Chapter 15
LORDE
It took them another hour and a half to arrive at Aunt Pat’s, and when they did, Max didn’t get out of the car.
Instead, Fizz knocked on the door. “I won’t be but a moment,” I stated, peeking over his shoulder.
Max was slumped low in the backseat, facing forward, and all of the windows had been rolled down. “Something wrong?”
Glancing back, Fizz looked at the car and then back to me. “He’s still tired from last week.” Fizz’s smile gave me the creeps for some reason.
“If he would like to do this another day, I don’t mind rescheduling.” Max appeared more like he’d seen a ghost and less like he was exhausted, but I didn’t know him well enough to call Fizz a liar.
Fizz shook his head. “No, this will be good for him. He’s been cooped up in his house since he got home from the party. The fresh air and interacting with someone other than himself or me will pull him out of the funk he’s in.”
“Funk?”
“Yes. He’s been out of sorts the past couple of weeks. This outing will do him good.”
“I see. Well, let me get my coat, and I’ll be right out.” I ignored the pang of worry that stabbed my heart.
Sliding into the car next to Max a minute later, I said, “It’s good to see you again, Max.”
Until I had spoken, Max never showed any outward reaction to my presence. He’d continued to stare out the window, still as a statue. “Lorde,” he gasped in surprise, as though I had appeared out of thin air. He shifted his gaze, and frowning, scanned the area.
Regardless of what Fizz said, I reiterated, “You look tired. If you would like to do this another day, we can reschedule.” Honestly, I was more worried now than I had been standing at the front door to the house.
His complexion seemed gaunt and pale, dark circles were painted under his eyes, and his lips were dry and a little cracked.
This appearance was nothing like the man I’d seen on Saturday.
Had it really only been a couple of days?
Shaking his head, he rubbed his forehead with his long fingers. “No. I’m fine. A little tired, but I think the fresh air is the best thing for me. He glanced up and tapped his phone screen without looking at it.
“The temperature is forty-two degrees,” a computer-generated feminine voice stated.
“Okay, maybe the minuscule amount of sun and the heater will be the best thing for me,” he joked, his lips pulling up in the corners to form a smile. It wasn’t as bright as the one on Saturday, but it was still brilliant and had me desiring to kiss his mouth.
No. I couldn’t go there with him. Even if I somehow convinced myself to leave him alone and not follow through with the plan, we were from two different worlds. And as of right now, I didn’t know what I would be doing to him. Fuck, I was confused.
Clearing my throat, I turned away to stare out the windshield. “What are we doing today?”
“Do you like Greek?”
I jerked my head around to stare at him. Could he read my mind? It was one of my favorite foods, and some of my favorites had been found in this little restaurant I found in Athens, Greece when I was there on business the previous year. “I love Greek.”
“Excellent. I’m taking you to my favorite restaurant. The food there reminds me of the stuff I got when I did a tour of Greece after I graduated from college.” His smile grew, and he rubbed his hands together as if plotting something.
I couldn’t hold back, I chuckled. He looked like he just won the World Cup or something. “I can’t wait.”
There was a brief lull in the conversation after that, and to fill the silence, I asked, “What do you mean by toured Greece?” If I allowed it to remain quiet, I was afraid of where my own thoughts would lead me.
“Yes, the trip was my graduation present from my parents. They asked where I’d like to go, and I said the first thing that came to mind.”
“Greece was the first thing that came to mind?” I had to fight the urge to laugh again because he looked so serious.
“Yeah, that was the same reaction my parents had. I’ve always loved history and had just subjected Fizz to watching a documentary about the Parthenon and another one about the different Greek gods. When they called and asked, it was fresh on my mind.”
“And how was it?”
He bit his bottom lip, his grin still firmly in place. “Breathtaking. I went to Athens, Larissa, all of Crete, Nafplio, Thessaloniki, and a few other places. Basically, the whole country. It took us two months.”
Fizz corrected him, “Three. You decided that you wanted to stay in Fira, Santorini for a month.”
“True, but that’s where we ended our trip, so that doesn’t count,” Max countered before facing me again and ignoring Fizz.
“When I got to Santorini, I stood there in the harbor in awe. We stayed there a month because I don’t think I’d ever felt as at peace as I did at that moment.
I spent a couple of days in Oia before moving to Fira, and that’s where we wound up living for a month. ”
“It’s gorgeous there.” I completely understood what he was talking about. Something about the small island stole your breath and melted stress.
“You’ve been?”
Nodding, I told him, “I have. I deal in rare books and was called to Athens by a client to examine a first edition copy of First Folio by William Shakespeare. I’ve had three clients call me about this particular book since I’ve been in business.
This was the fourth. Of these four, only one was real.
Luckily, this client had a genuine copy.
After he paid me my fee and a handsome bonus, I decided it would be a waste to go all the way there and not take in a few sights.
I spent a couple of days in Athens then moved to Santorini, where Fira was also my favorite out of the two cities.
From there, I went to Crete to see the Minoan artifacts in Heraklion then back to Athens to return home.
Sadly, I could only spend a few days in each city. I hope to return one day.”
Max dipped and lifted his head once. “Me too.” His voice was low, almost a whisper.
My body began to lean toward him, my eyes focused on his mouth when I caught myself, I shifted in my seat and forced myself to stare out the window. “Where are we?”
“It’s going to take a little time to get there. It’s only in Aurora, not that far out of the city, but in the opposite direction of where your aunt’s house is.”
“Your parents are over there too.”
“They are.”
“What is the name of the restaurant?”
“Basils. Some believe it’s named after an herb, but it means?—”
Looking at him, I cut him off, “Regal, royal, or kingly. From the Greek basileus.”
He grinned. “Yeah.”
Our eyes were locked together, and I couldn’t break the connection that crackled between us. I didn’t know if I wanted to break it. This man was turning my life topsy-turvy, and I wanted to hate him for it, yet I found myself falling further down the hole.
MAX
I’d been a basket case ever since this morning, unaware of what was happening around me, allowing Fizz to take control and do everything.
Until Lorde spoke, I’d been locked away in my own little world.
Someone had infiltrated my “fortress of solitude” and thrown me for a loop, knocking me on my ass.
I didn’t know how to process it. Never before had I suffered so extreme a reaction to anyone.
Sure, Lorde’s aunt gave me an eerie feeling, but this morning, alarm bells were clanging and the swan trapped inside me begged me to flee quickly, to get as far away from the woman as possible.
Our gazes still locked, I lifted my hand to his hair and pulled out a piece of white fuzz. He flinched, and the spell we were under broke. “Lint,” I said, my voice coming out tight and breathless.
One side of Lorde’s lips lifted in a half-smile, and he laughed nervously. “Oh.”
We were reduced to single-syllable words, one-word sentences.
Around him, I lost myself, or maybe I’d finally found myself.
Unlike his aunt, a strange sort of peace fell upon me like a mantle whenever he was near.
But it was more than that. My heart thumped louder and harder than before, my pulse thrummed and raced, and I felt a wonderful kind of warmth envelop me. It was a whole new experience.
What did it mean? I didn’t understand why he was different, or what made him special compared with everyone else I’d met in my life. He just was.
“Um…” I tried to wrack my brain to think of something to say. Almost desperately, I blurted, "Lorde is an interesting name. Were you named after someone?” Inwardly, I facepalmed and groaned. How idiotic could I sound? The answer was very.
He blinked a couple of times, his eyes moving left and right before returning to me, as if he couldn’t believe I asked that question. “No, I wasn’t. My mom apparently did some research on German names and found it. I suppose she decided she liked it well enough and named me Lorde.”
“You suppose?” That was an odd way to word it.
“Yes.” He settled back and faced forward again. “My mother expected a girl. When I came out, she hadn’t chosen a name and couldn’t figure out what to call me.”
“Wow. Were you difficult during the ultrasound?”
He squirmed in his seat before resting his elbow on the door handle. His shoulders were tense, his back straight even as he leaned slightly. “Actually, my mom went the more holistic approach like many in my family. She didn’t have one and gave birth at home.”
I wasn’t sure why that would make him feel uncomfortable. There were plenty of people who preferred the holistic approach to medicine unless absolutely necessary they seek out modern medicine. “Interesting. I was born at home, too.”
“You were?” His voice was clipped, and he sounded uninterested as if he was simply humoring me.