Max hadn’t wanted to go home for Thanksgiving, because traveling wasn’t fun on crutches, even in first class. But her grandmother Eleanor hadn’t been well these last few months, and Max feared her health was worse than just not getting over a cold quickly. Eleanor Sterling Revere was a proud, strong woman who both infuriated Max and presented an amazing role model. And though they’d had their differences over the years—many, many differences—Max loved her.

Max didn’t need the blessing of her family for anything—not what she did or who she loved. She’d already caught heat from the family trust board of directors about Eve—as Martha’s daughter, Eve was entitled to a trust fund. Max was willing to fight all the way to court if she had to, not because Eve wanted the money—the concept of having a trust fund when she’d been raised so frugally seemed to terrify the teenager—but because it was the right thing to do. It was her legacy, and damn if Max was going to let the family turn their back on Eve. Max had been shunned—mostly by her mother’s brother Brooks—because she was the illegitimate child of the wild Martha Revere and no one knew who her father was. But Max didn’t care (she had, as a child; today she enjoyed tormenting her uncle). Her grandparents accepted her fully, and Max wasn’t surprised that Eleanor fully accepted Eve.

It wasn’t Eleanor who had demanded the DNA test; it was Brooks.

Of course Eve passed; Max didn’t need the proof that she was her sister, but it was nice to have it in her back pocket.

The reason why Max was nervous was because she was bringing Ryan into the family circle. She never brought any of her boyfriends home to meet her family—not since she was a teenager and living at home. But deep down she wanted Eleanor to meet Ryan. Deep down, in a place she didn’t like to explore, she wanted Eleanor’s blessing.

Because Ryan was important to her. In a million different ways.

Maybe part of it was because she wanted Ryan to understand her. He said he did, but she had her doubts. She’d been raised wholly different than he had been. She was judgmental and independent and headstrong. She had no intention of changing, and Ryan said he didn’t want to change her, which seemed odd. Every man she’d ever dated had found her flawed and tried to mold her into what they wanted.

Ryan was the first man who was happy with Max exactly how she was.

She still marveled at it. Expected it to end. Anticipated him finding a flaw he couldn’t live with.