Unravel(33)

“I can promise you I won’t regret a single thing.”

“You’re not in control right now and you know that.”

Max looked away. He knew I was right.

I leaned against the wall. “I think,” I started out slowly, “that you should just take a deep breath and think.”

“You’re afraid.”

He had no idea how afraid I was. I looked past Max, a faraway look in my eyes and I saw Lana hugging her knees to her chest and sobbing in the barn. I nodded.

“I am.”

His eyes closed, and when they opened, some of that anger was gone. “Come here.”

I pushed myself away from the wall. He enveloped me into his arms and held me tightly and kissed the top of my head. I closed my eyes. “I won’t talk to Michael today,” he said into my hair. “But I will talk to him.”

That’s what I was afraid of.

I sighed before I pulled away. Some of his anger had faded but there was a spark of determination in his eyes. I may have stopped him today, but tomorrow was a whole other story.

“Will you be able to come with me tomorrow night?”

He stared at me blankly, totally caught off guard by my question.

“It’s a party,” I elaborated. “I want you to come with me. I told my parents I’d go months ago.”

“I’ll be there,” Max said.

“Good,” I said with relief. I chewed on my bottom lip, knowing I had to tell him the rest. “But… he’ll be there.”

All that anger from earlier reappeared in his eyes within seconds. We both knew who he was.

“He’s going?” Max asked.

“Yes,” I confirmed.

“And you’re going,” he said grimly.

I nodded.

“Can I trust you not to… do anything?” I asked cautiously.

“Yes,” Max bit out. His lips were pulled into a grimace, as if saying yes was causing him physical pain.

“I don’t know if I believe you.”

I knew I couldn’t avoid Lana’s dad forever. It was unavoidable. A large part of me wanted to see him. I was dying to look him straight in the eye and tell him that I knew everything he had done. And that other part was terrified. But Max was a whole different subject.

“You’re making me nervous,” I said.

“Relax,” Max replied. He gave me a smile that never reached his eyes. “I’ll be a f*cking boy scout. I won’t do a damn thing,” he said and walked to the door.

This time, I didn’t try to stop him.

His hand gripped the knob as he looked back at me. Our eyes connected at the same time. And maybe my eyes showed my pain, my worries, my fear, because he walked back to me and cupped my face in his hands. I tilted my head back to look at him.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” he whispered.

I nodded. It was all I could do.

Max kissed my forehead and walked out the door.

The door shut with a click. I slumped against it and closed my eyes.



13—STAIRWAY

There was a group of men around Max. One of those men was incredibly drunk, incredibly loud, and incredibly annoying. He wouldn’t stop talking.

“…And you know what I said? I said, ‘Ridiculous!’” The drunk man’s hand landed firmly on Max’s shoulder. “My stockbroker here wouldn’t steer me the wrong way! He has a sharp eye. Goes in for the kill and makes the buy when the market’s right! He has a sense for these kinds of things. And my bank account thanks him for it!” The man laughed and his whiskey breath drifted my way.

I kept smiling but turned away and made a face over my shoulder and took a sip of my drink. It was my third glass of wine. And all my worries and fears over seeing Lana’s dad started to weaken. We had been here over an hour and hadn’t seen Lana’s parents yet.

This party was in sharp contrast to the one Max hosted. This one was inside a ballroom with crystal chandeliers hanging above us and polished, granite floors below us. Men in tuxes with black bow ties. Women in haute couture gowns in bold colors. I missed the grandiose memo though and went with a white, cashmere top with a keyhole in the front, paired with a fitted black skirt that grazed the floor.

The drunk man’s laughter died down. Max smoothly disengaged himself from the group of men. “If you fellas will excuse me, I need to go back to this beautiful creature,” his hand curved around my hip, “before someone steals her from me.”

As we walked away, I leaned close and said, “Are you real?”

Max winked at me. “I’m as real as it gets.”

“I swear everyone in this room loves you.”

“They love the money I can make them,” he replied.

“No. I think you’ve cast a spell on them. All I’ve heard are praises of you. And the women are looking at me like I’m public enemy number one and must be executed instantly.”

Max raised his brows.

“Don’t believe me? Let me show you how your night would be if I weren’t here,” I said.

I walked away and turned back in Max’s direction. He looked at me with amusement. My smile was wicked. Naomi who? I was in character. I was a determined woman on the prowl. I walked forward—my steps confident—and bumped into his shoulder.