22. Chapter 22
twenty-two
M ax checked his watch as he slammed the car door behind him and made his way into work, hoping his lateness had gone unnoticed. He hated showing up hours after everyone else, but he’d exhausted himself with Willow all night and ended up sleeping like a fucking baby.
He was only a few steps in the door when Luis bolted from the kitchen, concern all over his face as if he were a father waiting up all night for his child to come home, ready to dial 9-1-1 and report a missing person.
“Why didn’t you call?” he demanded, fists on his hips.
A smile came to Max’s face. “Were you worried about me? ”
“It’s noon,” he said, throwing his arms in the air. “And your office is a mess. We thought someone kidnapped you!”
Max glanced at the office, then back, wiping the guilt off his face. “Who’s gonna kidnap me, Luis? The Hulk?”
“They could have had weapons,” he said, his eyes widening. “Large weapons.”
Max rolled his eyes. “Everything’s fine.”
Luis steadied himself, took a few breaths. “What happened in there?”
Max fought to keep off the smirk. “Go back to work, Luis,” he said, turning and marching into the office.
He and Willow had left in a bit of a hurry the night before. They were both far more concerned with getting into her bed than fixing the mess they’d made. But when he walked through the door, he could see why Luis was all worked up.
Papers and pens were scattered all over the floor; the chairs were knocked backward, and his coat was still hanging on the hook in the corner. He shook his head, remembering the desperation they both had felt that first time. He couldn’t think of anything but Willow when she was straddling his waist with her skirt hiked up around her hips .
He dropped his bag on his chair and went to work tidying the space back up before Willow got there. She had no poker face whatsoever. If someone asked her what had happened in that room, her expression would give it away in an instant.
Not to mention her pretty blush.
God, he was thankful Shane showed up and cut her loose. Now she was available. And all the roadblocks to him pursuing Willow had cleared.
The only problem was that she’d said it was just a hookup. And she clearly wasn’t ready to jump into another relationship just yet. But that didn’t mean it couldn’t become something more in the future, right?
He sat in his chair and pulled out his laptop. Probably best to focus on work, instead.
He’d been working for about an hour when the office door opened and Willow popped her pretty head in. His whole body simultaneously relaxed and tensed as his heart foolishly prepared for the best-case scenario, while his brain tried to force him to be realistic.
He pushed it all down and away.
“Hey,” she said, stepping in and closing the door behind her .
“Hey,” he said, trying and failing to stop his face from breaking into a smile. “You should have seen this place this morning. It was a disaster.”
She gave a little laugh and sank down into the chair across from the desk. “Last night was fun.”
Max nodded. “Yeah.”
She looked down, picked up the bottom corner of her flannel shirt, and started fiddling. “So, are we okay, then?”
Max smiled. Flashes of the night before played through his mind. He’d never look at that desk the same way again. “All good. Are you okay?”
Willow nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay. I just feel awkward, I guess. I’ve never done this before,” she said, gesturing between them.
Max tensed. “ This ?” he asked, mirroring her.
“Like, hooked up. I’ve only ever been with Shane.”
Max’s smile dropped. He wasn’t sure what triggered it. Her calling it a hookup again or saying that fucker’s name. He wanted to move on, move forward. Together.
“Sorry,” she said, going on, incapable of leaving silence hanging in the air. “I just figured you’d know what to do in this situation better than me.”
Every muscle in his neck tensed. “Why is that? ”
She dropped her head to one side and gave him an impatient look. “I’m sure this isn’t your first time doing something like this.”
Max wondered how honest he wanted to be at that moment. Tell her the truth, that he’d only ever been with a handful of women himself, or not say anything and leave her to her assumptions? In the end, she spoke before he had time to say anything.
“I just don’t want things to be awkward,” she said.
“Then stop making things awkward,” he said, rolling his neck and trying for a smirk.
She laughed, her pretty smile taking over her face, and he never wanted to look away.
“Do you want to have dinner with me tonight?” he asked.
“Oh,” she said, glancing around. “Um, I don’t think I can. Jer and I are brewing the first big batch of Fuzzy Milkshake this afternoon. It’s going to take a while.”
Max nodded. “I’m sure your fans will be thrilled.”
“Yeah, I’m happy they chose that one,” she said with a smile. “It turned out great. I think I’ll bring some cans with me when I go home.”
Max’s chest tightened. He blinked up, meeting her eye. “Home?”
Willow’s eyes rounded before she gave a tiny shrug. “Yeah. ”
“You’re going back?”
She nodded. “Well, Barley’s there, and I’m Nikki’s maid of honour.”
Max’s head shook as he tried to rein in his temper. “You’re gonna go to Nikki’s wedding, after she ratted you out?”
Willow broke eye contact and started fidgeting with the bottom of her shirt once more. “Well, I promised her I would be there. Besides, it wasn’t fair of me to ask her to lie to him. She’s his friend just as much as she’s mine.”
Why the hell was she making excuses for these fucking people? He’d had the question answered in his mind before he could silently get it out. The root of his anger wasn’t just that she was acting like a doormat. It was that he didn’t want her to leave. If he hadn’t already fallen for her, he wouldn’t care whether she stayed or left.
He needed to get his feelings in check. She’d basically told him he was a rebound, and he’d said he was fine with it. Now he’d have to live with it.
He mentally shoved his feelings away, wishing there was a way to incinerate them and remove them from his mind forever so they wouldn’t come creeping back up again.
“Okay,” he said with a nod once he knew his voice wouldn’t betray his real thoughts.
Her eyes tightened. “So, we’re okay? You and me?”
He matched her pinched look, trying to decode her decoding. Was she relieved? Disappointed? It was impossible to tell.
“We’re great,” he said.
Her features smoothed.
“Go make your beer. I’m going to send out a bunch of exclusive invitations for our influencer night, bragging about your Fuzzy Milkshake.”
“No pressure,” she said with a forced laugh, then stood and left the room.
He waited for her to leave before he allowed the tension to leave his body. The thought of her leaving made him want to punch a hole in the wall. He knew he couldn’t stop her from leaving, but he hoped that she’d see the light before then and decide on her own to stay.
With him.
Forever.
Or at the very least, he hoped that whatever happened, her relationship with Shane was well and truly over.