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“Huh.” I sit back in my chair, considering her words. “That’s a good point. Remind me to send Howie a thank-you card—even if, in this one instance, it might have been more useful to everyone involved if he’d buckled under pressure.”
“Yeah, but how was he supposed to know? He probably thought your Russian was a crazy stalker you quit to run away from.”
“You’re really smart at three o’clock in the morning,” I observe playfully.
“And half a bottle of wine in,” she adds, lifting the nearly empty one sitting between us.
I shake my head, chuckling softly at my best friend. “Anyway, Maks offered me another deal—five hundred thousand to spend a few weeks with him.”
“That’s a joke,” she states flatly, then her brows arch as I shake my head.
“No, apparently, someone killed his fiancée, so Maks doesn’t do love anymore. He pays women to stay with him, and when he’s done with them, he sends them on their way.” When I say it like that, it sounds even more horrible.
“Please tell me you didn’t take that deal. You don’t need the money, and youdefinitelydon’t need that kind of crazy in your life.”
“I didn’t,” I agree, and Zoe visibly relaxes. “But we did have sex. Twice.”
If jaws could literally hit the floor, my best friend’s would have right then and there.
“Oh, come on! You’re the one who told me I needed to get laid. And let me tell you just how right you were. Besides, if I’m being perfectly honest, Maks is a god in bed.”
“So you slept with the father of your child—again—and didn’t think to tell him you have a kid together?”
“No, I thought about it. And believe me, it’s still plaguing me now. I don’t know how long I can keep seeing him if I’mnotgoing to tell him—”
“Come again?” Zoe sits forward in her chair, placing a hand on the table. “You’re going to see him again?”
“Well... yeah. We agreed on sex with no strings attached. Both just having fun. I told him I wouldn’t take the money, and he conceded to that. But he was pretty pissed when I told him I wouldn’t move in with him or have his bodyguards following me around. I mean, I have clients to think about, and that would be far too confusing for Sarah—”
“Whoa, hold up. He wanted you to move in with him? And have bodyguards?”
I hesitate, wondering if I’ve made Maks sound way crazier than he’d seemed to me at the time. He did a far better job of conveying the significance of his choices than I seem to be doing.
“He said it was for my protection because he has enemies, and I think, he doesn’t want another girl he sleeps with to end up dead because of him.”
Zoe remains silent this time, taking a drink from her wine rather than offering up commentary.
“Anyway, we came to a compromise in which he’ll have someone pick me up here on nights I come over for a bit of fun. And that’s all it is, Zoe. But that’s why I didn’t tell him about Sarah. All in all, Maks is a lot of fun to be around, but I don’t think it would be healthy to bring him into Sarah’s life when he doesn’t want to make attachments with anyone. What kind of a father would that be to her? I can’t imagine growing up with an emotionally unavailable father would be better than just not knowing him at all. At least now, she won’t feel that distance and think it’s something she’s done wrong.”
Still, I worry my lip, then take a drink of wine as I wonder whether I made the right call.
“Well? What do you think?” I ask after a long moment of silence.
Zoe twists her lips in that expression that tells me she’s trying to pick her words carefully.
“Oh, just spit it out,” I insist, leaning forward.
“Okay, fine. For starters, I can totally get behind the idea of not telling him about Sarah. You’re right. You don’t want some random man coming in and insisting on being a part of her life if he doesn’t care to form connections with people. And Iamproud of you for getting some with a guy that hot. I mean, I know you told me he was old enough to be your father, but damn, that guy is a work of art...” She pauses there, her expression growing dreamy, as if picturing him in her mind’s eye.
“Is that it?” I press when I can’t wait any longer.
Zoe seems to snap out of her revere with an apologetic grin. “I’m just worried about what might happen in the long run. It sounds like this guy is a bit of a control freak, if not a dangerous person. I mean, saying he has enemies? People who hate him enough that maybe they killed his fiancée? Who says stuff like that?”
“Okay, I hear what you’re saying, but we agreed that either of us can call it quits at any point. So, what’s the harm in giving it a try? I’m just dipping my toe in, and if he puts me—or you or Sarah—at any risk at all, I’ll end it.” Funny, but usually, I’m the responsible one giving Zoe the mom look she has leveled at me right now. It’s strange to have the shoe on the other foot.
Finally, Zoe sighs. “I can’t say I like it—I mean, apart from your having some fun. I do like that part. But if this is really what you want to do, then I’ll do what I can to support you. Just... promise me you’ll be careful?”
“I will,” I assure her, reaching across the table to give her hand a squeeze. “And seriously, Maks is not as bad as I’m making him sound. He knows how to put it so it makes a lot more sense.”
