Page 85 of Maxwell

“Thanks.”

Jasmine hugged her sister. “Thank you. Dinner was delicious, and we had fun.”

“I enjoyed myself too. And he really does seem like a good guy. Great first impression, at least. If he turns out to be an asshole, no one will be more shocked than me.”

“I hope he doesn’t,” Jasmine said, her eyes on Maxwell’s profile.

“You love him, don’t you?”

Jasmine looked at her sister. “Yeah,” she said in a thick voice. “We exchanged keys a couple of nights ago. He has a key to my place, and I have a key to his.”

Her sister raised her eyebrows. “Sounds pretty serious. Don’t hold back. Enjoy the relationship. I think you found a good one this time.”

That’s all she had needed to hear. Confirmation that she’d made a good choice with Maxwell. Jasmine released a relaxing breath through her lips. “I think so too.”

They walked over to the men. “Maxwell, it was nice to meet you. Take care of my baby.” Maura gave Jasmine a side hug.

“I will.”

More hugs were exchanged, and then Jasmine and Maxwell climbed into the Range Rover. She waved to her sister and brother-in-law as they drove away.

“Well, how did I do?” Maxwell asked.

“On a scale of one to ten, I’d say you received a solid ten.”

He whistled. “Nice.”

“If you deliver on the autograph, you’ll easily earn an extra three points.”

“I’m all about the extra credit. I’m calling Damon tomorrow. Brick will have the autograph by Sunday.” He took her hand and glanced briefly at her. “I had a great time.”

“Me too. Thanks for being willing to do that. I’ve... never formally brought a man to meet anyone in my family. Informally, yes, but nothing like this.”

“Never?” Maxwell asked, sounding surprised.

“No.”

He glanced at her again. The surprise was gone, replaced by appreciation. “I love you. And I really, really like you.”

“I really, really like you too,” Jasmine said softly.

Maxwell brought her hand to his lips, and they continued the rest of the ride in comfortable silence.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Maxwell scanned the shelves, found the eggs he wanted, and placed them in his basket. Doing something as simple as shopping for groceries was a task he hadn’t done until he started college because growing up, whenever the family needed anything at the house, they could tell a member of the household staff, and it would magically appear.

His life was so different now, and he enjoyed doing the little things. His life was different for another reason: Jasmine.

He had never considered himself a one-woman man, until Jasmine. Little did he know what he had been missing. It was nice having someone to confide in. Not only that, she was fun and sexy, and his family liked her. She had joined him for Sunday dinner at his parents’ and they had gone on double dates with her sister, Gina, and his friend, Rajesh, and his girlfriend.

They finally disclosed to the staff that they were dating, and no one had made a negative comment about it. He had taken immense pleasure in Jasmine’s giddy reaction to meeting Delta J, his brother’s fiancée—and how she had bragged to Keisha about the experience, who was also a huge fan.

His favorite memory was the weekend trip they took to New Orleans, just because. Their lives were intertwined, and he was in a good place, happy in a way he had never been before.

As he walked toward the frozen section to pick up the Häagen-Dazs bars that Jasmine liked, he saw Lincoln coming toward him.

“Hey, Max. How’s it going?”