Landlord Wars(71)

“I know, sweetheart.” She patted my hand, her eyes red, tears spilling over. “It’s hard for me, you know? But I understand.”

My mom sank her head back onto the pillow and stared blankly at the ceiling. “I had hoped I could do it on my own. But I just can’t bring myself to get rid of anything.” She lifted her head and looked at me. “I don’t want to be there when you move it out, okay, honey?”

“I’ll make sure you’re kept busy.” I didn’t know how I’d keep my mom away from the house without her panicking and racing over to rescue everything, but having her stay with me was a good start.

I rose and kissed her cheek. “I’m going to grab a cup of coffee. You need anything?”

She smiled and closed her eyes. “Nothing for me. I’ll just rest a bit. All this lying around is tiring.”

I smiled. Thank goodness she still had her sense of humor.

Head bent, pondering exactly how I’d orchestrate the packing of a hoarder house, I walked out of my mom’s room and nearly ran into Max holding a massive bouquet of violets and yellow roses.

We stood awkwardly just outside my mom’s hospital room.

“Hey,” he said, jamming a hand in his jeans pocket. “How’s your mom?”

The blue eyes I’d thought cold when I met him were all warmth, and they drew me in the way they always had. But there was too much on my plate. Even if my instinct was to run into Max’s arms, I refused to be a part of his world, where they treated me like garbage.

I glanced down and plucked at my skirt, avoiding his eyes. “Better, thank you. She’ll go home tomorrow.” I hesitated, then said, “Thank you. For getting her such good care. I couldn’t have managed it on my own.”

He looked away as though frustrated. “Sophia, I want to be here for you and your family. Always.”

His expression was sincere. I believed him. But it didn’t matter how much I cared about Max. Or even how much he cared for me. I couldn’t be with a man whose entire world didn’t accept me.

Who I was and where I’d come from would never change. My mother might get better, but she’d always be a poor, widowed woman from the Sunset District. These things were fundamental.

And then something occurred to me, and my spine straightened as I remembered the list of rules Max had shoved under the door after I moved in. I didn’t know where things stood with us. Didn’t know where I wanted them to stand. But I wasn’t putting up with any bullshit. I’d already cleared things with Jack.

“My mom is staying with me while she recovers. Jack offered his room, but I told him my mom will sleep in my room with me.”

He nodded thoughtfully.

“I need to get her house cleared out, and it could take more than a week… You don’t have any rules you want to throw at me about overnight guests, do you?”

His mouth turned down. “Are you trying to torture me? I was being an ass when I gave you that list, but I thought we’d moved past that. I want to be with you. What happened at the ball was horrible, and I’ll forever be sorry for my mother’s actions and how I handled things leading up to that moment.”

He glanced down, and when he looked up, I realized how tired he appeared—there were two days of stubble on his jaw, and he was wearing jeans and a long-sleeve Henley instead of his usual dress slacks or suit. Even his hair appeared disheveled. Though I always liked that look on him. Still, this wasn’t like Max.

“I love you, Sophia,” he said, closing his eyes briefly. “I made a mistake in not telling my parents about us sooner, and I wish I could go back and do things differently.”

My heart raced at his words, and the urge to go to him was strong.

Keep it together, I told myself. Don’t be weakened by a remorseful man. Only this felt genuine…

My emotional reserves were tapped, but I couldn’t back down. His family… I couldn’t forget how they’d treated me. I did not deserve it. Not ever again. I’d promised myself that Paul would be the last man who rejected me as unworthy. In this case, it was Max’s family, but was there a difference?

The only problem was, I loved Max, and though I’d cared deeply for Paul, I realized now that I was never in love with him.

Maybe Paul had known I didn’t love him the way he’d loved me, and he’d used my mother as an excuse. I didn’t know. Either way, the situation with Max was different, and even I could admit that.

“I spoke to my parents and Gwen,” he said. “Gwen agreed to tell her friends there is no engagement.” His mouth twisted as though he were frustrated. “She wanted to say it had been called off, but I refused, and she agreed to explain there was never any engagement.”

He’d shown up at the hospital that night and said as much. “Does it matter? No one will believe you’re dating me. I ran into my ex at the ball, and even he didn’t believe it.”

The skin around Max’s eyes tightened. “I don’t care what your douchebag ex-boyfriend thinks. I also don’t care what my parents and their social circles think. I care what you think, and the rest of them can hang.”

He stepped closer, but he didn’t reach for me. “Family is important, but I won’t stand for disrespect toward my friends, and especially not toward the woman I love.”