"Go if you want to go, but if I didn't want you here, you wouldn't have gotten through the door."

Brian rarely did anything he didn't want to do, and if he'd wanted Max gone, Max would've known loud and clear already.

"In fact," he said, pushing abruptly to his feet. Across the room, on a little accent table, there was a small, covered dish. He opened it, retrieving something from inside. "Next time, you can save us both a step." Unceremoniously, he set it down on the coffee table, within Max's reach.

A key.