the discussion Erin and his dad were having about the latest Broadway shows. Max let out a soft snort, and Erin briefly flicked a glance at him, eyes questioning. He only shook his head.
After the apple pie was mostly eaten—Erin eating half of her piece in a clear effort not to offend—Liam announced that he had to go, because they needed to be in the office early tomorrow ahead of a big pitch. Managing to get around Max’s mum’s protests, Liam said his goodbyes, kissing his mum and Erin on the cheek, shaking his dad’s hand, and giving Max a friendly pat on the shoulder. He turned to Chloe last, who was leaning back against her chair, having only gotten to her feet with clear reluctance because everyone else had. She looked up at him with measured eyes, and he ran a hand across the back of his neck. Honestly, Max felt sorry for the guy—the whole family and Erin were watching the two of them with interest, no sign of embarrassment for doing so.
“Well, it was nice to see you again, Chloe,” Liam said, all airs and graces. Out of the corner of his eye, Max saw his mum give a little nod of approval—politeness went far in her book.
Chloe gave a smile that could in no way be considered sweet. “You too.” And it was Chloe who straightened and stretched up, giving Liam’s cheek a swift kiss, resting one of her hands on his forearm as if to stabilize herself. She pulled back, cocked her head. “Maybe I’ll see you again while I’m here.”
Liam cleared his throat. “Right. Yeah, maybe.” He gave Max a slightly wide-eyed look at that, and Max only nodded and shrugged, as if to say I told you so.
The moment Liam was out the door, Erin took the opportunity before everyone could sit down again. “I’m so sorry, but I think I’m going to have to call it a night, otherwise I’ll be rotten company tomorrow.” She smiled at everyone, and Max’s dad and mum both shook their heads as if even the thought of Erin being rotten company was unthinkable. Chloe just sat down and dug into a second piece of apple pie. “Besides,” Erin continued, “I don’t want to oversleep and miss out on anything—I want to make the most of the weekend as it’s my first time in New York.”