CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Again, there was very little that I would refuse this man. I already knew I was going to say yes regardless of what he needed.
I’d even plan a wedding for him.
“Sunny and her husband, Todd, are about to have a baby. She wasn’t planning on having a baby shower because my aunt, her mom, passed away a few years ago and she said she couldn’t imagine having one without her.”
“I’m so sorry. That must be so hard.” Max had mentioned his cousin before—she was the one insisting that he get out of his apartment. Without thinking, I reached over to squeeze his hand. I left it there for a beat too long, convincing myself that this was something friends did to comfort one another and it wasn’t at all about wanting to feel his warm skin against my fingers.
“It has been. Todd’s family are very wealthy, old school, and traditional, and his mother expects that there will be a baby shower for her friends. She spoke to Todd about it, but he didn’t communicate it well to Sunny and my cousin found out this afternoon when she and Todd went over for a family brunch that his family expects someone to throw her a shower in three weeks. Invitations have already been sent, as apparently Todd agreed to have it at his parents’ place.”
At my surprised look, he added, “I love the guy, but Todd can be a little absent-minded. He works in biotechnology and only partially pays attention to the real-life stuff going on around him. It is entirely believable that his family would have made plans that he’d somehow agreed to without realizing it.”
I slipped into planning mode. “What will her budget be?”
“Todd’s got a trust fund. I don’t think money will be a concern.”
The words unlimited budget danced through my head, making me feel tingly. It was one of the reasons I had moved to New York City. To be in charge of events on a scale unimaginable anywhere else. But I had the Origin Telecom conference coming up, followed by the birthday party. I wasn’t sure I could add on an event for the week after that one. “I have a lot of last-minute things going on right now.”
I glanced down at my dress and asked myself what Kat would do if she were in this situation. I could see from the expression on his face that he expected me to say no, and I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
It would be the smart thing to do, but not the right thing.
“But I’d love to help out,” I said.
His face broke into the most glorious smile. It was payment enough for going without sleep for the next three weeks.
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely,” I assured him. I had no idea how I was going to make it work, but I would.
“Anything I can do to assist you, let me know,” he said, and I was worried about the ways my subconscious mind might find to take advantage of his offer. “She also mentioned that they’re giving her a hard time about who is officially throwing the event. According to etiquette guides, which are very important to them, it’s supposed to be a distant family member or a friend who throws the shower for her.”
I was going to suggest he do it, given that they were cousins, but if her in-laws were traditional, they probably wouldn’t want a man to be the host. It seemed like such a stupid thing to get upset about, but if I could help ease Sunny’s mind, I would do it. “Tell her not to worry about it. I’m now her friend, too, and I’m throwing it for her.”
Now Max was the one reaching across the table to take my hand, and while I told myself to calm down, I did not listen. His palm was so warm and firm.
“Sunny is the most important person in the world to me. It means so much to me that you would do this. Thank you.”
I was ridiculously happy to just bask in the glow of his approval and gratitude. His hand tightened around mine and I loved the way it felt to hold hands with him.
“What can I do to repay you?” he asked, his voice soft and enticing.
I’d happily take payment in kisses, but I wasn’t going to say as much and put myself in that kind of awkward position. He was just grateful to me, he wasn’t making a move.
My overstimulated glands did not care, though.
We were interrupted by our waitress bringing out the next course, beef cheek ravioli with black truffles, and I was both glad for and annoyed by the interruption.
The food was so exceptional that we both ate in silence for a bit, and I contemplated what was happening to me. I barely knew this man. Why was I so ready to pledge my allegiance to him?
Probably because everything I did know, I really liked. He was smart, kind, down-to-earth, and thoughtful, loved animals, admired hard work, cared about his family, had a good sense of humor, and was a perfect gentleman.
That wasn’t even taking into account his fallen-angel face, which had been created solely to tempt me.
If Meemaw ever met him, she would force me into a shotgun wedding with him.
And I wouldn’t object.
The rest of the dinner seemed to fly by, while Max entertained me with stories from his job, things he and Sunny had done when they were children, and best of all—stories of what it was like to live in Monterra.
Dessert was something called torta Barozzi, which was a dense, flourless chocolate cake flavored with coffee, rum, and almonds. It was one of the most sinful things I’d ever put in my mouth.
After my first bite I let out a little groan of delight and briefly closed my eyes. When I opened them again, Max had fixed his hot, intense gaze on me, watching my mouth move. His eyes flicked up to mine, and I saw hunger and wanting there. My blood sizzled in response, my breathing growing labored.
But as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. Making me think it had been a figment of my imagination.
Bartolomeo came out to see us after dinner was finished, and we both lavished him with praise, which he could not get enough of. “No, please, it was my pleasure, you don’t need to thank me,” he said, while waving his fingers to let us know that we should continue.
After we’d sufficiently complimented and thanked him, Max and I stood up to leave. Since he’d comped our dinner, I didn’t feel right about lingering and keeping the table from a paying customer. I told Bartolomeo that I would be in touch soon, so long as the client approved him as a vendor, but that it would all be very last minute.
“For you, cara mia, I will clear my schedule.”
“Thank you again for everything,” I said as he walked us out.
“Di niente. It was nothing. Buonasera con il tuo ragazzo.” He kissed me on each cheek, shook Max’s hand, and then we went out into the wintry evening.
I didn’t even feel the cold, though. I was glowing on the inside. “What did Bartolomeo say?”
Max gave me a playful smile. “He said, ‘Have a good night with your boyfriend.’”
My cheeks were bright red, I just knew it. I didn’t know how to respond without making a bigger fool of myself, so I just stayed quiet. It was actually flattering that Bartolomeo thought that someone like Max would be interested in dating me.
Totally unrealistic, but nice nonetheless.
I was thankful that Max didn’t make fun of the situation or ask me what I’d said to Bartolomeo that had led him to believe the two of us were together.
“Is it all right if I walk you home?” Max asked, which was going to bring our evening to a close. It made sense, given that I hadn’t planned anything past this point.
If we actually had been on a date, it was still early enough that we could do more.
But since we were only friends, we probably should call it a night.
My hormones definitely needed a break.
“Sure,” I said, and we walked toward the subway.
“Everly, there’s something I want to clear up,” he said, and my heart skipped a beat.
Maybe he was going to say he wasn’t interested in us being only friends. Maybe he’d agreed to it only because I’d said it. Maybe ...
“I don’t want you to think that I’m taking advantage of your good nature.” He sounded worried. “You can say no to helping Sunny. I should have told you that earlier. I know you’re busy.”
“Max, it’s fine. If I didn’t have the time, I would have said no.” I was going to have to give up some unnecessary things, like showering and sleeping, but I would find a way to make it work.
And not because I was a people pleaser. I genuinely wanted to help him, someone who had been nothing but sweet to me. He had gone out of his way to be helpful to me last night when we met; I could do the same for him.
Max came to a stop and I heard the guy behind us cursing as he nearly crashed into us. New Yorkers hated when people blocked sidewalks. Max pulled me by the hand, leading me over to a storefront so that we were out of the way.
“I don’t know anyone like you, Everly. You are truly kind and selfless.”
We stood there, neither one of us speaking. My heart was pounding so hard I was sure he could hear it.
I coughed and then licked my lips so that I could talk. He seemed to be watching me intently, and he was wrecking my ability to regain my composure. I started walking toward the subway stop because I needed to move.
If I kept standing there staring at him, I was going to do something that friends did not do.
His long strides made it so that he caught up to me quickly.
I didn’t want him to think those sorts of things about me. His admiration weakened my resolve.
“My motives are entirely selfish,” I told him as I crossed my arms over my chest. I was not the person he seemed to think I was.
“How so?”
“Have you ever heard that story about Abraham Lincoln? He was on his way to give a speech somewhere and he was arguing with his traveling companion. Lincoln said that all actions, both good and bad, were always motivated by selfishness. His friend disagreed.”
Max went to my left, putting himself between me and the street again. I wondered if he even realized that he did it, or if it was just instinctual.
“You were saying?” he prompted me.
Oh, right. The Lincoln story. “They heard a mother pig squealing because her piglets were trapped in mud. Lincoln had the driver stop, and despite the fact that he was about to appear in front of a large crowd, he waded into the mud to return the piglets to their mom. His friend was smug, saying Lincoln had just proved his point with a good, selfless act. Lincoln responded that it had been motivated by his own selfishness—that he would have spent the rest of the day worrying about that mother pig and had saved the babies for his own peace of mind.”
“Are you trying to convince me that you helping people is completely selfish?” he asked with a laugh as we headed down the stairs into the station.
“I’m saying there is an element of it. If I had said no to you, I would have worried about Sunny and what she would do.”
“You don’t even know her.”
“I don’t have to.” Max had spoken so highly of her, and I knew how close they were. That was good enough for me.
Because somehow, in the space of less than twenty-four hours, Max Colby had become very important to me.
I would have done a lot more if he’d asked for it. This was kind of a drop in the bucket.
The lighting in the subway station was terrible, and so it was impossible for me to read his expression.
There seemed to be something there, though. Something that made my breath catch in my throat.
We were surrounded by a throng of noisy people and it smelled disgusting, but all I could see, hear, and sense was Max.
The subway arrived and we got on, standing close together again. We didn’t speak. His eyes searched mine and a smile played at the end of his lips, as if he liked what he saw.
No man had ever looked at me like that.
Again I worried over the possibility that I was creating a mountain out of a molehill. Making up and/or hallucinating things that weren’t there. Misreading the actions of a nice person.
When we got to my stop, we pushed our way through the crowd, up the stairs, and onto the busy street.
I didn’t have to tell him which way to go—he remembered.
“In case I didn’t mention it earlier, you look nice today,” he said.
I couldn’t help my pleased grin.
“Your dress looks familiar,” he added.
Despite my resolution to keep my insanity tucked in, I said, “It’s a copy of the one Queen Katerina wore on her official visit to India.” I regretted the words as soon as I’d said them.
But all of my regret immediately dissipated when he said, “You remind me a lot of the queen.”
Swoon, swoon, swoon . I was going to pass out.
It was the most romantic thing a man had ever said to me.
I floated the rest of the way, his words echoing in my mind. He was talking about some trip he’d recently taken and I wasn’t even paying attention.
I reminded him of Kat? I didn’t think there was a bigger compliment.
His words made me want to spin in a circle with my arms out. Not because I was trying to get some Wonder Woman confidence, but because I was so elated it was the only thing I could think to do.
We arrived at my building and Max walked me into the library, where he greeted Casimir like a long-lost friend. We got to the elevators and I just stood there, waiting. Oh, right. Button. I needed to push the button. Silly me. I leaned over and pushed it while grinning at him to show him that I could still function like a regular person.
Not like someone who was living in her own personal fantasy world where Max and I were some alternate version of Nico and Kat.
“Should I have Sunny call you?” he asked.
It took a second for my hazy mind to make sense of his words. “Yes. Or tell her to come to my office Monday morning. And it would help if you could send links to her social media so that I can get a better sense of who she is and what she likes. That way I’ll have something to show her when she comes in to meet me.”
“Done,” he said. He put both of his hands in his pockets and started walking backward, still facing me. “Thanks for everything.”
“You’re welcome.” I didn’t want the evening to end and I was sad that it was.
“Maybe we can get together soon and you can make me one of those grilled cheese sandwiches that you’re so good at.”
“If you play your cards right, I’ll even use Colby cheese on it.”
He grinned at me and I felt it in my knees. “I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll be in touch soon.”
Then he started to leave for real, walking a few feet away. He stopped and turned back to face me.
“Everly?”
“Yeah?” I couldn’t help the way my spirits lifted with hope.
“I’m glad we’re friends.”
And even though I’d told him that was what I wanted, it was like a dagger to the heart.