“Can’t breathe,” I gasp.

Dad laughs and releases me. “It’s been too long,” he scolds me.

“I know; things have been busy. I’m glad you’re here. Let me grab my keys and we can go.”

“I can drive us.” He raises his hand and dangles his keys in the air.

Nodding in agreement, I grab my phone and wristlet and lock the door.

On the way there, Dad doesn’t drill me with questions about Max. We talk about school, and I find myself telling him about some of our adventures. Riding four-wheelers and, just last week, Nic and I let Max and Bright talk us into playing paintball. A guy they know owns the park, so he turned the pressure on the guns down for us. We had the entire place to ourselves for two hours. “Shockingly, it was a really good time,” I tell him.

“Wow, you have been busy,” he replies with a smile.

“Make a left up here,” I tell him as we turn on Max’s road. “Second house on the left.” I wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans.

Dad parks the car and rests his hand over top of mine. “Kensington, you like this guy?” He waits for an answer, so I nod yes. “Is he good to you, treats you like you are the moon and the stars?”

“Better,” I confess.

“Good, that’s all I care about. Let’s go see if this Max of yours can cook a bird.” He climbs out of the car and I do the same. We meet in front of his car, and he throws his arm around my shoulders and we walk to the door.

I don’t bother knocking. I just walk on in. I spend more time here than our apartment, so does Nicole.

I lead Dad to the kitchen. Max, who is carving the turkey, looks up and his face lights up. “Hey, beautiful,” he greets me. He moves his gaze to my father. “Mr. James, welcome.” He holds up the knife. “I hope you’re hungry.” He grins and it’s infectious.

“Smells delicious,” Dad replies.

“Well, Dad, this is Maxton, and, Max, this is my dad, Tom.”

“Pleasure, sir. Kensi, there are drinks in the fridge, help yourselves and go relax; it will be ready in ten,” he says.

“Can I—” he cuts me off.

“Nope, you just enjoy today. Nicole is already in the living room, doing just that on Bright’s orders.” He winks at me.

Bright comes in carrying a bag of ice. “The ice maker decided to quit on us this morning,” he says in greeting.

“Bright, this is my dad, Tom. Dad, this is Bright, Nicole’s boyfriend and Max’s best friend and roommate,” I introduce them.

Bright reaches out and shakes Dad’s hand. “Happy Thanksgiving. Make yourself at home.”

“Well, what would you like to drink?” I name off everything in the fridge without looking. We all went to the store together. Dad either doesn’t notice, or doesn’t let me know that he does. “Water is fine,” he says.

I walk around the island and grab two bottles of water from the fridge. As I shut the door, Max says, “Kensi.” I turn to look at him and he motions me over with his head. Stepping next to him, he leans over and kisses my temple. “Missed you,” he says softly. I feel my cheeks warm at his obvious display of affection in front of my father. My eyes find Dad and he’s smiling. It’s then I realize that he heard him. He nods in approval and I release the breath I didn’t even realize I was holding.

Dinner is amazing; the food is delicious and my dad seems to get along well with both Bright and Max. They are currently in the living room watching football. Nic and I insisted on cleaning up since the guys would not let us help cook. They both fought us until my dad finally said, “Boys, let the ladies help. We can watch some football.” Reluctantly, they agreed and retreated to the living room, where they are hooting and hollering at the television.

“They seem to hit it off well,” Nicole comments.

“Yeah, I’m glad. I was nervous about it,” I confess.

“Kens, your dad is amazing; he wants to see you happy. It’s obvious Max does that for you. That alone is enough to win him over. Not to mention how he treats you and let’s not forget this kick-ass meal our guys just whipped up.” She grabs a piece of turkey from the platter and shoves it in her mouth. “I’m stuffed, but I can’t resist,” she says, grinning.

We find the guys in the living room on the edge of their sets. Bright is in the chair; Nicole plops herself right on his lap. Dad and Max are sitting on the couch. All three of them are caught up in the game, that is, until he sees me. His eyes lock with mine and I can’t help but notice how his sparkle. As I reach them, he holds his hand out for me. I place mine in his and he guides me to sit next to him. If Dad were not here, he would have had me on his lap. I’m actually surprised he didn’t anyway. He hasn’t held back even though my father is here.

I sit next to him and his arm comes around me, pulling me closer to him. I don’t fight it; I can’t. Even if my body would resist him, I wouldn’t want to. We spend the next two hours like this. Me in his arms, Nic on Bright’s lap, and the three of them yelling and cheering at the television.

When the game’s over, Dad stands and stretches. He looks down at us and I blush. “Give your old man a hug; it’s time for my nap.” He chuckles.

I feel Max kiss the top of my head before he removes his arm from around my shoulders. I chance a glimpse at my dad and his face is all smiles.

Standing up, I walk into his outstretched arms. “You need a ride home?” he asks me.

Pulling back from the hug, I glance over my shoulder at Max. “No, Max will make sure I get home safe.”

“I have no doubt that he will.” He looks over my head at Max. “You take care of my little girl,” he says, his voice more stern.

“With my life,” Maxton says as he stands. He walks to us and stands behind me. His hands go to my hips and I lean my back against his chest. I can’t fight it no matter who’s in the room with us.

“All right, kids, Max, Bright, thank you both for having me. Girls, you don’t wait so long before calling an old man.” He taps a finger to my nose and turns for the door. Max laces his fingers through mine and pulls me to follow my dad. We walk him to the door. Releasing Max, I give him one more hug and a kiss on the cheek. We stand on the front porch, Max cradling me in his arms, and watch him pull away.

“He’s a great guy.”

“Yes, he is. I seem to be surrounded by those lately.”

“It’s you, sweets. You make us better,” he says, placing his hand on the small of my back and leading me back into the house. “You make me better, Kens,” he says, once inside.

I turn to see him watching me. This man has slid into my world and is now the most important part of it. I have no words for the fact that he thinks I make him better, when inside, I know he’s the one who healed me.

“Thank you for today, for inviting him. He likes you.”

“It was nice to have it be more than just me and Bright. I like your dad. He reminds me a lot of mine.”

“It was nice to have a group together. I’ve missed it.” I slide my arms around his waist and look up at him. “Thank you.”

Leaning down, he softly touches his lips with mine. “Anything for you, Kensi. Anything for you.”

BRIGHT AND NICOLE are still curled up on the chair when we get back in the house. I take my place on the couch and pull Kens down on my lap. It’s what I wanted to do earlier, but I decided to tone it down a little with her dad sitting right beside us. A little was all I could do and that was a struggle.

“So what are we—” My phone rings in my pocket. Pulling it out, I look at the display. “Shit,” I say.

“What?” all three of them ask in unison.

“It’s JT. He’s texted me a few times and I read them with the intentions of reply and keep forgetting.” I swipe my thumb across the screen and place the phone to my ear. “Hey, man,” I greet

“He’s alive,” JT retorts. “Finally decide to stop dodging me?” he asks.