Chapter 25

As always, thanks to everyone who reviews. I always grin like a fool when I see comments because they put me in the writing mood. This chapter has a lot packed into it but I wanted to get it out because I'll be on vacation this week and I'm not sure if I'll have access to a computer or not. I also wanted to tie up some loose ends in the story instead of leaving people hanging. I'm going to try to get on a computer and update but this is half of what I'll be writing dealing with meeting the parents. If I can't find a computer, don't expect an update until next weekend when I'm back :D Thanks again!


Eliza's POV:

I woke up partially pinned to the bed by Max's body. All in all, not a bad way to start the day but slightly problematic because I really had to pee.

"Where are you going?" Max whispered tightening his arm around me. He hated when I tried to get up before he did for some reason.

"Just go back to sleep" I said wiggling free of his arms as he struggled to open his eyes and look at me. It was already 6:30 and even though we had gone to bed late last night, Max would have to be up soon to go to morning skate at 9am. He mumbled something and rolled over, so tired that he wasn't making sense.

When I came out of the bathroom, Max was still asleep and I grabbed my laptop intending to check up on some more work while he slept. Today was too big of a day for me to relax and try to go back to sleep and I knew that I had to tell Max about the job offer.

I had barely slept last night thinking about whether or not I should take the job and after laying there in Max's arms for over an hour sweating about it, I realized how crazy I would be to accept it. I didn't even want that job after the way the interview had gone and I saw how rude some of the people who worked there were. Did I really want to work with a punch of pompous assholes? I already had to deal with professional athletes and their egos but politicians and snooty lawyers would be so much worse.
Most of the reason I was so torn up about the offer and even going on the interview in the first place was also the man I had listened to snore for half of the night. If I left, we would never see each other and I would never find out where the relationship was going. I knew I would wonder about the 'what could have happened' for the rest of my life. Besides if this was truly the job for me, I wouldn't feel like it was a matter of life or death- it would just feel right. Taking this job definitely didn't feel right.

It may not be the smartest move for my career in the long-run, but right now, working for the Pens felt right and so did being with Max.

Before I could change my mind, I clicked on the respond key and began to compose an email back to their office to thank them, but refuse their offer.

"Lizzy" Max groaned rolling over to face me. "Can't you just relax and stop working for ten minutes?" I slowed down trying to type more quietly. In my excitement I had pounded on the keys typing quickly and apparently making a lot of noise.

"Sorry, I just had to get this done" I said spell-checking the brief email and re-reading it. If I was going to reject their offer, it had to at least be an intelligent and well-written rejection.

"What is that?" Max asked sitting up to read what I was working on. I let him read it and discover for himself what it was.

"You're not taking it?" he was fully awake now, his eyes looking almost anxious as he read over my shoulder, his glasses sliding part of the way down his nose.

"Nope" I said reading it once more and hitting send before I did something stupid and saved it.

"Wait, why? That was an amazing job." He was confused and even seemed a little bit outraged. On my behalf. My heart stuttered in my chest before literally falling at his feet. Even though he had made it clear that he didn't want me to go, he still understood that it was an amazing career opportunity and I knew that no matter my choice, he wouldn't hold it against me. That's just how he was.

"Because it's just not the right opportunity. Besides, I couldn't leave" I said shutting the laptop and setting it on the table next to the bed. "I sort of have this boyfriend who needs me around. He's kind of cute." He was still staring at me intensely and I knew that he was trying to dissect what I was thinking.

"Only kind of cute?" he asked finally smiling at me and pulling me back down onto the bed to give me a kiss. "How about sexy? Manly? Awesome?"

"All three" I agreed kissing his chin and settling back down into bed with him. We laid there in silence for a few minutes watching the fan whirl around on the ceiling above our bed and I almost dozed off again before Max shifted to stare at me like he was going to say something.

"Is something wrong?" He was staring at me and even opened his mouth once before closing it and shifting uncomfortably.

"Move in with me" he blurted out finally.

What? It took my brain a minute to register what he had said. He was asking me to move in with him now? I had been thinking about this for the past few weeks but now that he had finally grown a pair and asked me, my first instinct was to take three steps back and analyze the situation.

I still hadn't said anything because I was pretty sure that I looked like confused fish opening and closing my mouth and he groaned falling back on the bed muttering in french. It was the pissed off tone he was using that finally made me speak up.

"Wait a minute. Don't get mad at me. I didn't say no or anything"

"But you haven't said yes either" he interrupted sitting up again. His face had lost its normal, calm expression and he definitely looked mad now. I wasn't going to let him intimidate me though.

"Don't do that. What do you expect? Me to scream 'yes' and for it all to fall into place perfectly?"

"Umm, yes" he said sarcastically interrupting me again.

"You know it doesn't work that way, Max. I want to move in with you since we basically live together already but I'm not going to until you can be an adult about it. This is a really big step."

He looked at me in disbelief. "But you said it yourself, we already do live together except for when I'm on the road and you stay at your apartment. I thought I had been making it clear that I want you to live with me- what else is there to think about?"

I sighed knowing that of course he would think it was that simple. He under-thought and I over-thought everything. What a pair we were.

"But Max, I'm the one who has to take this big risk and you don't even see that! What happens if we break up? I won't have an apartment to move into right away- I'll have all of my stuff and nowhere to put it. Then what do we do? And what about the bills? We have to think things through about who pays for what because I will not move in and have you pay for everything."

"I know you're the one risking more but don't act like I'm not risking anything at all either. I've never asked someone to move in with me before so I'm taking a leap here too. Besides, if we break up in the future, which we won't, you have to know that I wouldn't just throw you out. I wouldn't do that to you."

He looked at me expectantly waiting for me to argue with him some more but my mind was still stuck on the 'which we won't.' What did he mean by that? I hated when he just said things like that as if it was no big deal when the things he was saying were very big deals. I was starting to get a headache and it wasn't even 7:30 yet.

"Listen, I'm saying yes, okay? I just think we have to both be careful about this and think everything through. I don't want to fight about this for nothing." I also couldn't stay in bed any more without fidgeting.

"Wait, wait, wait. Don't just leave like that" he said stopping me from getting up. "I don't want us to fight about this either but we should at least be excited, right?" he said pulling me into a hug and a firm grip. I relaxed in his arms knowing that he was right. Our lips met in a silent agreement and after a minute I broke the kiss much to his obvious dismay.

"We are going to figure this all out though, right? I won't forget about it, Talbot" I said sternly. I knew he would try to distract me into forgetting about it once we got back.

"Mmhmm. I think we should stop talking now" he murmured capturing my lips again in his. "We have some unfinished business from last night" he smirked trailing kisses down my neck.


Because it was true, I brought him down onto the bed with me and kissed back. Everything else could wait.



Later we showered together for the purpose of saving time and fought over the water temperature like we always did. He liked his showers too hot and I definitely didn't need all of that hot water when he insisted on soaping up my back. The feeling of his hands everywhere combined with water and soap made my temperature spike enough as it was.

I turned so that he could rub lotion on my back as we both toweled off and got ready to go to breakfast. He complained that his hands were getting too soft because I made him put lotion on me all of the time which I secretly thought was hilarious. He already had "bad hands" as it is.


"So what are the exact plans for today. You haven't mentioned too much" I said alluding to the fact that I would be seeing his parents and trying to impress them all day.

"Well first off, I know you're nervous- so don't be. They'll love you. I think my Mom loves you already because she's convinced that I'm acting more like an adult now that I have you. Anyway, we can get breakfast with the team and then you'll have time to do work or whatever until lunch when we'll be meeting up with my family quick before I have to do pre-game stuff."


I nodded because all of this seemed remarkably well-planned. "Wait a minute, the game is at 3, right? So am I sitting with your family?" As soon as I said it, I realized that Max had been attempting to keep this part under the radar for a reason.

"Yeah, that's okay right? I figured you could spend quality time with my parents and brothers. Afterwards we're going to go eat together." I was tempted to hit him on the back of the head with the brush I was using. How could he just leave me with them on the same day that I was meeting them? And he had the nerve to ask me if it was okay. Yeah, it's just peachy.

"Don't worry, seriously. I know that's hard for you but believe me when I say that they are going to love you" he kissed my temple and strolled out of the bathroom to put on clothes leaving me to do my makeup and finish getting ready. Oh god. What was I going to wear?



After breakfast, Max left with the team for their morning skate and I headed back up to the room to change out of the sweats I had thrown on in exchange for nicer clothes. Because it was a game day, I decided on my fitted black jeans and boots and the t-shirt Max had made for me with a black cardigan thrown over it for the sake of being warm in the arena. I had time to kill before lunch and was still 'babysitting' the passports so I decided to go out and explore the city a little bit. I had debated on whether or not to keep on the earrings Max had bought me. They were gorgeous and I loved them but still felt awkward wearing something like that. Besides, what would I say if Max's mother asked where I had gotten them from? Would she think that I was just using her son for his money? In the end, I left them on but left my hair down thinking that maybe I could hide them a bit and not flaunt them.

I left the hotel bundled up completely to protect myself against the Canadian winds. It was freezing- even colder than Pittsburgh this time of year but I wanted to go out and possibly even look for a gift for Max for the house. We were still going to have that talk but I wanted to find something that said that I was happy about moving in with him and that I was going to take the leap with him. It was hard to navigate around because of the language barrier but I made do trying to remember some of the key phrases Max had taught me the night before. I wasn't having any luck finding a good gift for him because he mostly had everything a house could need. He had lived there for over a year and it was fully furnished on all three floors thanks to the help of a decorator and Mrs. Rollins. What else could he want?



While I was wandering from shop to shop, my Mom called wondering how the trip was going. I filled her in on everything so far leaving out the part about Max asking me to move in with him. She was still upset that she hadn't met him yet and I didn't want to tell her about the next step we were taking until we were back. Instead I distracted her with questions about the rest of my family and she filled me in on all of the gossip while I stared at tacky photo frames.
On impulse I bought one that was blatantly hockey themed with sticks outlining the frame and little hockey pucks in the corner. It was adorable and maybe I could get a good photo of the two of us to put inside it.
My Mom told me that two of my cousins had gotten engaged in the past two weeks and though I knew my Mom wasn't hinting to me about my own status as unmarried, I knew that the rest of my family would. I had always been the youngest and also the most pathetically single until Max a few months ago. The last thing we needed right now were my Aunts dropping hints left and right. Dating is hard enough as it is.


"Okay honey, I'll let you go. You sound distracted. Just don't get too nervous when you meet his family, okay? I remember when I met your father's family and nearly had a heart attack in the car on the way over."

I laughed knowing that my Mom and I were similar in that way and told her I would try to stay calm.

"I'll call when I get back on Monday and we can plan when to have dinner. I really do want you to meet him Mom."

"Okay baby. I love you."


I hung up feeling a little bit better after talking to my Mom and began the trek back to the hotel. Hearing ridiculous family stories always managed to make me laugh though I did fear for Max a little bit for when he did meet all of them. I would have to make sure to apologize ahead of time. I was so distracted by the city and how pretty it was that I almost didn't hear my phone ringing in my purse. I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Max.

"Hey, I'm on my way back to the hotel."

"Okay, I just wanted to let you know that I'm back and I'm going to take a quick shower before we get lunch. When will you be back?"

"Um, maybe in like 15 minutes? I'm walking so I'll try to hurry it up." It was freezing and I wanted to get inside anyway. We hung up agreeing to meet in the lobby and I noticed that the sidewalks had gotten busier. Outside of the hotel, I noticed more and more Pens fans loitering around in their jerseys probably waiting to see if they could catch some of the players coming in and out. Even though it was freezing out the puck bunnies were out full force in short skirts and laden with signs- the majority holding "Marry Me, Sid" signs. Poor guy. Emma would be wanting to secretly kick their asses if she was here right now. I got around them and finally entered the warm lobby spotting Max immediately in the crowded room.


"Hey!" I said giving him a quick kiss. His lips were so warm compared to my frozen ones and his hands immediately went to my waist. "I bought you a present" I smiled referring to the obnoxious photo frame I had purchased. I was so excited to see him and get in out of the cold that I hadn't noticed the people standing around him.

"Lizzy" he said turning me around to face them. "These are my parents Serge and Lucille and my brothers Frank and Will" he said gesturing to each family member. His parents were beaming at me and his brothers were smiling looking incredibly similar to Max. All at once it seemed like each person was saying something and I struggled to keep up with them.

"Calm down guys" Max laughed looking at my shocked facial expression. Max's mom was the first to approach me and pulled me into a hug.

"Oh you're gorgeous" she beamed kissing me on both cheeks. "Max hadn't told me that you were this pretty." Mr. Talbot nodded next to her reminding me of an older and jollier version of Max.

"It's so nice to meet you Mrs. Talbot" I said finally finding my voice. Mr. Talbot was the next one to pull me into a hug and I noticed that he smelled like Max- very woodsy.

"So little brother, are you taking us out to eat or what?" one of the brothers piped up. I couldn't remember if he was Frank or Will but I shook their hands anyway and managed a smile. One of them smiled and said something to Max in french and he grinned.

"Boys, don't talk about her in french. Let's go honey, excuse my sons for being rude." She had grabbed my arm and began to lead me along through the lobby asking me different things about our trip and my stay so far in Montreal. She was easily one of the friendliest people I had ever met and seemed like me so far.

"It's been great. The city is beautiful and I got to explore it a little bit today" I said gesturing to my shopping bag. The more we talked, the less nervous I felt and I smiled at Max to reassure him when I felt his hand rest on my back supportively. He led us to a car waiting outside and we all hopped in the SUV to go to the restaurant. In the car Max gave me the tickets and passes we would need for the game this afternoon and I sat back to watch him interact with his brothers. I knew that he was very close with his family and they occasionally came down to catch different games when they had time.

"So you're a lawyer for the Pens, eh?" Will asked leaning forward to talk to me. I nodded and explained what I did for the team and told them about meeting Max through the job because he was one of the biggest trouble makers. Mrs. Talbot shook her head while the Talbot men looked proud of Max all giving him a pat on the back.

"It wasn't such a chore to get a ticket anymore when I knew that I'd get to see you" Max grinned obviously sucking up to me and putting on a show for his family.

"Except for the fact that you kept wasting my time" I quipped back elbowing him in the ribs. I would not forget that time that he had 'forgotten' to give me the court notice and we had to go to the courthouse last minute. I was still going to hold that over his head when he did something wrong.

Lunch went by quickly and I was entertained by stories of Max as a goofy kid and hearing about him challenging older kids in the neighborhood to hockey matches when they were twice his size. Apparently he had set the record in the family for how many times a nose could be broken. Not surprisingly, Max looked proud of this record and claimed it was a testament to his manhood. Mrs. Talbot, or Lucy as she had instructed me to call her, caught my eye and winked rolling her eyes along with me. I liked his family more and more after hearing them talk and was excited to spend more time with them at the game. Max skipped his afternoon nap and downtime so that we could spend more time at lunch instead of rushing around.

"Are you sure that you shouldn't lay down for awhile? You do have the game today" I said trying to convince him to keep with his pre-game ritual. I was becoming more superstitious about game days than he was and was worried that not taking a nap would throw him off today.

"Maxime, you should listen to her and rest. Don't worry about us" his mom chimed in. I loved the way that she said his name. Next time I had to yell at him about something I was totally going to use his whole name.

"Both of you are ganging up on me already" he said looking between us and grinning. I could tell that both of us were relieved that lunch was going so well and he grabbed my hand under the table and squeezed it again stroking his thumb over my wrist. In the end he gave in and we all went back to the hotel for some down time. I went up to the room with Max to drop off my shopping bag while the Talbots met up with Sidney in the lobby. Apparently they had known him as long as Max had and their families were old friends. I told them that I would be back down soon and hopped into the elevator Max was holding for me. I was about to tell him how much fun I had been having with his parents but as soon as the doors on the elevator shut, his lips were on mine making me forget that I had been about to say anything at all.

Luckily no one was in the elevator with us because he had backed me into a corner locking me tightly against the wall with his body pressed into mine. My arms curled around his neck as we both pressed to get closer to each other.

"What was that for?" I asked panting, trying to catch my breath, both of our chest rising and falling in sync with each other.

"Because that went better than I ever could have imagined" he said leaning down to kiss me again. I was more than happy to let him kiss me but the doors dinged and opened revealing a very amused Kris Letang on the other side.

"God, guys. Keep it together. There are kids in this hotel" he said holding the doors. He winked at me as he got on and Max pulled me out of the elevator and down the hall to the room. I wanted to continue what he had started in the elevator but he actually did need to rest and stick to his pre-game ritual. They had to win tonight, especially with playoffs looming so closely on the horizon.
I made sure that I had the tickets and passes and kissed Max goodbye telling him good luck. I was on my way downstairs when I received a text message from him.

Thanks for doing this. I love you. I grinned like a fool and went downstairs to go waste time with his family before the game. I loved him too.