Chapter 15

Max

This day was on the fast track to Fuck-Me-Ville—and not the good kind where I got my dick wet.

The girl I’d hired to help with my first on-site paying gig Sunday had canceled when I told her I wasn’t interested in a little side action. You just don’t mess with a guy when he’s trying to cook. Especially not when there’s a hot oven and boiling water right in front of him.

I’d jumped back when she fell to her knees and tried to unzip my pants. She shocked the shit out of me so badly that I wound up dropping my ladle on her head. That’s when the crazy chick nut-punched me and called me a tease.

Me, a tease. That was the weirdest shit I’d ever heard.

I wound up calling Collin and told him the whole thing. After he got over the shock of hearing about my business venture, then laughed for a good two minutes about my hired help fiasco, he told Addie. At least she had the decency to ask if my soldiers still worked after she told me she was proud of me.

Unlike Collin, Addie listened to me complain. Even gave me the idea to ask Lia for help. Not sure why I didn’t think of her in the first place. Honestly? I was damn nervous about what she’d say when I finally did call, mostly ’cause I’d been ignoring her. Not on purpose; more because I was still trying to get my shit together.

It’d been exactly two weeks since I’d come up with the idea to start my own catering business. Exactly two weeks since I’d stopped going to Jimney’s three nights a week. Somehow, I was able to convince myself that Lia was gonna be all right without me, but damn if I still didn’t look at the clock every night she worked and wonder whether I was doing the right thing.

Collin told me she was at the yoga studio downtown—the one that happened to be next door from the building I was leasing. It was fate, in a way, except that she hadn’t shown today.

Now, there I was at Jimney’s again, willing to do whatever it took to make it up to her.

“Max! It’s so good to see you. I’ve missed you.” I nodded at Aubrey, only to scan the room in search of pink hair.

I was a few minutes earlier than Lia’s normal shift, but I’d wanted to get there before she did. Mostly, I wanted to prepare myself to explain why I hadn’t bothered to talk to her in two weeks. Tell her I was trying to put some purpose in my life…purpose that mattered. Purpose that would make her and everyone else I loved proud.

Plus, if I wanted her help, I’d have to do some severe groveling to get it.

“Bud Light bottle, please.” I slipped my card across the bar top. Aubrey swiped it and tapped it against her chest. I didn’t take the bait. “Set up a tab for me, would ya?”

“You’re here earlier than you used to be.” Aubrey licked her lips.

“Got business to take care of, so if you don’t mind…” I motioned toward the card reader by the register, not wanting to be a jerk, but not caring at the same time. “And would you tell Lia I need to talk to her when she gets in, please?” I pointed at a corner table toward the back of the bar. “I’m gonna be sitting over there tonight.”

Aubrey frowned, sinking her teeth into her lip after she finally handed me my drink and card. “I’m not doing tables tonight though.”

“Next time then.” I didn’t want to be a complete ass.

Beer in hand, I headed toward the booth and burrowed down in the seat. Trying to stay focused, I pulled out my bag and set it on the table. When I said I had business to take care of, I meant it. Inventory listing was a lot of work when there was only one person to do it. Plus, I had to make sure I had everything in order for Sunday. Plates, silverware, napkins, stuff I hadn’t thought I’d need to worry about.

A throat cleared fifteen minutes or so into my work. The glasses I wore when I needed to read had slid down onto the tip of my nose. I looked up and saw Lia standing to my right, hands on her hips, annoyance in her eyes, and looking as gorgeous as ever.

“Hey.” My voice cracked. Not something I was proud of, but damn. Those leather pants hugged her thighs so good that all I could think about was rubbing my hands over the surface.

“What are you doing here, Maxwell?” Defeat sat in her blue eyes, and even darker lines shadowed beneath.

“Seeing you”—I motioned my hand toward the table and shook my head—“and working.”

“You’re kidding right? You, working on a Friday night?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Forget it.” She rolled her eyes and glanced over her shoulder toward the bar, tucking some of that wild hair behind her ear. That’s when I noticed how much her hands shook.

“What’s wrong?” I stood, already scanning the room for a potential threat.

She jerked her head back to face me. Her eyes narrowed like heat-seeking missiles, and I was the target. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just busy. It’s my night for tables, and I don’t have time to sit here and discuss whatever you think we need to suddenly discuss when you’ve been ignoring me for two weeks now.”

I deserved that. “Someone harassing you?”

“No, just—”

“Who is it? Who’s messing with you? He here? Is it Travis again?” I moved out of the booth and stood directly in front of her.

She sucked in a sharp breath. “Travis and I are done. You know that.” She took a step back and rubbed her hand over her forehead.

“Tell me who I need to set straight.” I took another step closer, stalking her in that way I knew she hated.

She groaned and tossed her head back. “Jesus, Max. Quit with the heroics. I thought maybe you’d finally taken my advice since you haven’t shown up in two weeks, but nooo, apparently—”

“Lia,” I interrupted her. “I know you can protect yourself. It’s why I’ve stayed away.” But now I was wondering if I should’ve kept at it.

“Well, that’s…that’s good.” She worried her lower lip even harder, and I couldn’t help but watch and remember what it tasted like: sweet cherries and so damn delicious. “It took you long enough to realize it.” She folded her arms.

“I always knew.” Needing to touch her in some way, I lifted my hand and pressed it to her cheek. Probably not the wisest move since she was working, but damn…I’d missed her so much it hurt.

Her breath caught, but she didn’t push me away. “Then why did you do it in the first place? Why did you constantly try to be a hero when you knew I was capable of taking care of myself.”

“Guess I couldn’t help myself.” I needed to be with you. Close to you. Anytime I can, anyway you’ll let me.

Another step forward and our hips were flush, my body hard where hers was soft. The noise around us seemed to fade, and more than anything else in the world, I wanted to kiss her again. “How’s the new car treating you?” I grinned, unable to help myself.

Her angry scowl was like a shot of adrenaline that ran straight to my cock. I loved feisty Lia more than any other version.

“At the junkyard, thank you very much.”

I jerked my head back, opening and closing my mouth. Then I saw her lips twitch, and I knew she was just fucking with me. “You’re welcome, by the way.” I winked.

She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a son of a bitch. My old car was fine.”

“No, it wasn’t. And I’m a son of a bitch who takes care of the people he loves.”

Her body froze. Even under the dim light, I could see her face go pale. My heart skipped a few thousand beats, unsure what I’d done to screw up.

Eventually she squeezed her eyes shut, losing that fire I adored. “Please, Max.” When she reopened her eyes, the torment in her baby blues twisted me up. “You’re making this harder than it needs to be.”

“Making what harder?” I rubbed my thumb along her chin.

She shivered. “This, Max.” She moved around me and stepped away, flinging her hand in between us. “Us.”

“What do you mean us? Our friendship?”

“Stop being the annoying, overprotective big brother. I-I just… Jesus, Max, I’m in love with you. How can you not see it?”

The air rushed out of my lungs. “You’re what?”

She nodded once and looked at the floor, blinking, her face pink. “It’s why I pushed you away when you kept coming back.”

Shock rendered me speechless. I knew she was attracted to me, but love?

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

“You love me?”

This changed everything.

She flinched, a small gesture that stabbed me in the gut, but I saw her nod. Just one tiny nod.

“I’ve got to get back to work.”

She turned to leave, but I grabbed her hand. “Fuck, no, wait. I’m sorry.” As she turned to face me, her hands shot up, blocking me.

“Lee-Lee, shit. I’m sorry. I-I don’t know what to say. You told me you love me, and I just came here to say I’m sorry. My guts are all twisted up.” Not to mention my head.

She loved me. Lia Montgomery, my purpose…loved me like I loved her.

She scoffed, just as the strap of her tank top slipped over her tatted arm. “An ‘I’m not interested in you like that’ would have sufficed.”

The table full of dudes to my right stared at us, probably thinking the worst. I wanted to jam my fingers in their eyes, tell them to mind their own business. But I had bigger fish to fry.

“I’ve got to get back to work.” She turned to walk away.

“Lia, would you just wait?” I growled, following her as she moved across the room.

“What?” she snapped, scooping up an empty tray on the table to her right. “What could you possibly say that would make this night go even better than it already has?”

“I… I’m in love with you too.” There. That wasn’t so hard. In fact, now that I’d said it once… “I’ve been in love with you since the day I moved to this town.”

The tray she’d been holding slipped from her fingers and fell onto the floor with a crash. There was no going back. I was done fighting this thing between us, especially now that I knew how she felt. It just took my brain a few seconds to catch up to my heart.

When she didn’t turn around, my heart started racing. My head spun too. With slow, unhurried steps, I pressed my chest to her back. “Talk to me,” I whispered, keeping my hands at my sides but my chin on her shoulder.

“Don’t play with me, Maxwell.”

“Never.” Unable to help myself, I leaned over and kissed the spot below her ear. Now that I’d said those words, everything inside me was begging to touch her. To make her officially mine in all the ways I could.

“Y-you fuck girls. Then you walk away and start all over with the next lucky contestant. You don’t love girls. And you certainly don’t love me.”

“You’re wrong,” I whispered. “So, so wrong. I’m done screwing around, Lee-Lee. Done. Hell, if I’m being honest with myself, the only reason I ever chose to fuck around like that was because I was trying to get you outta my system.”

A snort fell out of her mouth. “And how’d that work out for you?”

I shook my head. “Terribly.”

She braced her hands on the edge of a table, her body trembling against mine. All traces of humor slipped away as she continued, “You say these things now, Max, but what happens when you decide that settling down isn’t for you after all? You can’t just pick me like I’m some random letter on Wheel of Fortune. I’m not disposable. I’m not some vowel you can purchase for one round. And I’m—”

“Everything, Lee-Lee.” I turned her to face me and wrapped my arms around her waist. Lia needed to know, right here and right now, that I was no longer that guy. “You’re my everything. Have been for years.”

Tears filled her eyes, but none slipped out. “Why would being with me, loving me, change that for you?”

My smile fell. “Because love isn’t about spinning some wheel and landing on the next girl to screw, or picking whatever letter you think will fit some temporary puzzle.” I held her face between my hands, lowering my forehead to hers. “Love is choosing one winning person and enjoying them for the rest of your life.”

Her lower lip trembled as she whispered, “This isn’t a game show.”

I couldn’t help but grin as I ran the pad of my thumb over her chin. “You started the analogy. Only right I finished it.” I studied her for a second longer, in awe of her gorgeous face, her strength, and that fight inside her. God, why had I waited so long to do this? Say this? Fuck Collin. Fuck the world too. This—right here with Lia—was the answer to my prayers.

Slowly, I lowered my lips to hers, not caring where we were, not caring who might be watching. I loved this girl. And I’d kiss her for a millennium just to let the world know that, game show or not, I had won this stunning woman.

Her lips were slow to respond, like she wasn’t sure I was real. And if I was being honest with myself, I was terrified outta my mine that she’d up and disappear from beneath my hands. But I kept going, keeping it slow. This, right here, was my nonverbal version of I love you.

My eyes opened to hers, all light and filled with awe. And that right there…that look? That was her nonverbal I love you too.

“Lia!” Her head shot toward the bar, nearly ramming into my nose when she turned. Some guy I’d never seen before stood on the other side, buddied up with Aubrey. “Get your ass back to work.”

My lip curled. “Who the hell is that?”

She sighed. “Patricia’s new boyfriend. The guy’s been a douche since they got together, thinking he runs everything and everyone in here.”

“Is that what’s bugging you tonight?”

She looked at me from under her lashes, so innocent when I knew she was anything but. “Yeah. But I’ve got it handled.” She pressed her hand against my chest.

I pulled her closer and hugged her, determined not to make a scene. I knew she needed to deal with this on her own, but I couldn’t help but get at least one dig in. “Quit. Right here, right now. You don’t need this job. Find a new one.”

“I can’t just walk out.” Her hot breath huffed against my neck.

“Why not?” I pulled back and looked at her, met with a glare.

“Because I have to do the right thing. Give two weeks, which I’m planning to do tonight anyway.” She pulled away, dropping her arms to her sides like she wasn’t sure where things would go next between us.

Good thing I was.

I grabbed her hand and brought it to my mouth, kissing her knuckles. “If you’re worried about money, let me help. I’ll take care of you until you find a new job.”

“No. Absolutely not. You’ve already paid my bail money and bought me a new freaking car. I will not owe you even more money than I already do.”

It was my turn to scowl. “I don’t give two fucks about money. I just don’t like seeing you get treated like ass.”

She blew her pink bangs out of her face, but they flopped right back over her eye. “It’s none of your business how people treat me.”

“Fuck yes it is.” I put one hand to her neck. “I’m in love with you. And love means sharing every good, bad, and ugly thing together.”

She nuzzled her cheek against my hand and shut her eyes, like she was savoring my touch. But it was over just as quick as it happened.

“Three words do not give you the right to control my life and what happens in it, Maxwell.”

I’d been used to taking care of my ma for so long that it was hard not being able to take care of Lia too. I knew she needed her independence, needed to make it known to herself, and to the world around her, that she was a big girl with a big world at her feet to dive into. So, I let it go.

“Fine. But we’re not done talking. I’ll see you tomorrow. Then after the game, we’re gonna talk about this some more.” I leaned forward and kissed her lips hard, just once.

“Yeah…about the game. I wasn’t really planning on going because…” Her words were so soft that I barely heard them. But they said enough.

“You weren’t planning on going to our first match of the year?”

“Well, do you blame me? I thought you hated me again.”

“You’ve never missed a match.”

“My parents are coming home. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get there in time.” She pushed past me and headed to another table, but I grabbed her hand this time, squeezing it in mine.

“Bring them with,” I said.

She lifted her chin and smiled teasingly. “Maybe.”

Before I could get in another word, she was gone, off to the bar. If I were more like my best friends, I wouldn’t have waited. I would’ve hightailed it her way, tossed her over my shoulder, and taken her back to that supply closet again. There, I’d kiss her, strip those leather pants, and fuck her hard against the wall. But I wasn’t like my best friend, at least not usually. Yet Lia made me wanna be that fucked-up caveman type. A type that wasn’t me.

Still, those three words had been said. And Lia Montgomery would officially be mine…or I’d work myself to death to make that happen.