AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He always enjoyed risk-taking adventure trips on his days off. Truthfully, I’m a bit relieved that he’s going to leave immediately. It will make my life easier for a few days, give me space to get used to this situation.
“I’ll catch up with you in Austin.”
“No.” Max shakes his head. “I’ll stay here and skip the surf trip. I can do that any time.”
He says this right as I take a sip, and I’m so shocked that I nearly spray water all over his chest. Instead, I swallow-cough, and Max leans in. “You okay?”
“Definitely. Yes. Very okay,” I stammer between coughs. He’s so close that I can smell his cologne now. The scent is exactly the same as when we were together, an airy and crisp smell, like ozone in the air after a lightning strike mixed with freshly cut grass with a hint of masculine musk.
I hold up my hand as I take a half step back, needing distance from his touch. From him. “You don’t have to stay here. You should go to Costa Rica.”
“I wouldn’t feel right.” He shakes his head. “I need to be here for Adrian when he comes out of surgery. I’m the senior driver on this team and would like to see him. If that’s okay with you.”
The plastic crackles under the grasp of my fingers. “Let’s see how he does in surgery today.”
“If you’re going to be in charge, we need to talk about the next few races. You need my impressions of the team and of the upcoming race. We have a lot to discuss.”
Like us? Are we going to finally discuss how we ended?I don’t ask this, but the question hangs in the air as we stare into each other’s eyes. The air between us is charged with a jumble of emotions, at least on my end. Regret, desire, fear—they’re all racing through my veins, causing my heart to thrash wildly in my chest.
And he’s probably feeling absolutely nothing.
There’s a reason the press calls him the Iceman.
Naturally, Max breaks eye contact first, to check his Rolex. I remember when he first was sponsored by the company and how excited he’d been when he’d gotten his first free timepiece. He’d slipped it on my wrist and then proceeded to take off my clothes, saying he wanted to admire two beautiful things at once.
He’d always made me feel like I was the most gorgeous woman in the world. Even though I knew the truth; that I was plain, regular, basic. Max never bought into my insecurities.
I fan my face with my hand. He’s still entirely too handsome, with his rumpled, golden curls, that mouth with the perfect Cupid’s bow upper lip, that straight, aquiline nose.
I can’t help but remember the way it felt when his lips brushed against mine, soft and gentle at first, then harder, insistent. The way his mouth tasted unexpectedly of wintergreen. The way his hands felt on my skin, rough and calloused from working on cars but somehow gentle too.
What would it be like to feel those hands on me again?
“Talk?” My face contorts into a grimace. Maybe I didn’t hear him correctly. It is loud in here.
“Yes. Talk. We need to talk.” His glance is edging into glare territory, and I’m not fully sure why. “Let’s say nine at the Setai hotel bar, the one by the pool?”
It’s been seven years since I’ve been to the Setai bar. It’s where Max and I had our first real conversation. We’d spent hours talking in a cabana next to the pool one night after a long day of promotion. One thing led to another, and after two mojitos, I followed him to his room. Because of that evening, I’ve always associated mojitos, cabanas, and palm trees with heady, unbridled lust.
I simply cannot allow those memories to interfere with the issues at hand. I try to compose myself, but I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks.Crap. He probably wants to ask me about the game company scandal. I press my lips together to form a smile.
“That’s great. Nine. Papa should be out of surgery by then.” At least I hope he is.
Max doesn’t say anything, just bobs his head up and down. Then he turns without saying good-bye, leaving me breathless and puzzled and feeling way off kilter.
This leaves me four hours to not only worry about my father but ruminate over what Max wants to discuss during a private meeting at a swanky South Beach bar.
Chapter Six
LILY
“Crap, crap, crap.”
I shove my feet into the pair of sneakers near the door of the suite. I’m never late for appointments or meetings, but tonight I’m a mess. It’s already ten minutes after nine, and I just hung up with Papa’s doctor. I’ve decided to stay at my father’s suite instead of home, since I’ll likely want to collapse after this meeting with Max, and can’t bear another round of bumper-to-bumper Miami traffic. Plus, the hotel is closer to the hospital.
After snatching my purse off the bed I race out of the room, down the hall to the elevator, and walk outdoors to the pool bar. The crowd is beautiful and sleek, quintessentially Miami, and I’m painfully aware that I look like hell, a manatee in a sea filled with models.
No one recognizes me, and I like that. It’s my superpower, being able to seamlessly blend in anywhere. I used to think it was a curse being plain, but now I know otherwise. I’m stealthy and effective this way.
