Page 9 of Max

This time I didn't need any explanation. I was also disappointed that we were back at this again. I looked into his stunning eyes as I came down the last three steps and stood in front of him. Close. So close, that his scent was all I could smell. Oil and wood.

Nice.

"As my reaction from a couple of hours ago may have suggested, I had no idea what you're talking about," I took a minuscule step closer and noticed he froze at my movement. "But I'll say it, so it will be crystal clear, until you told me what is going on in my warehouse, I had no knowledge of it. In fact, if I had even the slightest idea of it, I would call the cops, hell, even the army, to take care of it."

I was proud of myself for how I delivered that little speech. I couldn't let him know just how much he affected me. That was until his face froze over. His voice cold as ice.

"Are you seriously standing here, in my home, after I got you out of a situation, twice, and lying to my face trying to feed me bullshit how you didn't know that Nico Barone, is one of the top heads of the Denver underbelly? The man you were supposed to marry today?"

This time it was Max that took another step closer to me. A step that brought him so close that with every harsh breath I took, my chest touched his midsection.

“Are you really that blind? Or is it all just an act, Bean? You thought you could live a high life just as long as you turned a blind eye and played good little wife, hm?"

I wished he slapped me. I could take that hit and walk away unaffected. It would just be something that happened, and it wouldn't have any effect on me. I could live with physical pain; I learned how. But this? The words he just hurdled my way? I wouldn't be able to forget them. Is that how people saw me? Is that what they thought of me? That I was nothing more than a gold digger and was willing to do anything to have everything? I took a step back, my shoulders sagging.

"You don't know what you're talking about. You don't know anything about me." I couldn't even look at him anymore, instead, I aimed my eyes over his left shoulder and whispered. "I would never do this. I would never intentionally turn a blind eye. All I ever wanted was to belong. Belong to someone and to call someone my own."

I said that last part on a defeated whisper. After I finished with my unplanned confession, I went to the kitchen in search of a phone. I needed to call Melanie to come and get me. I had to tell her about my plan and then I had to do everything I had to do and then be gone. It was unfortunate I did. If I stayed or looked back, I would see the change in Max's eyes. I would know that he believed every word I said. I would also see that the few words I whispered hit the core of him.

And his whole world turned upside down.

I found the phone, and called Melanie, asked her to bring some clothes for me and gave her the address. Then I sat at the kitchen table and ignored Max, no matter how persistent he was at hovering over me and asking murmured questions. The hardest thing I had to do in all of my life, up to that point, was to ignore his quiet, Bean, please, look at me.

He was standing close to where I was sitting. So, close the heat of him hit me like a wave. His deep, rich voice coming at me in that quiet way. Sweet Mary, help me. Not to mention, he was the first man who ever gave me a pet name, and he gave it to me not even an hour after he met me. I always wanted to have someone call me by a sweet nickname.

But, not like this.

His words tainted all the sweet things he did. I just couldn’t get over them. I briefly toyed with the idea he didn’t know my name, but I had told him. So, that wasn’t it. After a few moments, he sighed and went to lean at the kitchen counter. He didn’t try to engage in small talk again. He didn’t try to interrogate me either, and he didn’t apologize.

When I heard the soft knock on the door, I shoved the chair back and shot to my feet to run to it. I was just about to reach my target and open them wide, so I could make sure Nico hadn't got to her and that my friend was fine.

“Stop!” Max growled.

I instinctively did and turned to him. I just wasn’t fast enough. Walking toward me, he passed me by.

“You can’t seem to comprehend you’re in a certain situation now, and you need to be careful.”

He looked out of the side window for a second and then opened the door. Melanie gave him a huge smile, her eyes alight when they came to mine, but she lost all that in a second. Instead, a frown appeared on her beautiful face when she heard me speak.

“I’m in a situation?”

“Babe, you just ran away from Nico Barone today,” Max was walking back to his kitchen.

“Twice.”

“Okay?”

I was turning on my heels to try and look at his face so I could decipher what exactly he meant by that. I knew what I did. I was there. I had no luck with that.

"Babe," somehow that babe was a bigger blow than all the rest he delivered that day. "It's time to pull your head out of the sand and see the world you live in and the people you let in your life."

How many times do I have to tell this man I didn't know anything? How do I explain to him that I just didn't want to be alone anymore, and that was the only reason I put up with Nico’s behavior and occasionally turned a blind eye without sounding like a weakling? I turned to Melanie, needing some backup, but there was a knowing look on her face.

"You knew?" I asked and she nodded her head, not looking away from Max.

"Good for you, hot guy. Not wasting any time but going straight to the head. It was high time she found out who the hell she let claim her."

"You knew, and you didn't tell me?" I screeched.