They waited until the rest of the theater had cleared out before leaving, and when they walked out, it was with Max’s arm wrapped around her shoulders, holding her close. Truth, without him supporting her, she wasn’t sure she’d have been able to make it out of the theater on her own. Her knees had turned to Jell-O long before the ending credits started to roll.
They were quiet on the ride back to Piper’s apartment, Sarah’s thoughts still too scattered after the assault of that kiss. Max parked about a block down, then jumped out and rounded the car to get her door for her.
“Full-service date, I guess,” she teased, loving the attention he was paying her.
Max’s brow furrowed, and he looked down at the door he’d just gotten for her before asking, “Huh?”
Oh man, this guy was even more perfect than she’d thought. He wasn’t even pulling moves with that gentleman bad-boy stuff. He just did it. Without even thinking.
Max walked her up to her door where he kissed the daylights out of her one last time, leaving her breathless and dazed when he pulled back and brushed his thumb across her bottom lip.
“Thank you for taking me out tonight,” she whispered.
The corner of his mouth kicked up again. “My pleasure, Sarah.”
She unlocked the door and let herself into the apartment. Then after locking up, she fell back against the wall and slid to the floor, a helpless smile on her face. Piper’s head of blond curls popped out from her bedroom. Eyes going wide, she stepped into the hall, letting out a whoop as she bounced around.
“Oh, my precious baby hussy!” she squealed. “You did it! I’m so proud of you. Holy shit, I can’t believe you scored on your first date. But from the looks of you, it must have been amazeballs. Jeez, can you even walk? Do you need an ice pack? Ooh, tell, tell, tell!”
“An ice pack?” Maybe for her mouth, because Max had seriously kissed the heck out of her. “Actually, I could probably use some lip balm.”
Piper’s jaw dropped. “This blown-away, one-breath-shy-of-delirium look is from head?”
Sarah somehow gathered the strength to snort. She pushed herself off the floor, shaking her head as she walked into the kitchen and dropped into one of the chrome-rimmed, diner-style chairs surrounding the table. “There was no head. No sex. It was just kissing.” She reached down to unfasten the buckle on her sandal and added the hard-earned qualifier to that statement. “Really, really incredible, superhot, thoroughly soul-shattering kissing.”
“Kissing?” Sliding into the chair across the table, Piper stared at her in blatant disbelief.
Sarah nodded, running her fingertips across her sensitive lips.
“Shut up,” Piper gasped. “No way.”
“Oh yeah.”
Seconds passed, and then Piper stretched an arm across the table toward her. “Okay, I don’t want this to sound weird or anything, but since Max is into doing favors and all that, and I have a genuine curiosity here… Do you think he’d be willing to kiss me?”
Sarah’s head popped up, something ugly clawing at her chest as she thought about Max’s mouth anywhere near Piper. It was nuts. She didn’t have any claim on him. But still—
“And the only reason I ask is because this whole-body meltdown you’ve got going is completely blowing my mind. I really need to know for myself whether the kiss this guy is laying on you is that spectacular or whether you just need to get out more.”
“Sorry, Piper. You’re going to have to take my word on this one.”
* * *
Getting in his car, starting the engine, and actually driving away from Sarah’s place took everything Max had. Jesus, it wasn’t like he hadn’t known what he was getting into. He’d kissed her before. A handful of times now. Enough so, he couldn’t claim ignorance about how her kisses hit him: hard and with a lasting impact.
The first time, it’d taken weeks to get past her kiss. To shut down the justifications and rationalizations, and stop getting into his car with the intent of going back to school, finding Sarah, and telling her he was wrong. That they both were. And then taking her in his arms and finishing what they’d started. Yeah, weeks before he could trust himself not to do something stupid, but it had taken more like a year before he stopped comparing every kiss he had to the one they’d shared.
Her kisses definitely had staying power, but after those last two aborted attempts where she’d frozen up beneath him, he’d forgotten to brace for the impact. Tonight, her kiss had nearly knocked him on his ass.
Thankfully, he’d had the foresight to take her to the movies instead of back to his place. If they’d been alone when she asked him for more, hell, he wasn’t sure he had it in him to deny her. To deny either of them.
Max parked his car, lucky to find a spot within a half mile of his place. Just as well he’d had to walk, because it had given him a few more minutes to cool off before he found Molly waiting for him on the front stoop. A quick glance at his watch confirmed it was almost midnight.
“Moll, what are you doing here?” he asked, unlocking the front door as she stood up and dusted off her rear.
“What? No ‘Hey, Sis, good to see you’?” She stuffed her phone and earbuds into her oversize canvas bag and followed him inside. “Hope you don’t mind, but the roomie is getting some hard-core action back at my place, and even with my door closed, I feel like I know way too much about her sexual proclivities.”
Max shrugged. “No problem. But didn’t you stay over at Brody’s place last week for the same thing?”
She shrugged like it was no big deal, only Max could see the fatigue in his sister’s eyes. In addition to being a part-time manager at Belfast, she cleaned houses and did some web design, so when she went home to sleep, she really needed it.
“Yeah, I think they might be getting serious though. So maybe I’ll just ride it out until whatever happens, happens.”
Max shook his head and walked into the kitchen, figuring she could probably use a beer. He reached into the fridge, grabbed two, and cranked off the caps with the mount on the wall. “Another one bites the dust, huh?” His sister was a great girl, a little mouthy with a lot of attitude, but when it came to her roommates, she was respectful and accommodating. She just had shit luck. “When did this one move in?”
Molly took the beer with a weary smile and dropped onto the corner of the couch. “Three months ago. I was hoping I could get at least twelve out of her, since she wasn’t stealing anything or suffering from severe anger issues or suddenly between jobs with no income. Whatever, it’ll all work out.”
That was Molly. Ever the optimist.
“So what had you out so late tonight? Or should I say who?” she asked with that nosy gleam in her eyes.
“Date with Sarah,” he answered, knowing there was no sense in trying to keep the truth from her.
“Dude, are you in lurve, because a date? I can’t remember the last time you actually owned up to a date.”
It had been a while. “Jesus, Moll. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Yes, Sarah is different, and this was definitely a date, complete with dinner and a movie, but relax about it. We’re just having fun.”
“And she knows that?” Molly pulled her legs up to sit cross-legged at one end of the couch.
“Yeah,” he answered with a laugh, leaning back into his corner. “She’s been pretty clear on what she’s available for.”
“Well, that’s a bummer. Was kind of hoping she’d be the girl to shake you up a bit.” She cut him a look. “You know, she reminds me a little of—”
“Don’t go there.” The words came out a little harsher than he’d intended, but he knew the comparison Molly was about to make, and he didn’t like it.
“Yeesh, sorry, Max. I just meant they were both sort of different from the girls you generally don’t date.”
Max shifted uncomfortably. “I know. Sorry.”
“Okay, okay, that’s enough.” He knew what she was saying. And for the millionth time, he wondered why Molly seemed incapable of respecting traditional sibling boundaries. Little sisters weren’t supposed to ask their brothers about sex.
“Come on,” she cajoled. “Tell me she turned you down. I know it’s not nice, and you know how much I love you. But the way you blow through women, seriously, nothing would make me happier than to hear that you got denied.”
“Fine, I got denied,” he said with a smirk just confident enough to leave Molly wondering.
Her brow crumpled, and she pushed her shock of colorful hair back from her face, casting him an uncertain look. He lifted his beer for a swig, still holding her eyes. The key was not to look away first. And sure enough, after a beat, Molly blew out a frustrated breath.
“Dang it, Max!” she groused. “I hate it when you do that. I hope she did turn you down, and that your balls are so blue they’re about to explode.”
Wish granted, at least on that last part. Not that he’d give her the satisfaction of knowing.
She crossed her arms and huffed again. Then shooting him a sidelong look, she asked, “So you’re going to see her again?”
“Yep.” That was the plan. “I’ll give her a call in a day or two.”
Molly raised a brow at him. This wasn’t his usual MO, so he threw her a bone. “She’s only in town for a little while. We used to be friends, and hell, I’d like to see her while I can. But Molly, for real, it’s not serious.”
At least it wasn’t for Sarah. He’d always been in too deep with her. But he’d handle it.
Molly’s hands came up in front of her as she gave her head a slow shake. “No, no, I wouldn’t assume it was.”
Bullshit. His sister was all about assumptions. “Molly,” he warned, with the kind of threatening tone she’d been blowing off forever.
“Whatever you say.”
He didn’t like the look he was getting, but he knew better than to keep trying to sell her. Pushing up from the couch, his half-drunk beer in hand, he stretched out his back and shoulders. “Staying up a while?”
She shook her head. “No. I’ve got a ton to do tomorrow. Mind if I take the couch?”
“You could have the bed,” he said, wishing that for once she’d take it. But she didn’t.
“Gross. I’m afraid I’d be visited by the ghosts of hookups past.”
Right. She knew he never brought women back here. Just like he knew the only reason she wouldn’t take his bed was because if she did, she’d feel like she was putting him out, and then she wouldn’t be comfortable coming back if she needed a place to crash. And he wanted her to always feel like she could come back.
When he had everything locked up and the lights were off, he stretched out in bed and stared at the ceiling. Sarah reminded Molly of Joan. That was what she’d been about to say when he’d cut her off. Funny, except that wasn’t quite the way it worked. She had it backward.
Shit, he didn’t like to think about Joan. She wasn’t a terrible person, and he wasn’t hung up on her. But all it took was her name and there she was, stepping out of the shadows and taunting him with his mistakes.
She’d been sweet. Pretty with dark hair, gentle eyes, and a shy smile that hadn’t belonged at the party his police academy buddy’s hookup had brought her along for. She’d reminded Max of Sarah, simple as that. So when they met and he felt something like the tug that had been there two years before, instead of resisting it and doing everything in his power to show this last-year nursing student he wasn’t the kind of guy she should be with, he worked his ass off to show her he was.
Looking back, he’d been so focused on showing Joan how right he was for her that he might have ignored some fairly obvious signs that they weren’t right for each other. That the girl he really wanted had moved to California with the guy she was planning to marry—yeah, he’d looked Sarah up a time or two. He’d been curious—and maybe finding a quiet girl who looked like her wasn’t the answer.
But like before, recognition came too late.
When she graduated, he convinced Joan to take the job that would keep them together rather than the one on the far side of the state where her family lived. The one she’d planned to take in the town she’d planned to return to. He should have known better. Getting in the way of a woman’s plans never paid off. He knew it firsthand, but after letting Sarah go, hell, he just hadn’t wanted to believe it.
For a while, things between them had been good. They got along. He knew how to tease her into one of those pretty laughs that almost felt right. She mostly didn’t mind when he got assigned to nights and couldn’t take her out with her friends as often as she liked. She still went out, and he was glad she had people to spend her time with, especially because she wasn’t enjoying the job she’d taken.
He felt guilty about making her change her life to be with him, hated that maybe he was the reason she didn’t smile as much. He did everything he could to try to make it up to her in other ways, but his efforts always fell short. They weren’t right together. But instead of accepting he’d made a mistake, Max thought she needed more from him.
Dumbass that he was, he bought her a ring. Lucky fuck that he was, she told him about the guy she’d hooked up with before Max had a chance to give it to her. The guy from her hometown who’d been up visiting Chicago for a weekend. Her plans only temporarily derailed, she moved back to western Illinois, and not long after that, she married the guy. Good for her.
Too bad Max hadn’t left her and her plans alone in the first place.
Chapter 12
There was a reason Sarah always kept her work and personal lives separate. And Sean Wyse meeting her at the elevator first thing Monday morning, an expectant grin on his face as he asked her how her date had gone Saturday night, was it.
“Come on, Max won’t tell me a fucking thing,” he urged, keeping his voice quiet enough so Sarah was the only one within range to hear her boss drop the workplace f-bomb. He’d most definitely been showing her a different side of himself since he’d been outed as that Sean, and she didn’t mind a bit.
“It was a date. Nice. What’s there to tell?” she asked, passing one office after another at a racewalker’s clip. Only the heels were holding her back.
Sean let out an incredulous laugh. “I want to know if my guy’s made any progress toward keeping my girl here in Chicago. I’m banking on his irresistible charm to snare you so I can keep you for my own.”
Sarah stopped where she was, turning a raised brow to her boss, who was literally rubbing his hands together. “Keep me for your own? Creepy much, Sean?”
“Whatever. Did he pick you up in the car or on his bike? And tell me, please, he took you someplace good. I think we both know I only have this one shot to land you, and I’m counting on Max to do it for me.”
She knew Sean was joking. Mostly joking. He wanted to see her stay in Chicago, but anyone who’d worked with her for more than ten minutes knew a man would never impact her career plans. At least not again. Still, it was fun to play along.
“Well, you can rest assured Max delivered an excellent date. Dinner was terrific, the private boat tour too. But the serenade,” she stressed, delivering an Oscar-worthy sigh before going on. “That’s what really blew me away. Who knew Max could sing like that. Or dance?”
Sean had stopped walking, a smacked look on his face that was killing her, but then he scowled and jogged a couple steps to catch up again. “Don’t tease me. Getting my hopes up only to crush them is seriously uncool.”
“Sorry, Boss,” she said, reaching her office door and not meaning the apology at all.
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She walked inside, setting her bag down before slipping into the chair behind her desk.
Sean dropped into the open club chair and crossed one foot over his knee as he leaned back. “Okay, seriously this time. How was the date?”
Sarah thought about telling him it was none of his business. But the truth was, Sean was her friend, even with the professional foundation behind it. And he was Max’s friend too. She couldn’t blame him for being curious. “It was good, Sean. Really nice. Max is a great guy, and I’ve always enjoyed his company. So it was nice being able to spend an evening with him.”
It was an honest-ish answer. But friends or not, there were lines a girl didn’t cross with her boss. And detailing how his best friend had thoroughly and completely ravaged her mouth was one of them.
“Hmm. Nice?” Steepling his fingers beneath his chin, Sean leaned forward. “That doesn’t exactly sound like a rave review.”
Sarah let out an exasperated breath. “Very nice?”
“Better, but it still sounds like my man is going to have to step up his game.”
Sarah started busying herself with organizing her already-neat desk, because she was thinking about Max’s game. He most definitely didn’t need any improvement. The way he’d kissed her, taking control of her mouth, had left her breathless and aching—
“Holy shit,” Sean muttered under his breath. He was staring at her, his raised brows all but assuring something in her expression had given her thoughts away.
“Or maybe his game is just fine. Sarah, Sarah, Sarah.” Yeah, there was way too much going on in that smile of his. “You have plans for lunch today?”
The sudden change of subject threw her off, and before she could think about why he might be asking, she simply told him no.
“You do now.” Sean pulled out his phone and fired off a text.
“Wait? What are you doing?” she sputtered.
“Telling Molly to meet you at noon. I might not be able to strong-arm you into giving up the details, but that girl is relentless.” He glanced down at his phone again, his smile satisfied. “All set. She’s in.” Then Sean was pushing out of his chair. “Hey, keep an eye out for some files from my office this afternoon. If you’ve got any spare time, I could use a hand with a few things.”
The Wedding Date Bargain Page 13