CHAPTER ELEVEN
Max tucked the executed copy of the contract into his messenger bag. His publicist had delivered it this morning during play rehearsals and Max wanted to give it to Carrie personally. If only because he was worried she’d changed her mind after her face appeared in those rags. It was one thing to agree to do this, but it was something quite different to have her face splashed across a supermarket tabloid. She might be having second thoughts.
He needed her desperately and the tabloids’ coverage of their evening out only underlined that fact. Every single story had mentioned how Alana had another man, and a few of them out and out stated she’d cheated. Alana had indeed been unfaithful but Max’s people had been trying to smother that little nugget whenever it cropped up. It was bad enough that she’d left him; he didn’t need to be seen as not able to keep a woman happy.
Then there was Carrie.
He couldn’t tell if she was happy or not. She seemed so last night when she’d thought she had figured him out. Being around his old friend Albert, Max couldn’t help but be himself. But when it was just him and Carrie, that was an entirely different scenario. He needed to keep control of the situation at all times. If she gained the upper hand, he’d be at her mercy and he didn’t want to feel that way with a woman. Again.
In a way, he already did. He needed her more than she needed him. His humiliation would be for the world to see while hers would encompass a much smaller circle. Frankly, she was doing him a favor. Maybe he should buy her a present to show his appreciation. In his experience women liked gifts. Flowers. Candy. Jewelry.
Entering Nate’s key code for the gate, he bounded up the front steps of the house. Laughter drifted through the door and he hesitated, his hand raised to knock, as he heard the soft murmur of voices and the melodious tinkling of Carrie’s full-throated chuckle. She had company but who? He wasn’t aware that she knew anyone in London. It must be the stylist she was going to call.
It only took her moments to answer after he rapped lightly on the door, dressed in a pair of faded denims and a bright blue sweater, her feet stuffed in fluffy white socks. Her cheeks were pink, probably from laughing and he had to admit – at least to himself – that he wished she looked that happy and carefree all the time. She always acted rather tense around him but then he did the same with her.
“I have your copy of the contract.” Frowning, he peered around the doorway but couldn’t see who was in her sitting area. “Is this a bad time?”
She waved him in. “No, come on in.”
His friend Tyler Gaylord stood up from the love seat. A dozen pink roses in a vase were sitting on the coffee table in front of him.
What in the hell was going on here?
“Tyler, I thought you were in Milan.”
His friend grinned, knowing full well what he was doing. Arsehole. “I was in Milan. Now I’m in London. Did Carrie tell you about our rather…unusual meeting?”
Still eyeing the bouquet of flowers, Max cleared his throat before he inched over to Carrie and placed an arm around her waist, hoping Tyler took the hint. “She did and we had quite the laugh. You were buying something for your girlfriend?”
Wincing, Tyler shook his head. “That didn’t work out. I’m back on the market. A free man.”
Gaylord certainly went through the ladies at breakneck speed. “Too bad. Can’t seem to keep a woman can you, mate?”
“I’ll worry about that when I find the right one.”
It’s not Carrie, you randy goat.
She must have seen Max’s increasingly unhappy expression.
“We were just talking about good restaurants in the area.”
I’ll just bet he was. Then he’ll ask you to go out to dinner with him.
“There are several,” Max said, keeping his eye on Tyler who had his eye on Carrie. “If there is someplace in particular you want to try, Carrie, all you have to do is ask. I’d be more than happy to take you anywhere you want to go.”
Maybe Max was laying it on a bit thick but he knew Tyler Gaylord and how he was with women. A total player who never looked back after he broke a heart. Max wouldn’t allow his friend to treat Carrie like that.
His too pretty face wreathed in smiles, Tyler moved toward the door. “I guess I should be going. I have an early photo shoot in the morning. Carrie, it was lovely seeing you again.”
“Yes, you should be going,” Max opened the front door. “You don’t want to be in makeup for hours tomorrow because you didn’t get enough rest.”
Carrie elbowed him as she and Tyler hugged. They must have become close quite quickly.
“Thank you so much for stopping by to check on me, and also for the flowers. They’re gorgeous.”
She sounded way too enthusiastic. They were just roses, for fuck’s sake. It’s not like he gave her a handful of diamonds or a ticket to Bora Bora. She bid Tyler a goodbye before shutting it behind her with a firm click. Rounding on him, she leaned back against the oak slab and gave Max a disgusted look.
“You were very rude.”
“I thought I was quite restrained. What was he doing here?”
She brushed past him and went to the refrigerator to retrieve a water bottle, holding it up in offering but he shook his head. “He was checking to see how I was settling in to London. It was very thoughtful of him to stop by.”
Arching a brow, Max stalked forward to the coffee table and reached out a fingertip, tracing a velvety petal. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears, acid rising in his throat. Carrie shouldn’t be entertaining strange men. It wouldn’t look right. What if the paps had caught her?
“You know that Tyler Gaylord is one of the biggest playboys on earth? Possibly the biggest?”
“I did know that,” she answered breezily, a smile on her face. “But I’m not the type to fall for a dozen roses and a smooth line. Give me a little credit.”
He plucked a petal off a bud and let it fall to the table. “He was here to chat you up.”
Snorting, she settled in a chair. “No shit. Listen, I may be dumb about men but I’m not stupid. Besides, if I hadn’t figured it out his asking me to dinner would have tipped his hand.”
A haze of red passed in front of his eyes. He was going to have a little talk with his friend.
“He asked you out? He’s a fast worker, isn’t he? But I can see you didn’t tell him you had a boyfriend. You didn’t even introduce me as such.”
“I didn’t need to,” she sputtered, her cheeks going red with laughter. “You did everything but pee on me to mark your territory. No words or descriptions were necessary. He got the not-so-subtle hint, Max.”
“I simply greeted my girlfriend.”
Her lips turned down and she shook her head. “You really believe that, don’t you? You don’t think you did anything wrong.”
He straightened up to every inch of his six-one height. “I know I didn’t do anything wrong. He was in the wrong, coming here and bringing you flowers.”
“He was very sweet to do that. He didn’t have any idea that I was seeing anyone.” She held up her hand. “I’m not wearing any rings, after all. He seems like a nice man and you could have been kinder. He’s your friend.”
Astonished, Max barked with laughter. “Kind? To the man trying to steal away my girl? I think not. If anything I should have kicked his arse out of this house. You belong to me and only me.”
The minute the words came out he regretted them. It was the exact wrong thing to say to Carrie and the fury in her expression was clear for anyone to see. Her eyes were bright with tears and her lips trembled, but not with fear or sadness. Carrie was beside herself with anger, and the way she kept fisting her hands and then relaxing them told him she wanted to smack him hard across the face.
“Well, then…Thank you for bringing by the contract but I think it’s time for you to go.”
Her tone was dangerously soft. He was walking on razor thin ice here. “Please let me apologize. That did not come out the way I intended it.”
“Then tell me what you intended to say.”
He opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. Whatever he said was only going to get him into more trouble. Better to be silent and ride this out.
He cleared his throat. “I don’t think either one of us is in the right state to discuss this any further.”
Her brows shot up. Damn, he’d fucked up again. He began easing toward the exit. She might blow at any minute and he wanted to be out of the blast zone.
“I think that what you really wanted to say to Tyler Gaylord was that you owned me and he needed to stay away from your property. Is that about right?”
Don’t answer. Don’t answer. Don’t answer.
“Of course not. I don’t think I own you, but you are my girlfriend and I’m your boyfriend. You’re spoken for and so am I. You’re being ridiculous.”
Dumbass. I told you to shut up. This is why you’re divorced. You always take the bait.
Hopping up from the sofa, she got in his face – or as close as she could at her height – and poked at his chest with her finger. “I’m being ridiculous? I cannot believe you said that. I am not being ridiculous.”
Those words were spat out between gritted teeth and he stood there helpless, not sure what to say or do. He could remain motionless and wait out the storm or try and talk her down. Usually when the woman in his life got like this he swept her into his arms and kissed her. It worked more times than it didn’t, so it was his go-to strategy but she wasn’t his to kiss and there would be no “sweeping” of anything in this fake-lationship.
More pokes into his chest. “Are you listening to me?”
“Yes, I am and as I said I do want to apologize. My behavior was uncalled for.”
Her eyes narrowed and she regarded him suspiciously. “Which behavior would that be?”
“All of it,” he answered promptly, not really meaning it but knowing she expected it. “I am sorry and I hope you can forgive me.”
She fell back onto the love seat and rolled her eyes. “For an Academy Award-winning actor, you suck at lying. You’re not sorry at all.”
Now it was his turn to grit his teeth. “I was simply nominated. I did not win.”
“Well, now you know why.”
No one in Max’s life had ever had the gall to say something like that to him. Ever. People told him what a great actor he was and that he should have won. They didn’t tell him why he didn’t. It was staggering.
He threw the contract he’d been holding in his hand, already crumpled from his unrelenting grip onto the table between them. “I came to bring you your copy of the contract but honestly I cannot imagine why I signed an agreement with someone like you. You’re rude and unpleasant. What Paige sees in you as a friend I have no idea.”
“Same to you, fella. I think her first evaluation of you was correct. Stiff, cold, arrogant, superior, and pompous. She called you a judgmental asshole and I concur.”
Paige’s opinion of him hurt, more than a little. Max did take time to warm up and get to know people but he didn’t like to think he wasn’t a good person until he did. He just kept to himself.
“I do not judge people.”
“Really? You judged me. Guilty as charged, officer. Some poor bastard came by here with flowers and asked me out. Somehow this became my fault. It was completely innocent – at least on my part – and you blew it out of proportion. You know, it’s just as well you’re calling all of this off because I couldn’t pretend to be your girlfriend, Max. Just for your edification, I’m not an actress. If I’m going to act like a girlfriend, I actually have to know you a little bit. I have to like you as a person. To do that we have to spend time together and do more than stare blankly at each other. You’ve been so busy protecting yourself, you haven’t noticed that you’ve been pushing me away. So here I am. Ready to leave and go back home. I’d rather face my friends and family than have to deal with your sourpuss day in and day out. For a fucking millionaire sex symbol movie star, you sure as hell don’t have much to smile about.” She pointed to the door. “You can show yourself out.”
For a moment he couldn’t move, frozen to that spot on the carpet. But then he realized she was serious, her lips pressed together and her light brown eyes dark with emotion. Fury. She was absolutely furious with him.
He wasn’t all that calm either and that was just fine with him. He wasn’t the one at fault here. She was the problem. She had the issues.
Good riddance.