Chapter Two #2
“My husband died two years ago,” she said evenly, surprised he hadn’t heard, given all the scandal surrounding that brothel fire.
His hand twitched on the table, almost as if he wanted to reach for her. But he didn’t. Instead, he clenched it, then took another drink. “I’m sorry,” he said at last. “I’ve been out of the country. I didn’t know.”
“It’s all right,” she said stiffly. “He died under... rather embarrassing circumstances.”
“Do you have children?” he asked hesitantly, surprising her.
“It wasn’t that kind of marriage.” She shook her head, heat staining her cheeks. Their gazes held for a moment, and she could see the questions in his eyes. Would he be glad to know he was still the only one who’d ever touched her?
“What about you, Mr. Thorne?” Daphne asked, speaking for the first time. “Are you married? Do you have any children?”
Eden could have hugged her friend. She desperately wanted to know the answers to those questions as well, but she never would have had the courage to ask.
Max shifted his gaze to Daphne, obviously wondering why she was there. “No,” he answered at last. “There was only one woman I ever wanted to marry.” The roughness of his voice made her realize he hadn’t forgotten, not at all.
She’d convinced herself that he’d easily moved on from her. In fact, she’d been so angry about it for so long that she wasn’t quite certain how to process the possibility that he’d missed her, too.
Eden took a breath. She hadn’t come to fight. She hadn’t come to remember, either, but it was impossible not to, not when he was right in front of her.
“I haven’t been able to find a guide willing to accompany me to Egypt,” she said, getting back to the subject at hand.
“None who would work with a woman. I’ve been trying for over a year, and the only ones who’ve approached me have had shady reputations.
They probably would have robbed me blind and then abandoned me in the desert.
No one reputable wants to lead the expedition.
” She sighed. “I should have known that no matter how hard I work, no one will ever take me seriously.”
“So you thought to try your luck with me.” Max’s voice was oddly flat. Had he hoped she’d come for some other reason? Was he disappointed that she hadn’t?
“Lucas suggested that I find you.” Eden tried not to let her frustration show. “Trust me, this was a last resort.”
“I should have known.” Max gave a soft huff of laughter, but the amusement didn’t reach his eyes, and she realized she’d somehow insulted him. She shouldn’t have said he was her last resort. If she’d known he did this kind of work, he would have been her first choice.
The pub felt small around her, loud and foreign and less familiar than anywhere she’d ever been. But there he was, so solid and real she couldn’t breathe. Please say yes. With him by her side, she knew she could successfully reach her dig site.
“What made you think I’d do it?” Max’s words were a question and an accusation all at once.
Eden straightened. “I didn’t,” she answered truthfully. “In fact, I’d be very surprised if you did.”
Daphne cut in, as Eden knew she would, leaning forward with sudden urgency, clearly concerned. “Why wouldn’t you? Is it the money? The company? Or do you always turn down easy work?”
Max looked at Daphne, giving her a half-smile. “Your friend has never made things easy for me.” His gaze returned to Eden. “Do you have any idea how hard it would be for me to keep you safe in Egypt? Trust me, you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”
Eden swallowed hard, choking down fifteen years of anger, fifteen years of heartache. She’d done nothing but prepare for this trip for years. How dare he speak to her that way to her? She wasn’t stupid. It might be difficult, yes. But not impossible.
“This is pointless,” she said, shoving to her feet. “Come, Daphne.”
Max caught her arm before she was fully upright. His touch sent electricity through her. That spark between them was as strong as ever.
She tried not to feel it. She couldn’t let herself feel it.
“Don’t,” he said. “Let me walk you out. It’s dangerous.”
She gestured for the footmen they’d brought with them, who’d been standing at a respectable distance, and they immediately moved toward them. “As you can see, we’ll be fine. I’m not as foolish as you obviously think I am.”
She gave him a last, lingering look, trying to commit this older version of him to memory, so that she could re-examine it later. The golden hair, those sky-blue eyes, a few scars on his handsome face that were so at odds with his fallen-angel beauty.
He held her gaze for a few seconds, then released her arm and returned his focus to his mug, seeming to dismiss her as easily as he had when her father had refused his suit.
She swallowed a lump in her throat and turned away. She and Daphne left the tavern, moving through the rough crowd with the footmen at their heels. She said nothing, her spine so stiff she thought she might snap in half.
Once outside, she climbed into the waiting carriage, and Daphne followed.
“He didn’t follow us, did he?” Eden asked as they pulled away, refusing to look back.
“No,” Daphne said, shaking her head, her lovely face filled with sympathy. “He didn’t.”