Page 96 of Hold the Pickle
Then I hear my name.
“Dalton.”
I whirl around. It’s Max, Nadia’s deli cousin, big and intimidating in a sweatshirt and jeans. People move around him like a current, eyes on his build. I look like a kid in comparison.
Why would he come here? My stomach drops. Is something wrong with Nadia?
I have to force my voice out. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah.” Max aims his thumb at a line of chairs. “You got a sec?”
“I do. But it might end at any moment.”
“Understood.”
We sit in the seats with an empty between us. Max barely fits between the arms. “I wanted to talk to you about Nadia.”
Hell. Is he here to break up with me on her behalf? To warn me away from her? Wait. Does he even know? I won’t make any assumptions again, not after I accidentally outed her in the bar bathroom as having a roommate.
I keep a straight face. “Is she doing okay?”
He shakes his head. “Did she really take in five extra cats?”
His tone is light. I force myself to relax. “Yeah. She’s a rescuer at heart.”
“She didn’t even ask if she could come back and live with us.” He stares at his hands, as if this is something that’s bugged him.
“She didn’t want to make Camryn deal with the allergy. It’s a lot of cats.”
Max leans back in his chair. “My head chef noticed her singing a ways back.”
This is random. “Nadia was singing?”
“Yeah.”
“She doesn’t normally sing?” I don’t know why I ask. I already know. Nadia wasn’t a singer when I met her. It started … after. After we got together. She was lighter somehow. She smiled more.
“Not in the least. Her family is more serious than mine overall. My mom was a singer, Nadia’s aunt Pat.” His jaw twitches.
“Your parents include this Uncle Sherman she talks about, right? The one who wants her to work for the Pickles?”
Max nods. “Dad is kind of larger than life. Anyway, that’s not what this is about.”
But I’m not quite going to let this go. Max may not even know how Nadia feels about working with the other Pickles. “She said your dad wants her to work in the family business.”
“He wants all the Pickles in it, yes. But it’s not mandatory.”
“She thinks it is.”
He frowns. “He’ll always make a place for a Pickle.”
“Even if they don’t want it?” I hope I’m not doing something out of turn, but maybe I can help Nadia. Max seems reasonable about this. Maybe something I will say can take the pressure off.
“Is that your opinion?” His expression darkens. I’ve walked into dangerous territory.
My phone buzzes. Damn. I’m out of time. I glance at it.
Booker: Head to curtain six.
