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“Darling, are you sure you’re okay?” Gracie asked her.
“I’m fine. Just a little tired. I’ll call later.” With that, she turned to walk away. It was then she realized she was faced with a problem. She had to pass right by them, there was no other way unless she was going to use the service entrance and that wouldn’t do.
Taking a deep breath and lifting her head high, she called on her training as a debutante and sailed gracefully past the table.
She could hardly wait for the valet to bring around her car and when he did, she sat behind the wheel and took several deep breaths. Was he seeing her? The painful jealousy had her seeing red. What was he doing with her? How could he be with her in public after the two days they just spent together?
She didn’t care if she was being unreasonable. The least he could have done was to come over and say hello. Just that, a simple hello. The bitch had been touching him. Alessia had wanted to march right over and yank her hair out from the roots. He was her man! Fighting the tears, she made her way out into traffic.
It was almost two in the afternoon, but it seemed as if everyone had decided to slip out for lunch. Touching the button on her steering wheel, she contemplated calling him but decided against it. She wasn’t going to portray a desperate female. She was better than that.
*****
He couldn’t concentrate on the lunch. Of all the fricking restaurants in town, it had to be the one she was at. He’d felt her presence even before he looked up and saw her. The suspicion and hurt on her beautiful face had twisted him up inside.
When she’d walked past, he’d wanted to jump up and stop her and alleviate her suspicions, but he wasn’t able to do any of that.
"Maxwell."
Shaking himself mentally, he focused on the woman sat across from him. "Yes?"
"If I lacked confidence, I’d be feeling insecure now." She stared at him curiously. "Your mood has gone to hell."
He smiled slightly, his admiration of her rising several notches. Annie Grayson was a straight-shooter unlike most people in her profession.
She was beautiful and poised and, at one point, they’d fooled around, thinking it’d go further, but the spark had died after only a few weeks, yet they remained friends. When she’d called asking to meet him, he hadn’t hesitated even though he’d been rushing out of a meeting.
"Something like that."
"Does it by any chance have anything to do with that exquisite young woman who swept past our table after glaring at me?"
"How did you know?"
"I saw the way you looked at her when we came in. There’s something there."
"Something that has to remain between us."
"Okay." Reaching for her glass of white wine, she gave him a curious stare.
"It's complicated." He said.
"If I’m going to keep this to myself, I want details."
He gave her a wry look before reaching for his drink. "Her old man would send me packing if I showed up at her doorstep."
"I see." Annie rubbed the tip of her index finger over the rim of the glass. "He doesn’t approve of your shady background."
"Something like that." His mouth twisted bitterly. "She’s his princess and doesn‘t want her soiled."
"She doesn’t have the guts to tell him that she’s an adult and can do what she wants?"
The words loosened the knot inside his chest and he smiled gratefully. "She loves him."
"Does she love you?"
"Yeah. I think she does. I’ve fallen hard for her."
“That has to be the case. The Maxwell I know would never agree to anything like that."
