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I thought Max might actually die. He went red, his mouth fell open like he couldn't close it even if he wanted to, and he started stammering.

But Dominic said:

"It's okay, cutie. I've been told I'm hard to forget," he said, and winked at Max like saying that was completely casual, like it was nothing at all. "You're Max."

"I am," Max managed, his voice coming out threadbare.

"I've heard a lot about you," Dominic said, glancing quickly at me before turning his eyes back to Max. "Everyone seems to think I ought to get to know you."

I smiled, proud, and didn't deny a single word of it.

"You don't mind?" Max asked, and he looked genuinely worried about the possibility.

"Not at all," Dominic said, with that calm of his that always seemed to weigh every word before letting it go. "I thought it was sweet. It's not every day people care enough to root for someone like that."

Max went speechless again, and I could practically see his little heart pounding through his clothes.

"Would you two like to sit with us?" Daddy asked, gesturing to the now-joined tables. "There's plenty of room now."

Dominic looked at Max, waiting. "I'd love that," Max said, still a little breathless.

We all settled in around the big table — me between Esteban and Rex, Max next to Dominic, which seemed to have happened all on its own, without anyone having to arrange a thing. That left me secretly proud of myself even though I hadn't actually done anything this time. Daddy glanced at me sideways, with that expression that meant he knew exactly what was going through my head, but he didn't say anything.

"So," Dominic said, turning to Max with his full attention, like no one else at the table existed, "Esteban told me you're into photography."

"Yeah, kind of," Max said, still blushing. "I have a page where I post photos. Nothing too serious."

"I wouldn't say that," Esteban cut in. "He's really good. You should see what he does with natural light."

Max blushed again, but this time he seemed to like the compliment.

"I'd love to see it sometime," Dominic said, just like that, no obvious ulterior motive in his voice at all, but in a way that made Max go even redder and smile behind his cup, trying to hide it.

I traded a look with Rex, who was next to me, and I felt that spark light up in my chest again. Things were going well. Actually, maybe a little too well, and a part of me — the part Daddy was always telling me to listen to more — whispered quietly that maybe it'd be better to let things happen slowly, at their own pace, without me needing to push anything.

But that part of me almost never won, and I was already thinking about when the next perfect opportunity would be to give things one more little nudge.

The conversation kept flowing with an ease I hadn't expected. Esteban told an embarrassing story about the first time he'd taken Rex to a formal event and completely forgotten Rex was wearing his collar under his tie, and everyone laughed, including Max, who was gradually losing all that rigidity in his shoulders.

Daddy ordered another round of drinks — soda for me, sparkling water for Max.

"How did you meet Esteban?" Dominic asked Max, curious.

"College," Max said. "He was my roommate freshman year. He's the one who kind of... helped me figure all this out." He made a vague gesture that took in the whole table, The Hearth, Rex's collar, everything. "I didn't even know there was a name for what I felt until he showed me."

"That's really wonderful," Dominic said, and there was a sincerity there that didn't feel forced at all. "Having someone like that around makes all the difference."

"It does," Max agreed, glancing over at Esteban with obvious fondness.

Mikey was going to love hearing all the details later — he always liked analyzing every little piece of a story like he was putting together a puzzle. Sawyer would probably roll his eyes and say I was being nosy again, but I knew deep down he was rooting for Dominic too, even while pretending the whole thing was a bad idea.

"JJ," Daddy called. I looked at him. "You're being very quiet," he said.

"I'm just observing," I said, with the most innocent look I could manage.

"Mm-hm," he said, not buying it for a second but letting it go.

The night kept going like that, Dominic and Max talking more and more easily with each other, Esteban and Rex trading satisfied glances every now and then like they were watching the same movie I was. At some point Gustav rushed by our table, stopped for half a second, glanced at Dominic and Max sitting so close together, raised his eyebrows at me in a gesture of pure conspiratorial understanding, and kept moving before anyone could ask what that meant.