Chapter 74

• Emilia went down to the kitchen thinking Max needed a few minutes with Gaby. She hadn't known he would react that way when he saw her. Maybe she had been tactless in introducing her to him because he was clearly still grieving for Zander but she hadn't thought he would have a panic attack. He had scared the shit out of her. If Doug hadn't been there, Em was sure she would have had one together with him. Knowing Max, he was probably lying about it never happening before. That was one of the reasons she'd asked him to stay.
• He would never tell anyone he was hurting or cry in front of his family. After his father's death, he'd taken over the responsibility of being the head of the family and he wouldn't act in any way that would be perceived as weak. She understood him but he also needed to really grieve. Neither of them would ever get over Zander's death, it wasn't like breaking up with someone or going through a hard situation. They'd lost a son so it made sense he found it hard to move forward. But life had to keep going on. Gaby had shown her she couldn't wallow in her pain forever. There were other things worth living for and she hoped their daughter would make him see that too.
• "Is there a staring contest going on here or what?" she asked entering the kitchen. Preston and Thea were glaring at each other reminding her of the first time she had introduced them. How had they ended up together anyway?