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When I woke, my head was throbbing. Apparently, Max anticipated this, since I found a bottle of ibuprofen and a bottle of water on the nightstand. Dammit. I really wanted to hate this guy. Love was such a crapshoot and I still hadn’t recovered financially from my first marriage. Sitting up slowly, I opened the bottle, poured three pills into my palm, assessed how badly my head was pounding, and added one more. Then I popped them in my mouth and swallowed them down with a few gulps from the water.

By the time I arrived on deck, Max and Bodhi were in a heated conversation. “I know you think you’re awesome at business,” Bodhi began.

“I am.” Max nodded his head solemnly.

“You might be, but I’m awesome at bars.” He huffed at his older brother.

“Oh, you definitely are.” Max rolled his eyes, noticed me and patted the chair beside him at the table.

I forced a smile and joined them. “So, what’s the problem?” I glanced back and forth between them, cupping my hands around my eyes and wishing I’d worn my sunglasses because I had not anticipated how bright it would be out on the water. Max removed his sunglasses and passed them to me. “You need them.” I pushed them away.

“Not as much as you. Maybe Penelope can go get yours from the cabin.” Max smiled at my daughter.

She shrugged and stood. “But I’m leaving my coloring book right here because I’m coming back.”

“We wouldn’t have it any other way, tater tot,” Bodhi announced with a laugh.

Giving in, I pushed Max’s sunglasses onto my face while I waited for Penelope’s return. “Still wondering what’s going on with you two.”

Max smirked. “Bodhi doesn’t like the name I chose for the bar.”

“I get it’s his bar and his money and I’m just running it, but seriously…he wanted to name it Rogers and Hammered Stein.” Bodhi rolled his eyes and sank down in his seat.

I snickered.

“Funny, right?” Max threw an arm around the back of my chair.

I shook my head. “No. That’s a terrible name for a bar. Something else. Almost anything else, really.”

“What do you suggest?” His brow furrowed and his disappointment was obvious.

“Hm. Well, anything with brewery in it is popular these days. Any chance you’ll have some micro-brew in the back?” I tilted my head as I stared at him. “Rogers Brewery. Westport Brewery. Brewery at the Beach. Beach and Brews. Only you’d do that ampersand thing instead of writing it all out.” I shrugged. “Just a few suggestions. I’m not paying for it. What do I know?”

“Well, you know real estate,” Max murmured as he stared out over the water. “We’ll be in Seattle soon. I have a car waiting for us. Did you line up showings for the properties I messaged you about the other day?”

I nodded. “I sure did. And they are close enough together, we can see all three in one day.”

“Perfect. Bodhi is going to entertain Penelope at a toy store while we are at the appointment,” Max commented.

I frowned. “Appointment?”

“Yeah. I have the lawyer as our first stop. We’re going to have a great day.” He grinned as I sighed. “What?”

“You used ‘lawyer’ and ‘great day’ in the same sentence. Spoken like a man who has never been divorced.” I rubbed my temples.

Max leaned closer. “I’ve never really wanted to marry before…”

“Well, I’ll never marry again. Lesson learned.” I grimaced.

“You just need to pick the right guy next time,” he suggested confidently as he moved to plant a kiss on my temple.

“I’m back!” Penelope announced.

My head throbbed. “I heard,” I mumbled.

I removed the sunglasses Max had let me borrow as he passed me the pair my daughter had retrieved for me. “How’s this?” Max asked as he helped me put them on.

“The vision is much better.” I smiled.

“Good. Then you should be able to see you have nothing to fear from me. You should see everything you need is right in front of you. You should see I’m completely trustworthy.” He grinned.

My smiled morphed into a smirk. “I’m supposed to get all this from a pair of sunglasses?”

“Nah, but they should help.” He chuckled.

“Come on, tater tot,” Bodhi mumbled. “I know when we’re not wanted. Let’s go decide which toy store we want to go to.”

Penelope was momentarily excited. “We never go in toy stores.” Her face fell and I knew why immediately. Obviously, Max did too.

“Hey, tater tot.” He glanced at me. “I can’t believe you prefer tater tot to Penny.”

“Believe it,” I grumbled.

Max shook his head. “So, tater tot, your mom gave Bodhi money. You can pick out some toys. We know it gets boring on a boat for kids. You can take some home and leave some here.”

Penelope tilted her head. “Does that mean we’re going to come back on the boat?”

“Would you like that?” Max asked.

My daughter positively beamed. “I would. I like it here.”

We watched her disappear below deck with Bodhi and then studied Max a moment before speaking. “You sure know how to make a little girl happy,” I commented quietly.

“I’d like to think I can make her mother happy, too, if she’ll give me a chance.” He reached out and raised my lips for a kiss. I should’ve pushed him away, but I couldn’t. I hadn’t been kissed in a very long time and as much as I fought it, I wanted Max more than I ever wanted anyone before.

When he pulled back, I felt tingly all over. “This is a terrible idea,” I murmured. “I need to focus on Penelope and custody, remember?”

Max nodded and his shoulders drooped slightly. Before he could speak, however, his phone began to ring. He frowned. “This is the lawyer. I better answer it on speaker.”

“Mr. Rogers, I’m afraid I can’t meet you in a few hours. My wife is in labor.” The man sounded winded.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Mr. Windsor. My friend really needs a good lawyer.” Max inhaled deeply. “Any chance we can do this by phone right now? You can bill me extra. You know I’m good for it.”

The lawyer was silent a moment. “Well, I’m meeting her at the hospital. I don’t see why we can’t discuss now. Go ahead. Tell me about the case.”

“Tori,” he urged. “Tell him. Leave nothing out.”

So, I regurgitated my story for what felt like the millionth time. And though it was hard, I had Max beside me, holding my hand and rubbing my back when I grew emotional. “What do you think? Do I stand a chance?”

Mr. Windsor blew out a breath before speaking. “You do, if you’re willing to make some changes.”

I groaned. “I need to work.”

“Yes, and you need to provide a stable home life. If you could show you could offer the best living situation for your daughter, maybe even provide a secure two-parent home, and you were going to be around more for your daughter, there’s no judge in the world who’d side with your ex.” He cleared his throat. “I don’t suppose you and Mr. Rogers are serious, by any chance?”

I could feel all the color drain from my face.

“We could be,” Max announced, “if she’d give me a chance.”