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“Oh Brian, listen. It’s over. I never want to see you again, do you understand? I don’t belong to you. It’s over. You need to get some help and get over this. You have a kid to take care of now. Someone else’s kid. That’s the life you’ve chosen. Just go.”
The officer bundled Brian into the police car and after asking her and Max a few more questions, they drove off.
Max and April stood in the parking lot watching as they drove away. “I’m sorry to get you involved in all that,” said April.
“Better safe than sorry,” said Max.
“I still don’t get it,” said April. “How did he know where I was? Last night. Today. It doesn’t make any sense. He said something about it being the twenty-first century and being able to track just about anyone.”
“Maybe he tracked your phone. It’s pretty simple to do. Here,” he held out his hand and April handed it to him. Max quickly disabled the GPRS and handed it back to her. “That should take care of that. Do you have somewhere safe to go?”
April shrugged. “Not really.”
“Come on,” he said, “Get your things.”
***
Max lived alone on a ranch just a little further out of town. A massive estate looked out over miles of rolling hills, lush forest and a jagged line of mountains along the horizon.
“Why do you live all the way out here?” said April. “I mean, it’s beautiful and all, but doesn’t it get lonely?”
“When you spend all your time in busy restaurants and nightclubs, this place is like a lip balm for your soul. Nothing quite as refreshing as spending a summer evening under the stars, or waking up with fresh winter air in your lungs. Also it’s nice and tucked away. You’ll be safe here until things with Brian are sorted out.”
“But how can I repay you? I mean this is all too generous.”
“Think of it as a halfway house,” said Max. “Halfway between your old life and the new one of your choosing.”
7
April found herself living a sort of waking fantasy in the weeks that followed. Max would often take her for dinner at his restaurants around the city where they were treated like king and queen. When his eyes met hers from across the tables, she wondered if it was his intention to make her feel as loved and wanted as he did or if she was simply reading into his generosity something that wasn't there.
On one such evening, as they arrived home to the ranch, she had told goodnight and was just about to retire to her bedroom when he stopped her.
“April,” he said.
“Yes?”
“April, I—” He paused, chewing his lip, seeming to think over what was on his mind. “I just wanted to say, that I really enjoy spending time with you.”
She smiled at him. “I really enjoy spending time with you too, Max.” There had been a moment where he had seemed like he had something else to say, but then he turned away. “Goodnight,” he said.
***
In the bedroom Max had set aside for her, she lay in bed for a long while thinking things over. There was no doubt about it, her feelings for Max had blossomed beyond friendship, but she couldn’t put her finger on his feelings for her. She didn’t want to rush things, between them either and yet, how long could they keep living under the same roof without the tension between them becoming too much to bear? Or perhaps his silence on the matter was simply a sign that her feelings were simply not reciprocated and that she should do her best to be out of his hair as soon as possible.
She dreamed of lying next to him, of finally letting him know how she felt about the strong, handsome stranger she had come to know and—dare she say it—love. Not just love, like a best friend or a sibling, a deep aching love that made her feel as if she were drowning in his magnetic presence.
***
One evening, Max offered to have her friends Marisa and Tracey over for dinner at the house. “I’ll be out of your hair, of course,” said Max.
“Why don’t you stay? They’d love to meet you,” said April. “We can do it on a night you have off.”
“Well,” said Max, looking pleased. “That evening you were at the club, my business associates and I were in the process of hiring new managers. Men that we could trust. Technically, I’m off unless I’m absolutely needed.”
“That’s great!” said April, “Why don’t we do it tonight?”
She called up Marisa and Tracey and they were more than pleased to spend the evening with them. April and Max prepared the food together and by the time Marisa and Tracey arrived, the house smelled like a gourmet restaurant. Max, it turned out was not just the owner of restaurants, but an excellent chef as well.
