Chapter 36
PAIGE
Apparently, Nathan and Arianna’s wedding is a low-key affair today. Family and very close friends only.
I’m neither, which makes me an official wedding crasher.
The only small caveat is that I was invited last minute, but still.
Inviting me to share such a special day with his family is not only wonderful but also a bit overwhelming. I’ll be spending the entire day with them, and being so close shifts Max and me from just sex into something completely different.
I don’t even know what to label it as.
“It’s just a date,” I think out loud, having a conversation with myself in the mirror on the wall in Max’s master bathroom that is the same size as my bedroom. It’s ridiculously oversized, with one of the best showers I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing.
As soon as we finished breakfast, in record time, I chose a dress, packed an overnight bag, and was in Max’s car before I changed my mind about today.
My choice was made easier when my parents arrived earlier than expected and assured me he was in good hands. They have a full day planned with ways to keep Alfie entertained. That boy is so spoiled.
My mom informed me they had plans tomorrow afternoon and wouldn’t be bringing Alfie back until later, and told me to take my time returning and, most importantly, to have fun.
For the rest of the day, I’m not a mom or a lawyer. I’m just Paige and I’m going to luxuriate in playing hooky from my usual routine to be Max’s plus one, and I’ll spend the night at his place, which puts my house to shame.
Situated on the top floor of one of the most prestigious units in the city, his penthouse boasts panoramic ocean views, a private elevator, a rooftop deck, a gourmet kitchen, high ceilings, and glass everywhere that lets in an abundance of light.
There’s marble and bespoke furnishings that scream wealth.
It’s ridiculously over the top, and I think I might be in love with it.
On the way to his apartment, he called his mom to tell her he was bringing me today.
Without any fuss, she simply asked my name, added me to an adjusted table plan, and that was it.
Simple. No fretting or stressing, just a relaxed, “I’ll tell the staff to update the plans.
” If it had been anyone else, I can’t imagine it would have been that easy, but his parents own a ranch they turned into a wedding retreat where the wedding is happening today, and with ease, they just slotted me in.
I’m not family, and yet, without question I’ve been whisked away to spend the day with them.
Looking at myself in Max’s bathroom mirror, I reapply my lipstick for the third time, fretting over what shade to wear. It was red first, then pink, and now it’s more of a subtle beige pink. “Boring?” I ask myself, examining my lips and scowling at myself in the mirror.
“You look anything but boring, you look good enough to eat.” Max steps inside his cavernous bathroom wearing his tuxedo, which fits him to perfection.
I whip around to face him, my eyes eating him up. “You look…” Handsome, gorgeous, godlike, fuckable… C’mon, Paige, think of something. “Great.” His tailored tuxedo isn’t wearing him, he’s wearing it and owning it.
Confidently and with purpose, he walks up to me with a look that tells me he approves of my one-shoulder midi dress in powder blue.
Made of soft crepe, it’s not only sophisticated but also elegant, with the asymmetric neckline perfectly framing my decolletage.
This is the part of my body Max seems to love kissing the most. Surprisingly, he’s left me to get ready on my own today and hasn’t even tried to have sex with me.
I appreciate the space; it feels like we’ve entered something more meaningful.
It’s more careful. More intentional. It’s as if he’s trying to respect me in a new way, or maybe he’s unsure of what we are, too.
There’s a quiet between us that wasn’t there before—an ease of sorts.
It’s thoughtful, tender, respectful. I guess we’re still figuring each other out, and maybe today is just what we need to help us do that.
Max’s piercing eyes size me up from top to bottom, the strong tic of his jaw pulsing beneath his perfectly groomed beard that frames his strong jawline.
“Will I do?” I whisper.
“Oh, you’ll more than do.” He stands in front of me, toe to toe. “I really want to kiss you but I don’t want to ruin your lipstick.”
“I don’t mind.” It needs a hint of pink; I was about to change it again anyway.
Closing the distance, he traces his finger along my bottom lip before lowering his mouth to mine.
He kisses me softly once, then twice, before cupping my face with his warm hand and angling his mouth for a deeper kiss.
It’s a blazing kiss that ignites something in my heart that makes me weak at the knees and has me imagining what spending every day with him would be like.
Our kiss goes on forever. It’s slow and sensual, long and deliberate, bone-tingling and dreamlike.
No matter how long it lasts, I know it will never be enough.
He slides his tongue inside my mouth, his hungry lips tasting minty from his toothpaste with hints of amber from his aftershave he’s sprayed on his beard.
I never knew kisses could feel like this: so all-consuming and addictive.
I thread my hands into his hair at the back of his neck, unconcerned with messing it up. No matter how many times I’ve done it in the past, it always looks effortlessly styled to perfection.
Nerves dance low in my belly, because I know once we end this kiss, it’s time to go.
I may have met his brothers hundreds of times before, but somehow it feels like this is the first time I’m genuinely meeting them.
Today, I’m not just a last-minute addition to the guest list; I’m stepping right into the middle of their private day, their family’s moment.
It feels intrusive, like I’m crossing an even bigger line than Max and I did all those months ago.
And yet, he wants me there. That means something, doesn’t it? Or maybe I’m reading too much into it.
Whatever it is, I push it to one side and forget about it as I lose myself in him as Max’s talented mouth sends powerful sensations to build below my waist, drowning out my uncertainty about today.
“Max.” I love saying his name. I’ve said it so many times, he almost feels like he’s mine.
He pulls away from our kiss and presses his forehead against mine.
“As much as I want to keep going, we really have to leave or we’ll be late.
If we are even a minute late, Arianna said she would chop all the Hart men’s balls off.
” He presses his crotch against my stomach, letting me feel how hard he is as my heart pounds in my throat.
“Well, we had better get going then if you want to keep them.” I quite like sucking them while giving him a hand job. He seems to have a thing for that and always comes much quicker when I do. “I just need to reapply my lipstick.” And touch up my makeup around my mouth too, no doubt.
He nods. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks. You suit a tux.” I wiggle either side of his bowtie between my fingers, being careful not to screw it up. He looks so refined, his classic watch peeking out from under his cuff just enough that it hints at both his wealth and stature.
With his hands on my hips, he coaxes me to turn around to face the mirror before he says, “We look good together.”
We do. Like we are meant to be.
The significance of what he’s saying weighs heavily on my shoulders because I can’t believe that for all these years I’ve hated him. I hate myself for not seeing him, all of him, which is staring back at me in the mirror.
Monday can’t come quickly enough. That’s when I’ll inform work about Max and me.
What do I tell them? We’re together, dating, what exactly?
“Ms. Bradshaw, would you consider dating me? Officially?”
I swear this guy’s always in my head.
“I think I might like to try that.” I’d love to do it more than anything, but with a baby and having never dated since Alfie arrived, I have no idea how to make it happen. Screw it; with babysitters, Emma, and my parents, I’m sure I’ll figure it out.
Doubts seep into my mind, rising like a river flooding an unsuspecting town.
Will he get bored of me? Annoyed when I can’t make nights out or make last-minute plans?
He told me he was a commitment-phobe, and I can’t help but think this might just be another fling for him.
“I have a baby,” I state, getting the doubts out of my mind, wanting to be honest.
“I prefer nights in.”
“I can’t make last-minute plans because I need to find babysitters.”
“Anything last minute will include Alfie.”
Okay, that makes me feel better.
“You’re a commitment-phobe,” I blurt out, feeling stupid about my insecurities. But he can’t just swoop into my life, and Alfie’s, then decide after a few weeks he’s had enough of me.
“And you hated me. People change.”
“You don’t have to change for me.”
“I don’t think you understand; I want to.
” He pauses briefly before adding, “For you.” He softly kisses my exposed shoulder, ghost-like.
“For once, I know exactly what I want. You’ve shown me a side of life I didn’t know existed, something that feels like home.
And I want to turn that into reality. With you. ”
Emotion bubbles in my chest, my eyes welling up, and I have to shake my head to stop the tears from falling, taking a deep breath to hold them back.
I’m utterly speechless, stunned, as he presses another kiss on my shoulder and releases my hips. “I’ll leave you to reapply your lipstick. You have two minutes, baby.” He leaves me staring at the doorway he left through.
Like a clever fox, he hunted me with patience, injecting excitement into my once dull life. Then he switched on his spellbinding charm, and I, the bunny, finally stopped running because I couldn’t resist being caught. He, the fox, burrowed his way into my heart.
There’s no escaping him now.
He’s got me.