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Max grinned a little at that. “She’s just looking after me. I’m not–”
“Yeah, yeah,” Kate said, waving her off. “If Lola is taking you under her wing, you’re basically her daughter now. So deal with it.”
Max’s cheeks went red. I met her eye and gave a little smile, which she returned.
“Next,” Kate said, tone all business. “If you had kept me in the loop, I would’ve told your stubborn ass to get it out of the way and tie up your loose ends here. Bring me with you and we’ll talk to Brian, Chastity, Serena, Jacob, and all those idiots. Then we’ll talk to your parents. And then you’ll take your ass back to Colorado and leave what happened here where it belongs. In the past. And you’ll give me your address so I can fly out to visit you every chance I get.”
I bit my lip, smiling, even though my stomach was turning at the idea of doing everything she said. “What would I even say to them?” I asked.
“You don’t think about that part. Just invite them somewhere like a coffee shop. Have them sit down, and the words will come to you. I promise you that.”
I groaned. “Do I have to?”
“Yes. You know you do.”
“She’s right,” Max said. She’d been playing on her phone for the last few minutes, but she was looking at me now. “You’ll feel better if you get it over with.”
“Okay, okay,” I said. “But I need a drink first. Do you have anything a little stronger than hot chocolate?”
“Girl, you know I do. But you don’t get to be drunk for this. That’s cheating. The most I’ll allow is tipsy.”
40
CHRISTIAN
I watched the clouds float by the window, not even bothering to pop my ears. Everything sounded fuzzy and distant, just like I felt.
I’d broken things off with Lola six hours ago. I’d spent nearly every minute since then replaying those last moments in the apartment, wondering if I could’ve somehow softened the blow and made her hurt less. Could I have slipped her a note after it was over? Could I have tried to find her after she left the building and told her the truth, but asked her to keep acting like things were really over?
But I’d decided this wasn’t just for show, hadn’t I? The end was coming at some point, so I’d be a selfish asshole to put her through all this twice. It was better this way. I had to believe that. I’d go back to focusing on my business once this Luco shit was through and she could get on with her life, preferably single and chaste, because I wasn’t certain I would be able to stop myself from killing any jackass who put his hands on her.
“Would you like a drink, sir?”
I waved the woman off. Part of me did want that drink. I wanted to drown out the feelings swirling in my chest, but I deserved all of them. I’d made Max and Lola feel far worse. The least I could do was suffer my own pain and not try to numb it.
I tried to distract myself by running through the plan Perry had outlined, but my thoughts kept drifting back to Lola and Max.
I kept seeing the way she smiled when she was embarrassed and how her cheeks would color just the slightest shade of red. I thought about how excited she was to try new things, or how she always seemed to have an hour’s worth of observations to unload after we went somewhere together. She’d talk about how it was cracking her up that the waiter had a huge nose hair sticking out or that the Broadway show was good, but she knew she must have terrible taste because she’d rather watch Highschool Musical again.
Being with Lola felt normal. It felt right. I’d told myself for the longest time that I was well past normal. The last few times I’d tried dating before Lola had only confirmed my suspicions. Women acted like they were auditioning–like they either wanted the status of being my partner or they wanted a taste of the lifestyle my money could bring. It was like planning a fucking business transaction. Some of them had their own successful careers and wanted to date a man who could understand they would never be able to give all of themselves. Others just wanted to hop on for the ride. Nobody seemed to give a shit about whether we had a connection.
But I’d found that connection in the last place I expected, and six hours ago, I just tore it apart at the seams.
I closed my eyes, letting my head roll back to rest against the seat. I’d even fucked up Max in the process. It was bad enough that my brother had let her down by getting tossed in jail. Now I’d tried to step in to help and only wound up making things worse. But maybe once a few days passed, Lola and Max would realize they were better off.
