A Heart to Heal. Allie Pleiter

everything a test with you?”

      There was that glint again. “Only the good stuff.”

      She might regret this. “I’ll go get my handbag—since I’m paying and all.” She walked toward the door, then turned around again. “The flaming toaster?”

      “JJ’s name. Fits.”

      She didn’t know what to say. I feel that a lot around you, she thought as she pulled the door open and went inside.

      * * *

      Max punched JJ’s number into his cell phone the minute the school door shut behind Heather.

      “Hi there,” she answered. “I just put the steaks into the marinade.”

      “I might not make dinner. I don’t have a ton of time to talk, but I’m heading out for coffee with Heather Browning.”

      Silence greeted his news.

      “Look, we can have dinner tomorrow night, right?”

      Another long pause. “Max, don’t.”

      Oh, she was a master of the big-sister tone of conviction. “What?”

      “You promised me you wouldn’t get personal with Heather. She’s a friend. You were helping her out. Now you’re going to go all Max on her, aren’t you?” Max could practically hear her stabbing the steaks with a sharp fork over the phone.

      “I’m not doing anything. She invited me out for coffee. A friendly celebration over something good that happened with Simon.”

      “You don’t know how to do friendly, Max. Please don’t get into this with Heather.”

      Now she was getting annoying. “Get into what, exactly?” Sure, Max had left a long line of broken hearts in his wake before his accident, but he hadn’t exactly boasted a stuffed social calendar since. “So now that I’m in a wheelchair, the entire female gender is off-limits?”

      “You can date anyone you like, Max, as long as it’s not Heather.”

      “Who said I was even dating Heather? Or planning to date her? Jumping to a few conclusions, aren’t you?” Max kept one eye on the door. “You’re out of line here, JJ.”

      There was a pause on her end of the line. “I just don’t want you...well...you know.”

      “Wow. Your confidence in me staggers the mind. It’s pie and coffee at Karl’s, for crying out loud. And she asked. Give me a little credit here.”

      “Credit or not, you’re still blowing Alex and me off for dinner. We’ve been planning this for two weeks.”

      She was right about that much. Between her shifts at the firehouse and Alex’s schedule, getting together was proving nearly impossible lately. “What if I came by at seven—would that work?”

      “Yes. I’d like that.” After a moment she added, “I miss you, Max. I used to see you all the time and now—”

      “Hey. We’re still Max and JJ. Besides, you’ve got that spiffy new groom to keep you occupied.”

      “That spiffy new groom also happens to be your boss. Have you considered you were just trying to ditch your boss, too?”

      “I’m trying to help a kid out, JJ. That’s all this is.”

      “Look, I just want you to steer clear of Heather in the date department. You know your track record. She’s a friend. This could get all kinds of weird, you know?”

      It bugged Max that his own sister thought of him as toxic in the boyfriend department. Sure, he wasn’t a master of solid relationships, and all her cautiousness hinted at a seriously painful past, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be a decent human being over a slice of pie. “It’s just coffee, JJ. I gotta go.”

      “Be nice, Max. Nice? Do you remember how?”