His Dry Creek Inheritance
Page 20
But it was his eyes that made him stand out among a group of men. Looking at them now made her insides get all warm and fluttery.
Piper forced herself to look away. She had no business getting butterflies over Max Evans anymore. She knew better, not only because he’d broken her heart, but because he had drawn a lot of attention as an NFL player. His good looks, coupled with his reputation with the ladies off the field, put him in the tabloids. He’d dated several beautiful women over the years, a couple models, a movie star, and more recently, Miss California, who was also the daughter of a successful California college football team’s head coach, though Piper would never admit to knowing these details.
If given the chance, Max Evans would only break her heart all over again. When things got hard, he walked away. He had done it to her before and he would do it again. There was nothing that would ever persuade her to give him another chance.
He studied her, just like she was studying him, and she wished she was wearing something a little more appealing. She was only twenty-eight, but she felt as if she’d already lived a lifetime. Did it show? Could he see the fine lines around her eyes? The few gray hairs that had popped up in her long dark hair?
“Max?” A faint voice called to him from the front entry. “Are you here, son?”
“Mom.” He let out a sigh and moved away from the bathroom door. “I have a few things I need to say to her.”
Piper had to step aside to let him pass. He smelled of The One, by Dolce & Gabbana. She met his gaze as he passed and couldn’t hide her surprise. The scent had been her favorite cologne in high school and she bought a bottle for him every Christmas as a gift. When she asked him if he liked it, he had told her it was okay, but he didn’t wear it for himself. He wore it for her.
And he still wore it, even though she hadn’t been around for ten years to smell it on him.
“Max?” Mrs. Evans called up the stairs, “Roberta says you’re here.”
“Coming,” Max called back. He looked at Piper. “Can we talk later? We have a lot of things to discuss.”
It was the last thing she wanted. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. We should leave the past where it belongs.”
“I’m talking about the business, Piper. I have no idea what I’ve gotten myself into. I’m going to need a little guidance, if you’re willing.”
Heat warmed her cheeks as she nodded quickly. “Of course.” He was now her boss, after all. A prospect that felt a little too strange for her liking.
With one more rueful smile, he was gone.
Piper stood in the Garnet Room and realized she was breathing as if she’d just run up a flight of stairs.
Max Evans was back and she wasn’t sure she was ready.
Copyright © 2021 by Gabrielle Meyer
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ISBN-13: 9781488070921
His Dry Creek Inheritance
Copyright © 2021 by Janet Tronstad
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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