Maximo is an island of calm and composure through it all, issuing clipped orders to the contractor overseeing the repairs. He escorts me upstairs to his room and changes while I linger in the shower.
I lose track of time with my forehead pressed to the tile, water beating on the back of my skull like it can wash the day off me, so I startle when Maximo opens the glass door to peek in and check on me.
“Are you all right in there, Constance?” he asks.
“My head is throbbing. The heat and the pressure from the shower seem to help a little,” I reply.
“It’s too loud here with everything going on. I can still hear the construction up here through the walls. I’ll repack our bags with some fresh clothes and get us a room back at the hotel. How does that sound?”
“Could we?” I brush my sodden hair back from my face as I turn to him and put my back into the shower spray. Maximo’s eyes linger over my body as he nods.
“I’ll make the call now and get a reservation, then get our things together. You take all the time you need and just meet me downstairs when you’re ready. I’ll leave the suitcase out on the bed so you can throw in anything you want to take for the next couple of days.”
I give him a grateful smile and nod as I lean my head into the shower spray to slick back my hair. Maximo’s gaze lingers on me and despite my headache I feel a coil of desire rising through my belly. “Save it for the hotel,” I tease him as I pull my hair over my shoulder and wring the water out.
“I’ll have some food sent to the room for when we arrive. Eating will help you feel better,” Maximo says as I turnoff the shower and he hands me a towel. He leaves me alone in the bathroom to get dressed and a moment later I hear him calling to make all the arrangements.
I stand there dripping wet with the towel clutched to my chest, still struggling to breathe with the anxiety of my secret. The stitches in my arm sting as I begin drying myself off, reminding me of how dangerous my time with Maximo has been so far. He’s already told me he’s falling in love with me, and I can’t deny I feel the same. But am I really ready to have his child? To tie myself, and someone innocent, to this world for good?
Those aren’t the right now questions, I remind myself. Maximo has done nothing but help me, not just with rebuilding my father’s restaurant, but with getting revenge for his death. I would be a mess without him in my life right now.
“But you’re also a mess with him,” I mutter to my reflection in the full-length mirror hanging on the wall. My arm and my side are an ugly mass of bruising, and the bags under my eyes speak to my exhaustion. I shake my head to try to clear the dark thoughts and begin working on my make-up.
When I step out of the bathroom wearing the white bathrobe that I’ve loved since my first night at the estate, Maximo is just coming back into the bedroom. He’s holding a silver tray with a pitcher of ice water and two glasses, along with a bottle of Ibuprofen. “I brought you something for your headache. All we had in the cabinet was the Ibuprofen the doctor had prescribed, but it’s a heavy dose and should help.”
I almost reach for the bottle before I catch myself. I have no idea what’s safe when you’re pregnant, and I’m not risking anything before a doctor tells me otherwise.
“I’m feeling better now,” I lie. “I will take a glass of water. Thank you.”
I down the glass in three long pulls and actually do feel a bitbetter after rehydrating. I go over to the closet to find something to put on. Thankfully, Maximo had ordered someone to bring all the clothes he brought me into his room. I pull out clean underwear from a drawer and a knee-length black dress. I slip on a pair of flats and then grab some other clothes to throw in the overnight bag. The entire time I’m getting dressed Maximo lingers in the closet doorway, admiring the view or making sure I don’t have a breakdown.
Once we finish repacking our bags, we stop downstairs to speak to Leonard. “Are you sure you’re up for keeping an eye on the place?” Maximo asks him.
“Yes,” Leonard answers with a weary smile. “Your mother will be dropping by with dinner later, along with Cindy and my granddaughter Kayla. I’ll be fine.”
“If you need anything, just call my cell.” Maximo hugs his uncle, then I embrace him as well.
“Thank you for everything, Leonard. I’m so sorry about Enzo.”
“Thank you again for putting that dog Kirill down,” he replies. “He deserved worse for what he’s done to both our families but seeing him lying there in the dirt helped ease the weight on my old heart.”
“She did well,” Maximo agrees as he lifts our luggage and then makes his way over to the door. “Come on. Let’s go somewhere we can actually breathe for a few days.”
Maximo loads our things back into the Escalade we took to the meeting at the junkyard, then drives us into the city. Within an hour we’re back at the hotel, sealed away in a cocoon of silence and cool air.
Room service has already left a cart loaded with trays of steak, salmon, and baked potatoes.
I didn’t think I was hungry until the smell hits me; then I’m digging into a plate before I can talk myself out of it.
Maximo is more reserved, sitting across from me and smiling as he cuts his steak and lets his eyes linger on me. I recognize the hunger in his glance, and it isn’t for the food on his plate. But I’m just not in the mood for intimacy right now. I still return his smile as I finish my meal, then go into the bathroom to brush my teeth.
As soon as I step back into the bedroom he’s there, chest bare, wrapping me in his arms. As he kisses his way down my neck, I cautiously ask him, “Could you just hold me for a little while?”
Maximo freezes and steps back to look at my face without letting me go. “Of course, firefly. I’ll hold you anytime you want me to.”
We lay tangled in the white sheets for half an hour, my cheek pressed to the curve of his chest, listening to the steady thrum of his heart.
His breathing slows and steadies as he falls asleep beside me. I feel safe and warm with Maximo, but as I try to settle my mind in the quiet, my doubts begin to creep back in.
