Page 58 of Maxwell

When she finally moved, she let herself into the building on pure instinct and stepped into the elevator. By the time the doors closed, she couldn’t have said if she’d pressed the button herself or if someone else had completed the task for her.

After letting herself into her apartment, she stood in the dark entryway for a moment. She had liked Nicholas, or at least the person she had believed him to be. She trusted that she had made the right decision but felt deflated and sad. She was a good woman, right? She had positive, attractive qualities a man could appreciate. So why was it so hard to find a man she was compatible with?

When she and Maura talked a few weeks ago, Jasmine had suggested she might be better off alone. Her sister hadn’t been fond of that suggestion, but the more Jasmine thought about it, the more attractive the idea became.

She couldn’t seem to get relationships right, and she was beginning to think the right man simply didn’t exist.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The coffee shop was surprisingly crowded for a Sunday afternoon. Patrons crowded around worn wooden tables and sat in mismatched chairs. Some worked on laptops while others engaged in quiet conversation.

Maxwell hadn’t picked this location. Trisha had. She lived a few blocks away.

He ordered a black coffee and sat on one of the stools in front of the window. From there, he had a clear view of the entrance and the street outside. Luckily, the person next to him got up, and he edged the stool closer, placing his foot on the bottom rung to reserve it for Trisha.

Yesterday’s conversation with Brittany hadn’t gone well, so he was a bit anxious about this meeting but determined to express remorse for his behavior. Brittany had agreed to meet him at the dog park, where she was letting her German Shepherd run free with all the other dogs.

He walked up, and before he could get a word out, she slapped him, in front of all the dogs and their owners. Their interaction went downhill from there. She cursed him out using colorful language while people hovering nearby watched and listened.

He took the verbal beatdown, letting her release all her anger. When she finished, he apologized—quietly, clearly, looking her in the eyes so she’d know he was sincere.

The apology not only shocked her, it seemed to have a cathartic effect. She burst into tears and spent the next few minutes sobbing on his chest. When they parted ways, she was much calmer and had even accepted his apology—which was more than he’d hoped for.

He had two more apologies to go.

He saw Trisha outside. She paused with her hand on the door, as if she wasn’t sure she wanted to go through with the meeting. She looked composed in jeans and a short-sleeve fitted blazer thrown over a pink blouse. Tall, with a close-cropped natural like his sister, she was a statuesque woman who turned heads as soon as she walked through the door.

She saw him immediately, and he stood to greet her.

“Hi, Trisha. Thanks for coming.”

“Hi, Max.” She sounded guarded.

They shook hands. Briefly, businesslike.

Trisha had attended his sister Monica’s engagement party with him last year. Unfortunately, he had been seeing another woman at the same time, and she had shown up at the party unexpectedly. It had been a mess.

She sat down in front of him and folded her hands together on her thighs.

“Can I buy you a coffee?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I don’t plan to stay long. Can we get this over with, please?”

Fair enough.

Maxwell hadn’t planned a speech. On the ride over, he had made the decision to be in the moment and speak from the heart.

“I want to apologize in person for what happened at Monica’s engagement party.” He held eye contact with her. “I invited you to the event and then spent the evening trying to manage the fact that someone else was there who I hadn’t invited. I handled the whole situation badly. I was dismissive and made a joke out of the whole thing and made you feel like you were an inconvenience. That was wrong, and I’m sorry.” He should have told her what had happened, but instead, he’d tried to hide the mix-up because Trisha hadn’t known he was seeing other people.

She didn’t respond, and he held back from his inclination to fill the silence with more words.

“Is that it?” Trisha asked.

Maxwell nodded. “I’m not making any excuses for what I did and how I treated you. What happened, happened because I wasn’t thinking about you when I should have been. My behavior was shitty, and I’m sorry.” He stopped talking and waited.

She looked down at her hands and squeezed them together. Finally, she spoke again. “I want to tell you something, if that’s okay.” She lifted her gaze.

“Of course. Say whatever is on your mind.” Maxwell braced himself for the worst.