Gina is next to him, pointing toward us. She gives us a smile and a wave.
“That’s my father,” Max says in a flat tone.
As mad as I am at Max right now, I’m more caught up in the situation. “Did he know you would be here?”
“I’m sure his right-hand man, Hoffman, had me tracked.”
Shaking my head, I say, “And Gina thought she was helping by pointing you out.”
Max’s eyes narrow as he stares out at the sand. The man walks closer, but he looks like an executioner heading to a jail cell.
“Maximus, it’s time to go.” The man’s accent is stronger than anything I’ve heard from Max.
I don’t know why I stay or why I speak when it’s not my problem. Maybe I’ve stayed quiet for too long and I can’t do it anymore.
“He obviously doesn’t want to go with you,” I say. “So stop treating him like he just got expelled from school and let him be.”
Mr. Bauer turns his attention to me, looking at me as though I were a bug needing to be stepped on. “This is a family affair. I suggest you leave this conversation, now.”
Max pushes in front of me, putting me behind him. “Don’t talk to her like that.”
Mr. Bauer gives a pitying smile. “You don’t belong here, Max. You belong in New York.”
Shaking his head, Max says, “And here.”
“You can use this run-down place as a vacation, somewhereto come for a few days, but Victoria is going to want to invite people to the lake house or to the Maldives.”
I blink a few times, trying to wrap my head around the amount of money involved in that sentence alone.
“Victoria isn’t going to be in my life in that way.”
My phone buzzes with a text, and I see Cora’s name on the screen.
Cora
I know it’s late notice, but I just landed at the airport. Any chance you’re free to give me a ride to the apartment?
I’ll be right there.
I’m not sure if I should say goodbye or just leave. The conversation has only gotten more tense, and I need to debrief, hopefully with my sister.
We can laugh and cry and chalk this up to a weird fling, where he held my hand and gave me a discount on rent.
He’s a billionaire.
Yeah, from the amount of fighting with his father, I doubt I’d even be accepted.
Then again, I was never in line to be his wife.
I just wish my heart would stop acting like that mattered less than it suddenly does.
35
MAX
“Where is your bag? You can get it and ride in the car with me. I’ve got the jet at the closest airport.”
I barely hear what Wolfgang says as I watch the direction Avery went long after she disappeared.
