He laughed and we went up and down the street for more than an hour, and I only realized after I got home later on that I never paid attention to exactly where we were. It didn’t matter. I was busy talking about my family, how Mom lived on Long Island and Dad had moved to Newark. Max had a million questions, which he chalked up to research.

“I have to know about you,” he reminded me. “So we seem legit.”

“Tell me more about you,” I suggested. “I’ve talked myself nearly hoarse.”

He shrugged, his shoulders moving up and down under his clothes. “There’s not that much to tell. Besides the Fields already know everything they need to know about me and are hardly likely to quiz you about it.”

“Oof. What a cop out.” I laughed.

He looked offended. “It’s the truth.”

“Liar. You live in a gorgeous apartment in an almost-empty floor. I told you why I haven’t left, or at least I think I alluded to it.”

“Your grandmother.”

“Correct. So, why are you still around?”

He shrugged, looking at the ground. “It’s where I live. That’s all. I don’t want to leave.” I liked him even more for that.

I smiled mistily at him. How I wished things were different. “It feels better, knowing I’m not alone. I’m not crazy for sticking around.”

He looked into my eyes and shook his head. “No, you’re not crazy for sticking around. Not for that.”

“You’re such a sweet talker. I’ll have to make sure everybody knows that when we’re in the Hamptons.” I put a hand over my heart, fluttering my eyelashes. “And when he told me I was crazy, Mr. Fields, I knew he was the one for me.”

He threw back his head and laughed. “And I’ll tell them I stay with you even though you’re crazy because I feel sorry for you and somebody needs to make sure you take your medicine and wear your panties on the inside of your clothes.”

I laughed. “Thanks a lot.” I paused. “I know I never really told you this, but I’m really grateful to you.”

“For what?”

“For what you did on the street that day with Josh and Lillian. Not many guys would have done that. You’re one in a million, Max. You knew I was in trouble and you jumped in. Just like that.” I touched his arm. “I never thanked you properly for that. I wanted to hit you at the time, honestly. But I know it was because you felt sorry for me and wanted to help. So…thanks.”

“No problem. And I didn’t do it because I felt sorry for you. Well, not entirely.” He started walking again, and I had no choice but to follow. Who wouldn’t?

“Why, then?” I fell in step beside him.

“Because I don’t like watching people getting picked on. Your face was as white as a sheet and you looked like you were looking for a way out. I just wanted to get you out of it. So I did.”

Underneath his cocky arrogance, he was a sweet guy. “Isn’t it ironic then that all you ended up doing was putting me in a position where I was forced to go to their stupid party.”

“Yeah, I should have stood there and let you tell them you were having your appendix out.”

I giggled. “I don’t think that’s the sort of surgery you schedule in advance, but you’re on the right track.”

“Come on.” He nudged me a little. “Don’t pretend you didn’t have a good time.”

“It’s not on my Top Ten list of best times ever.” I was lying. I loved my night with him. Every minute of him pretending to be my adoring boyfriend. And when he kissed my forehead and told me I was the most beautiful woman in that room, he was treating me the way I had dreamed and hoped a man would. Everything he did that night was more than I ever got from Josh or any other man.

“But you enjoyed it,” he insisted.

“I enjoyed certain parts of it,” I conceded cautiously.

“We got a weekend in the Hamptons out of it.”

I snorted. “Don’t remind me!”

“Life could be a hell of a lot worse,” he reminded. “A weekend in the Hamptons is hardly cause to throw yourself down a flight of stairs.”

“Oh, damn. And I was gonna do that as an excuse to get out of it.”

I had expected him to laugh, but he frowned, instead. “Am I really that repulsive to you?”

“What kind of crazy talk is that?” I stopped. “I’m just messing with you, Max.”

He stopped in front of me, hands in his pockets. I could tell I had upset him.

I touched his arm. “Max, I really didn’t mean it that way.”

“You have a way of making it sound like you’re horrified by the idea. I have to wonder why.”

“Not because of you. Never because of you. I mean it. It’s because I’m not a good liar, and I would hate to be embarrassed. That’s all. I dread the way I know Lillian will look at us. She eyed you up pretty seriously at the party, by the way.”

“Did she? I can’t imagine why considering who she’s engaged to.” He rolled his eyes. “Mr. Wonderful himself.”

“For a man, you’re pretty catty, you know?”

“He hurt you. Why would I like him?”

The thing was, he looked sincere. Like he meant it. But why? He was the son of a rich man. A playboy who had the pick of any woman he wanted. I wasn’t anything special. Was it because I said no? What would happen if I said yes?

“Trust me, it’s not you I’m worried about.” That was true. I was more afraid of myself. I couldn’t imagine sharing a bedroom with this man and not wanting to jump his bones.

We kept walking, and he seemed satisfied if not happy with my explanation. “You know, she can’t hurt you, right?”

“You didn’t read that email from her, Max. You don’t know how she really feels about me. Have you ever had somebody call you vile names?”

“More like how many times have I heard it. Words are just words unless you believe them. You don’t believe them, do you?”

“At the time? I don’t know. I might have.”

Max slid an arm around me, and I welcomed the comfort. It felt nice. Very nice. “She seems like a real piece of work,” he mused. “And she just found out she was pregnant, so there’s that. She went nuts, but it’s not your fault. You didn’t set out to hurt anybody.”

“I know that, but she doesn’t.”

“That’s gotta be enough. It just has to. Sometimes we all do things without thinking about them because we have reasons that make sense to us, but we don’t think about the other person. We just make assumptions. Like she assumed you were out to take her man.” He made a face. “Although, I can’t imagine why anyone would.”

I laughed. “Sorry. I hadn’t met you yet. I didn’t have you to compare him to.” I rolled my eyes.

“I’m more than just a pretty face.”

“No comment.” I blushed to the roots of my hair.

“Watch out!” he exclaimed as he grabbed my arm as I stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk. He kept me from falling, but I turned my ankle and it hurt like a bitch. I laughed because I was embarrassed.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just incredibly clumsy.” But it did hurt. More than a little. I winced when I put weight on it.

“Hell,” he cursed. “You might have sprained it.”

“I don’t think it’s a sprain,” I said. “Just soreness.”

He hailed a cab. “Come on. Time to get you home.”

“Are you serious? I’m okay!” I wanted to die. I wanted to die right then and there. What a loser I was. A clumsy idiot. Give me stilettos and I could walk miles, but put me in a pair of flats and trust me to make a fool of myself.

“You’re not okay. I’ll feel a lot better when you’re home with your ankle elevated. Besides, it’s getting late.”

“Really. I’m fine. I’ll take care of it.”

He looked me in the eye. “Why won’t you let me take care of you?”

The question left me breathless. “All right,” I whispered.

So he helped me into the cab and then up the steps to our building, my arm across his shoulders.

“You’ll be okay if you keep it up tonight, with ice on it.”

“If you say so, Doc.” I could kid all I wanted while he was helping me down the hall, but I couldn’t deny that it did hurt. Like hell. I just didn’t want him to know how dangerous I was to myself. It was too embarrassing.

He didn’t seem to care as he sat me on the couch, put throw pillows under my sore ankle, then put together an ice pack for me.

“Keep this on,” he ordered. “And don’t get up unless you absolutely need something.”

Just to be safe, he loaded up the coffee table with water, iced tea, the TV remote, my iPad, my phone and a bag of cookies in case I wanted a snack.

“Thank you for being so nice to me,” I murmured, a little overwhelmed. “You’re my knight all over again.”

“Your knight?”

I blushed again. “In shining armor. You know.” Just stop talking, Mimi. Just stop talking.

He grinned. “My armor’s a little tarnished. But I appreciate that.”

“I appreciate everything you’ve done.” Seriously, why are you still talking? Maybe you should’ve sprained your tongue.

“We’ll see how you feel tomorrow.”

Then he kissed the top of my head and left.