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“Can I ask you a question?”
Suddenly, she was right behind me, the scent of whatever perfume she’d splashed on that morning already driving me crazy. “Sure. I need to keep steering so you’ll need to follow me.”
“Why do you work for my father?”
“Because he and I had the same vision as kids, the same burning desire to succeed in everything we touched.”
“Is that really all?”
I laughed. “We were buddies, content to do everything together. He’d watch my back as I watched his. A few years turned into several more. We’ve been through a lot, he and I. But I wouldn’t change the way my life turned out for anything.”
“Did you know my mother well? I mean, if you were so close to my dad, you knew her from the beginning of their relationship. Right?”
I glanced over my shoulder. “Well enough. He kept a lot of their relationship private and I never bugged him about it. However, your mother was a bright star and brought your father a few incredible years. You remind me of her.”
“Really?” Her face lit up more than I’d seen in a long time.
“Yes. However, I am very glad Arman found someone else. He’s a much happier man and less of an asshole.”
She burst into laughter. “Well, there’s that. All because of a beautiful, feisty woman. Imagine that.”
“Yes, imagine that.” I threw her a look, half laughing once again. When she was playful, it seemed the world was a brighter place to be in.
“Why don’t you have someone?”
“I told you why.”
“But if my father can do it, then you can as well.”
I shrugged my answer.
“See. There you go again refusing to tell me. Maybe all the girls jilted you. What are your attributes?” She was goading me, tapping her long finger across her lips. “Why don’t I help you out? You’re handsome in a rough and tough kind of way, trying to pretend you’re all suave. You do look good in a suit, but I honestly think the festive shorts are much more you.” She gave me a wry smile, lifting her sunglasses and waving her hand in front of her as if she was all hot and bothered.
“Uh-huh. Nice try.”
“Oh, I’m being serious. Let me think.” She hummed to herself, swaying her hips back and forth in such a way I had to try to concentrate on steering in the right direction. “You’re a grumpy man, especially when you don’t get your way, but you have an innate love of adventure. That’s a plus. You know your wines and champagnes and I have to believe that you know exactly how to treat a lady on a date. What would be the perfect date for you?”
She had no idea what her challenge was doing to me. Damn it.
“The perfect date, huh?” I asked, the amusement coursing through me a welcome difference.
“Yep. I doubt you know.”
“Untrue. I’d prepare the perfect picnic basket and go on a sail to a private island where I’d already planned to have a fire in the sand. There’d be a bottle of wine or champagne, cheeses and we’d grill shrimp and oysters. Then there’d be a delicious chocolate dessert that we’d feed each other along withstrawberries. I’d have a blanket so we could lie under the stars and listen to the music created by the waves, the moonlight and the fire our only light. We’d sail back at night to bask in the warmth of a hot tub with a nightcap. After that, I’d carry her to the bedroom where we’d enjoy a night of raw and blissful passion.”
When I was finished, I turned my head in her direction. The look of shock and awe on her face was enthralling. She swallowed hard, pressing her fingers across her mouth. “That sounds amazing. Just perfect. And so romantic. I had no idea you had it in you.” She threw her hand out before I could say anything. “You don’t need to say it again. I realize now I know absolutely nothing about you. But I’d like to learn, Maddox. I mean as friends.”
The draw to the beautiful girl was driving me crazier than before. “You can ask me anything, Zoe. Just know that I’m not the man you think I am.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning I’m not a good man, not by a long shot. I’ve done things that I’m not proud of, but they were necessary. And I would do them again.” She looked at me with confidence, yet I could tell so easily that she carried bruises all over her soul as if trying to make them badges of honor. I fisted my hand around the wheel, my heart thudding against my chest a powerful reminder that she was off limits. Goddamn it. I was sick and tired of reminding myself of the obvious. It wasn’t doing either one of us any good.
“I’m not the princess you think I am. I know the world I was brought up in, the brutality my grandfather enthusiastically pursued. I realize you’ve killed people before and will do soagain. There are no illusions of grandeur or that my family hasn’t crossed the line because I know better. For all the protection and safeguards my father placed around me like a bubble, I saw through everything. I don’t want to live in a gilded cage, Maddox. I want to live my life, enjoying every moment because at any time my world could be cut short.”
The girl was much wiser than I’d given her credit for. “Understood. Just know there are some things about my life I won’t discuss.”
“Like about the woman who tore you apart. It wasn’t Maggie, was it?”
