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“I have admitted to myself that I like him, I just—” I shake my head. “I don’t—”
“You’re scared.” She lifts her glass out towards me. “Welcome to my world. Honestly, I will be the first to admit that the idea of falling in love with someone and starting a life with them scared the shi—” she glances at Malia, “bejesus out of me and let’s not even talk about having a baby. I was so sure I was definitely not ready for that. But now that I have Malia and Maxim, I can’t imagine my life without either of them.
“I love that for you,” I tell her softly, then turn when I hear the sliding glass door in the kitchen open.
“I stayed out as long as I could because I could tell there was some serious girl-talk happening.” Maxim walks in, holding a tray of food.
April laughs then accepts a kiss from him as he comes to stand next to her and places the tray on the counter.
“Hey, Willow.”
I smile. “Hey.”
“We were just talking about men and how crazy you make us,” April informs him.
“Yeah, I figured that’s what it was.” He lifts her glass of wine from her hand and takes a sip. “So, who is this guy? Is it the hockey player you were dating?”
“No, not Brodie.” I shake my head and leave out what happened with him because I don’t need anyone else telling me that I shouldn’t have befriended him after I broke things off. “His name is Clay.”
“Clay.” Maxim tips his head to the side as he stares at me. “What’s his last name?”
“Raven.” I tell him something that I just learned this morning. Really, I’m sure that April would think that I was ridiculous right now if I told her that information. Or if I told her that I don’t even really know what he wants from me besides “me in his bed” as he so rudely put it. Lord, maybe I need to stop overthinking this, because for all I know all he wanted was to get in my pants and when he saw that wasn’t going to happen, he cut his losses.
“That’s a unique name,” Maxim states sounding odd.
“It is.” April agrees then asks. “Do you know him?”
“I don’t believe so.” He turns away and she frowns at his back.
“Why do I think you’re lying?” she asks him.
“Why would I lie?” he returns, going to the oven and opening it up to pull out what I’m guessing are potatoes wrapped in foil.
“I don’t know.” Her eyes widen as she asks. “He’s not a bad—”
“No.” He shakes his head.
“Drugs?”
“No.” He repeats.
I frown at the two of them, trying to figure out what the heck it is they are talking about, because I’m so lost.
“Then what?” she asks.
He glances at me. “How well do you know him?”
“Not well. I know he has brothers, has money and is in construction or property, honestly, I don’t know much.”
“Fuck,” he mutters.
My brows dart together. “Do you know him?”
“Not personally, but my family is aware of him.”
“And that means?” I ask as April freezes in place.
“I don’t think I should be the one telling you his secrets,” he says, and something about his tone causes the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end.
“She’s not in danger because of him, is she?” April asks, sounding freaked.
Her reaction totally freaks me out.
“No,” he says instantly, sounding beyond sure. “Let’s just say that if he is who I think he is, she’s never been safer and will never be safer than when she’s with him.”
“Okay, that’s good.” April nods, wrapping her arms around her middle, then she looks at me. “That’s good right?”
“Who is he?” I ask as my heart starts to beat funny and my palms start to sweat. Knowing what I know of Maxim and his family, there can only be a few reasons why he said that his family is aware of Clay. Not friends with him—but aware of him. And although I don’t know what that means exactly or how I should feel about it, something tells me that Clay is someone who lives in that grey space between good and bad—a man who looks like he was born to be on the back of a motorcycle, or dressed in a suit at the front of a boardroom.
“He’ll have to be the one to give you that information,” he tells me.
Just by the look in Maxim’s eyes, I know that he is not going to budge. So, whoever Clay is and whatever his story, it isn’t something I’m not going to learn tonight, or maybe ever for that matter.
Chapter 10
Willow
PARKED OUTSIDE OF the apartment building where Carly lives, I stare at her car then look at her door, as I try to figure out my next move. For the last three days I’ve sent her texts, called her number, and got nothing in response, and as of yesterday her phone was off and going right to voicemail. That worried me, but now I’m totally freaking out, because this evening before I was leaving work, Katy stopped by my office to let me know that Carly sent in a letter of resignation that was effective immediately without an explanation as to why she was quitting.
