She, the Kingdom (She #1)(62)

My eyebrows shot up as my mouth fell open and curved up in a half-appreciative, half-surprised smile. “You might be the sweetest boyfriend I’ve ever had.”

He made a face, and I felt mine redden. “What?”

“I’ve been someone’s husband for eight years. It just sounds a bit strange to be called someone’s boyfriend again. Especially coming from your lips. It’s somewhat adorable.”

I grinned, pleasantly surprised at this new side of Max. If he was trying to woo me, it was working. I thought about my high school friends seeing me out with a man who looked like Max, a man who was ridiculously wealthy and powerful. They wouldn’t believe it, and truthfully, neither did I, but there he sat, smiling at me and asking if I loved him back.

I took a bigger sip of my wine. “Max?”

“Yes, love?”

“You gave me the soft version of your childhood, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did. In part because I despise pity, and also because this is our first date, you look beautiful, and I only want to see you smile tonight.”

I turned my head to the side, narrowing my eyes at him.

“What?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I’m trying to figure this out. There was a camera in my vent last night, and now we’re here. It’s… surreal.”

Max looked down. “You don’t know how sorry I am for that. Sophie will destroy the recordings. All of them.”

“Do you trust her to do that?”

“She’ll destroy the recordings, or I’ll destroy her.”

I sighed, relieved. “What about when everyone in Kills Cross finds out Sophie left. I feel like we should keep us a secret for now.”

“Morgan,” he chided. “If we waited ten years, they’d still speculate that it was happening all along. I’ve never been one to worry about the opinions of irrelevant people.”

“It’s a small town. It will affect Hannah and Josh.”

“Then we’ll make sure it doesn’t.”

“Max—”

“I refuse to hide,” he snapped.

“Sometimes we have to make sacrifices when kids are involved. It’s not about you, and you can’t control everything.”

“I can control most things, actually.” He paused, thinking. “But, you’re right. When it comes to the kids, I’ll defer to you.”

“Thank you,” I said. “One more question?”

He smiled, gesturing for me to continue. “If the rumor is true, you have houses in upstate New York and Utah. Why middle-of-nowhere Kansas?”

He laughed out loud. “I was waiting for that one. Well… let’s just say they told me no.”

“They told you no.”

He nodded, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. “Indeed. It was supposed to be a simple acquisition. One of twelve we planned to purchase in the Midwest. My people reported eleven of twelve were pending, all but Mercy Hospital in Kills Cross, Kansas. It was locally owned, and he wasn’t interested in selling to me. Mr. Symonds didn’t want me to downsize, causing the locals to lose their jobs. Sophie still hasn’t forgiven me for moving her there.”

“But you don’t move to every town you buy a hospital. Why this time?”

“No, of course not. It was a personal challenge. I was advised against Mercy because it was going under. I sent my best guy. Within three months he told me it was a lost cause. So…”

“You moved? To a lost cause?”

“We moved.”

“Turns out Mr. Symonds was right,” I said, remembering Max the New Boss from Hell.

“Everyone fired had a history of incompetence or misconduct.”

“Not everyone,” I qualified.

“Technically you were promoted.”

I arched a brow. “Is that how you see it?”

“Yes, I do. It’s the only way I could live with myself.” He winked at me, flashing his sexiest smile. “My God, you’re stunning.”

“Nicely done,” I said, turning my head to the side. He was a bastard, but a charming, extremely good-looking one.

The waitress took our orders and refilled our glasses. Once the entrées arrived, the conversation turned to the antics of Max and his friends in college, the night he met Sophie, and how he began his empire. He didn’t speak about family other than Peaches, and he didn’t seem to have many friends besides John.

“You never said,” I started, too late thinking better of it.

“What’s that?” he asked, signing the check.

“Your parents’ names.”

He put his wallet inside his inner jacket pocket. “I skipped over that part on purpose.”

“I thought so.”

He cleared his throat. “Maxwell and Sophia.”

“You’re joking.”

“No,” he said with a chuckle. “I wish I were.”

We walked together to the entrance of the restaurant, Max holding my hand firmly in his. His hands were so much bigger than mine, his fingers so much longer; it was oddly comforting. We waited for less than a minute before the valet pulled up in Max’s Bentley.

Max waited until I was seated, and then he tipped the young man in the red jacket, sliding behind the wheel. He pulled on the shifter and revved the engine, sending my head back against the head rest when he took off. I giggled, and he headed toward the highway, using his steering wheel to choose a song. When the right one came on, he relaxed, sinking back against his seat. He intertwined his hand in mine, rubbing his thumb along my index finger.