CHAPTER FIFTEEN
After lunch Carrie wandered around Regent’s Park for awhile before heading back to Paige and Nate’s house. She had plenty of work to get done but her mind was still busy working on the puzzle that was Maxwell Hayes. Sometimes nice, sometimes rude. She’d seen the happy, boyish side of him when they’d went to his friend Albert’s restaurant and she’d liked it. That slightly silly young man was definitely someone she could easily spend time with. Did he still exist or had he been obliterated by Max Hayes – mega movie star and all-around tight ass?
Digging into her purse for the house keys, she didn’t see Max until she was only a few feet away. He’d come through the gates – he knew Nate’s key code – and was lounging against a pillar on the front porch, looking more handsome than should be allowed. His dark hair was tousled by the wind and his off-white sweater was the perfect backdrop for his gorgeous blue eyes.
Those eyes were currently watching her every move as she approached him, perhaps worried she might chuck a potted plant at his head. Lucky for him she wasn’t the violent type.
“It’s chilly out here. How long have you been waiting?”
He straightened and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. Not as tight as Tyler’s but they still looked good. “Not long. Carrie, I’d like to apologize to you and I hope we can talk about things.”
It sounded rehearsed but then he was an actor and that’s what he did. There was no getting out of this, and it was better if they faced it head on anyway. She wasn’t a huge fan of letting this fester until they hissed at each other whenever Paige and Nate had a big gathering and Carrie happened to see Max. Somehow they had to come out of this at least civil to one another.
“Come in and have a glass of wine or something. Does it ever warm up here? It’s supposed to be summer.”
She didn’t expect an answer but he surprised her. “It is unseasonably cold but it’s supposed to get better in a few days.”
“That’s…good.”
He followed her in after she unlocked the door, settling into the cushions of the brown leather couch. Carrie kept herself busy in the kitchen pouring them some wine and trying to pretend her hands weren’t trembling. She wasn’t nervous and she wasn’t angry anymore so she wasn’t sure why she was this emotional. Perhaps it was simply that Max brought out strong feelings in her, good and bad.
Returning to the living room, she handed him a glass and noticed for the first time that he had brought a laptop with him. He must have come straight from a cafe or coffee shop. He sat up and smoothed down his sweater, clearing his throat. It looked like he wanted to talk first.
“Carrie, I’d like to apologize to you for my behavior yesterday. It was completely out of line then and before. You’re absolutely right about me. I’m difficult and stubborn, not to mention touchy when it comes to personal subjects. But none of that is an adequate excuse for how I’ve treated you. You’ve agreed to do this incredibly generous thing for me and I have not shown my immense gratitude, something I intend to rectify if you’ll let me. I hope that you will accept this apology and that we can start again. I can assure you that I am determined to show you that I can be more than a pompous, self-centered actor.”
Blown away, Carrie sat heavily into a chair next to the sofa. She’d expected an apology but this one was so…fucking eloquent.
“You rehearsed that, didn’t you?”
His cheeks turned slightly red. “I did. For once with you, I didn’t want to fuck things up. It thought if I delivered a prepared speech our meeting might start out well.”
“I think your apology was wonderful. Quite moving. I don’t think mine will be nearly as good.”
He began to speak but she shook her head and held up a hand. “No, I owe you one as well. What I said about the award thing…unnecessarily nasty. When I’m hurt I can hit out with the best of them. I’m really sorry about that crack and all the other snarky crap I’ve thrown at you.”
She’d barely finished and taken a breath when he replied. “I wholeheartedly deserved it. You have every right to defend yourself.”
“Defense is one thing, but offense is something else.”
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “I brought something of a peace offering. To show that I’m sincere about trying again and being more open.”
Okay, this wasn’t foreseen. “That’s very thoughtful but I’ve accepted your apology.”
He moved to the end of the couch near her chair, fumbling with the laptop and finally getting it open. “I need to show you something. I know that I haven’t exactly been boyfriend material, or even fake-boyfriend material, but I want to prove to you that I’m not as spoiled and narcissistic as you may believe. I do have a few good qualities.”
If Page was to be believed, he had several. He’d pulled up a document and for a moment she thought he might have convinced some females to give him some sort of testimonial.
Max was a great boyfriend. He always opened my car door.
Max is a great cook and he always made me breakfast in the morning.
Max is a considerate lover and always let me come first.
This was why she didn’t have a man. She was too sarcastic, too outspoken.
“I wanted to show you this.”
He turned the laptop around so the screen was facing her and then set it in her lap. At first she frowned and stared at it, not sure what she was seeing. It was a list and as she realized what kind of list it was she began to smile.
“You made the list.”
He nodded, clearly wanting her approval. “I did. At first I put stupid things on it but later I really tried to make it serious.”
He made the list.
Carrie was so overwhelmed she almost couldn’t speak. This was no small feat. Even if he hadn’t thought about it all that hard…he’d made the list.
She started at the top. “Baked Alaska and black lingerie. That sounds dangerous, what with a blowtorch and a lot of skin bared but this is your list.”
“Mike gave me a hard time for that part.”
“He shouldn’t have. Feeling free to express yourself is part of the exercise. Don’t hem yourself in with rules. Let’s see what else you have here. She should like music, preferably classical. That sounds good.”
“Bach would be preferable but Beethoven is fine too.”
He wished his soulmate could sing because he couldn’t. He wanted her to be a night owl because that’s what he was. He didn’t care what her favorite color was as long as it wasn’t orange because he hated orange.
With each successive item he’d revealed himself a little more.
Whoa. This was getting a little personal. Maybe she should stop reading.
He wanted his soulmate to be a little kinky in the sheets but not all the time. He liked the idea of roleplaying in bed.
This wasn’t what she’d had in mind when she said she wanted to get to know him but beggars couldn’t be choosers. But now she was totally going to picture him as the pizza delivery guy.
“You’ve put a lot of thought into this, Max.”
He wanted her to want lots of children. Shit, that one got her right in the heart. He was a softie for kids. Then he gave her the one-two punch. He liked dogs too. He had to be a good person if he was a sucker for a cute canine. This day was certainly turning out differently than she’d planned.
“I wanted to show you I could do this.” He paced nervously back and forth in front of the fireplace as she read through it. “What do you think?”
She didn’t hold back. “I’m impressed. Very impressed. First, that you did it at all and then second, that you really took some time with this. You have a sense of who you are looking for.”
He stopped and ran his fingers through his hair. “I doubt I’ll ever find someone like that. A little kinky and wants several children? What are the odds?”
It was all Carrie could do not to raise her hand. She met those criteria but some of the others were non-starters. She couldn’t sing and she was a morning person, although she wasn’t all that fond of orange either. She didn’t know diddly-squat about classical music but she bet he didn’t know shit about Blake Shelton.
“You never know,” she replied instead, perusing the second column of the list. “You may not get everything you write down but I like the fact that you even made a section for deal-breakers. That may be the most important thing to know when going into a new relationship. You don’t want anyone addicted to alcohol and drugs. That’s good. You want someone who has their own interests and friends. Wise. You don’t want someone who just lives through you. And the last here, you don’t want a woman who is with you to further her own career. Wow, I would hope so.”
He dropped down on the couch. “In my business that isn’t a given.”
Alana. Tyler had warned Carrie that Max was deeply wounded by what his ex had done. He might not be in love with her anymore but she’d screwed him up for the next woman.
Hold on, I’m the next woman.
Placing the laptop on the coffee table between them, she lifted her wine glass to her lips, giving herself time to process what she’d seen. He’d certainly become more human in her eyes. She could be a friend to a man like this.
“What about your list?”
She froze, looking at him over the rim of her wine glass before slowly lowering it to the table. “I beg your pardon?”
“What about your list?” he repeated. “Shouldn’t you share yours with me? Isn’t that the point of this? To get to know one another?”
It was but mostly for her to get to know him.
She shrugged and gave him her best sorrowful look. “I don’t have a recent one. The last one I made was like…five years ago.”
He opened the laptop again. “Then let’s make a new one. You talk and I’ll type.”
Shit. Son of a bitch. Damn.
She had no one to blame but herself for this. Making a fuss about getting to know one another and now look where she was – caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. She held up her half-empty wine glass.
“If I’m going to do this, I’m going to need to a refill. More than a few times.”