Turn It On: Turner Twins, Book 1 by Vivian Arend Read Free Book Online Page A

stool and rested her chin in her hands. “So tell me about him. Tall? Dark? Handsome?”
    Junior snorted and left the room, and Maxine breathed a sigh of relief. “Look, Tasha, it’s bad enough he pulled Overprotective Brother From Hell on me the other day. You want me to dish about Ryan, at least wait until he’s out of earshot.”
    “So…”
    Maxine couldn’t stop the smile. “Yes, yes and oh my God, yes.”
    Natasha laughed. “You going out with him again?”
    “I think so. He left a message on my cell phone, but I haven’t reached him yet. Coffee tomorrow, if the time works for him.” Maxine paused. “He’s incredible, although I’m not sure what the family will think. He’s older than me.”
    “Crap, girl, don’t you start that. Don’t push those buttons with me. How much older? Twenty years? Thirty? Because if not, there’s no problem and I don’t want to hear about it, capiche?”
    Maxine smiled. “So speaks the older woman, right? It’s not an issue for me, really. There’s something amazing about being with a man who actually knows what he wants in life.”
    “Which your ex had major issues with.” Natasha wandered the kitchen to the fridge and started pulling out lunch supplies. “Right on. You get to date a grown-up for a change. Make sure you have lots of fun, and practice safe sex.”
    Maxine buried her face in the baby’s neck to hide her flushed skin. Safe sex had been the farthest thing from her mind. She wanted hot, steamy and invigorating. Not safe.
    Natasha continued piling food on the counter. “You’re old enough, and now that you’ve got the house, it’s not like you’ll have hide out from the cousins anymore.” She shivered from head to toe in an exaggerated fashion. “You know I love your brother, and you. But at times the whole mess of Turners is too much to bear. Give me a small intimate gathering of…oh…twenty of you, and I can handle it. Having to live with the mob for years—unbearable. You’re a saint to have survived this long.”
    Sainthood felt achievable at times. Maxine nestled Samantha back into her car seat and carefully placed the whole contraption on top of the kitchen island. The baby had fallen asleep and her soft curls were damp from where she’d been snuggled against Maxine’s body. “I love the family, but I hear what you’re saying. There are times I think about moving away. Then I see another miracle like Samantha added to the clan, and I can’t bear the thought of missing a single moment. I’ll accept the bad to enjoy the good. But yes, I plan to take advantage the opportunity of having a place to myself for the first time.”
    Guilt rocked her again. “Are you and Junior sure you’re okay with me living here? I love the place so much, but I’m keeping you from getting your share of the money from the sale.”
    Natasha put her hands on her hips and glared at Maxine. “Shut. Up. We’ve had this conversation a million times. We have a new house we love. You’re already making monthly payments to us and Maximilian, and when you have a bit extra to spare, you can buy out the rest of the shares. We’ll all be square within the next couple of years. We can wait, Mill can wait. God knows how many times we’ve heard him say how fabulous he’s doing—with two condos here and another one there—like he needs the money. We’re not hurting, and it’s the only way to keep the house in the family.”
    Maxine held up her hands and grinned. “Okay, fine. Shutting up. Thanks, Tasha, I appreciate the support.”
    “Yeah, whatever.” Her sister-in-law hip-checked her out of the way with a laugh and dove into the fridge again. “Hey, you got any pickles somewhere else? This one is dead.” Natasha held up a nearly empty jar.
    Pickles. Maxine blinked at the abrupt change of topic. “I don’t think there are any in the pantry, but there’s an additional storage cupboard Gramma kept food in over there.” She pointed to the far