Feeling battle-worn, she stared up at him. He seemed rather pleased with himself as he stared back. But then his expression shifted, became something more. He looked at her in a way no other man had ever looked at her before, as if she mattered, as if this moment mattered.
A rush of emotion passed through her in a single heartbeat. Olivia maintained eye contact as long as she could before she glanced away. “I thought you were taking me to breakfast?”
“Let’s go then. I know a great place not far from here,” he said, taking her hand and walking toward the monorail.
Olivia shook her head, clearing it of the thoughts that seemed to invade every time she looked into his bottomless gray eyes. What was wrong with her? She was an adult. She knew how to dine without drooling . . . or throwing her meal partner on the table for casual sex. She smiled a little to herself as she fell in step beside Max.
As they walked, sanity returned. The trouble with being around Max was that she liked him despite the fact he was engaged. Her own fiancé had been dating another woman for three months while they’d been engaged. The two of them had spent weekends away together. He’d made excuses for the time away, and had effectively hidden Blair from her until the end. Olivia never wanted to be “the other woman.” Her experience with Damien had taught her how it felt when the truth came out. Even though she didn’t even know Annalise, she couldn’t think of Max in any other way but as an engaged man from this moment forward.
To her, Max was simply a very handsome, hard-to-ignore . . . friend whom she’d see on a regular basis while they tutored Paige for a few more weeks.
Olivia released a soft groan that brought a curious look from Max.
“What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Life’s not fair.”
Max turned his head, but not before she saw a strange light in his eyes, as if he was thinking about something in his own life. Something painful. “I couldn’t agree with you more.”
At breakfast Max sensed Olivia wasn’t ready to talk about their relationship, so he kept the topics light, focusing instead on the safe subjects of the weather, great meals they’d eaten in Seattle lately, and Paige. Even though their conversation had been pleasant, an underlying tension existed, and Max cursed himself for a fool for asking her to spend this time with him.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be there with Olivia. He could think of no better place on earth to be at the moment than staring into Olivia’s brown eyes. What made the meal difficult was how much he longed to tell her the truth. He’d had to bite his words back many times so as not to invalidate the NDA he’d signed. But even his silence on the matter did not curb his need to kiss her, right there in public. That would be not only foolish but dangerous. Simply being with her was dangerous enough.
If the paparazzi found them together, and those photos made their way back to Annalise or her father, there would be hell to pay. Max would willingly take that risk for himself but not for Olivia. He’d hurt her enough already with the lie of his engagement to Annalise.
Across the table from him, Olivia checked her watch. “Goodness, it’s late.” She scooted out of the bench seat to stand. “I’m sorry, Max. I have to go. I promised Paige I’d meet her at the Center Theatre.”
“That’s not far from here. Let me walk with you.”
Olivia nodded as she slipped her scarf around her neck.
Max knew he should let her go, but he couldn’t seem to say good-bye. Not yet. Together they headed across the Seattle Center, toward the first floor and the Center Theatre. “Can I ask why you’re meeting with Paige on a Sunday?”
“I see her every Sunday as part of our Gals and Pals program. Today, however, I’m taking her to see a play. She’s been having trouble reading Romeo and Juliet for her English class. I thought maybe if she saw the play performed by the Seattle Shakespeare Company it might help her understand. Want to come and help support Paige?”
The spontaneous invitation caught him off guard even though she was only asking him to go to the play for Paige’s sake.
“Maybe with the two of us explaining the language and what’s happening, she might actually understand.”
“I’d love to come. What about seating?”
“It’s open seating. Buy a ticket when we get there. I already have ours. I’m sure we can find three seats together.”
They found Paige pacing back and forth in front of the doors. He went to the ticket office to purchase a ticket while Olivia went to greet the anxious teenager.
“What took you so long?” Paige asked. At the sight of him, her mouth turned up in a smile. “Is Mr. R. coming to see the play with us?”
“Yes, he thought he might,” Olivia said.
The teenager shrugged. “If he wants to torture himself. Be my guest.” Paige stifled her smile, trying to appear as though she didn’t care if he came with them or not, but she could see the pleasure in her eyes.
They took their seats, Paige on one side of Olivia, him on the other, as the lights went down and the curtain opened. A man emerged from the darkness, narrating the prologue. “Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.”
Paige sank down in her chair and groaned. “How am I going to understand what they’re saying?”
Olivia leaned toward the girl and whispered, “Listen with your heart, Paige. And watch the body language—it’ll tell you a lot. We’ll talk it through when the play is over.”
“Listen with my heart?” She laughed. “What a corny thing to say.”
But that was the last sound Paige uttered as the play went on. Her delicate features shifted from confused to intrigued before the start of the second scene. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Max could see she understood much of what was happening without any translation of the antiquated language.
Allowing himself to forget about everything but this moment—and because Paige couldn’t see them in the darkness—Max reached for Olivia’s hand. When she didn’t pull away, he felt a rush of satisfaction. This was the way it was supposed to be between the two of them.
Just as the play came to an end and before the house lights came up, Max released Olivia’s hand. For the space of a breath, she looked at him with those eyes that were sometimes brown, sometimes gold, but always insightful, and a connection passed between them. Without words, she said what he longed for her to say—that she would miss him when she walked away. Pain knifed through him as they made their way out of the theater.
Paige didn’t seem to notice the tension between them as she chattered without needing a response about how horrible it was that the two young lovers met, married, got separated, then ended up killing themselves because they didn’t want to live without the other person. “No wonder they call the play a tragedy. I’m going to have to watch some funny cat videos on the Internet to cheer myself up after that,” Paige said with a laugh.
“Now you understand the depth of Romeo and Juliet’s despair,” Olivia commented as they exited the theater.
Paige nodded. “Sometimes even people who have families have twisted lives.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Olivia said with a soft laugh. “Not everything is perfect just because you have a family. Are you still worried about understanding the play?”
“A little,” Paige replied. “The words were so old-fashioned.”
Olivia smiled. “Then you’ll appreciate the copy of No Fear Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet I have in the car for you.”
Paige’s response was a very proper teenage groan. They all laughed in response.
As the three of them headed down the steps, Max noticed a solitary man standing across the walkway, watching him with narrowed eyes. He tried to steer Olivia and Paige into the crowd, but the man stepped into their path with his camera poised, and the rapid clicking of a camera shutter filled the air, followed by buzzing bursts of light.
“This
way,” Max said, herding the two women away from the photographer and toward the crowd.
The man followed, but Max shifted their direction until he knew he’d lost the photographer. “Sorry about that,” Max apologized when they were able to slow their steps.
“Mr. R., are you someone famous?” Paige asked with a frown.
“No, Paige, I’m just your teacher.”
Her brows came together. Unconvinced by his answer, she asked, “Then why was that man photographing you . . . with us?”
“It’s complicated, Paige.” He stopped beside the Chihuly Garden and Glass museum. Harrison Street and waiting taxis were a short distance away. He steered them toward the street and the line of waiting taxis. He opened the door of the first taxi in the queue. Paige slipped inside, but Olivia held back.
“Why did that photographer want pictures of the three of us together?”
“He was trying to make it look like I was cheating on my fiancée.”
“And were you?” Olivia asked, the words choked.
Max fixed his gaze on her. “By being in the company of another woman, yes.”
“We should go,” she said, her voice sounding faraway. Olivia ducked into the cab beside Paige, then turned and looked back at him. He saw the sheen of tears in her eyes. Then the door closed, and she and Paige were gone.
He couldn’t remember a time when he’d been so sorry to see anyone go. But it wouldn’t be for the last time; he’d make certain of that. Because more than ever, he wanted to keep Olivia by his side, no matter the cost.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Olivia dropped Paige off at her foster parents’ home, then returned to her condominium. After a shower, she curled up on the couch with another one of the books she’d picked up to try to understand Paige better. And yet the book remained unopened in her lap. The situation with Max was out of control. Today hadn’t been a date, not really, despite their late breakfast and the play. Their joint presence at the play was for Paige.
It was all for Paige.
From the look of understanding in the teenager’s eyes during today’s play and the frequency with which she answered her math questions correctly at school, Olivia would have to say they were making progress. Progress she didn’t want to disrupt by quitting the tutoring sessions after school, or by getting a new tutor altogether. It was important not to change what was working despite the cost to herself.
Max swore he wasn’t really engaged to Annalise, but everything around them belied his words. That photographer had acted as though Max and Olivia had something to hide from the world, no matter how innocent their afternoon together had been this time. Olivia picked up her cell phone. Seeing she had no new messages, she opened Facebook. Her breath caught. Right there before her were pictures of her with Max and Paige. The post with the caption DEVOTED TEACHER OR CHEATER? had been posted to Olivia’s timeline from Ms. Pickles again, along with a second post—a video of Max and Annalise’s engagement party tonight.
Olivia gave a choked little laugh; the event was happening right now.
In the video, Max stood beside the flawless Annalise Ellington. She looked up at him, her expression one of pure rapture. Olivia’s stomach twisted. Suddenly she was breathing too fast, her heart pounding too hard as Max leaned down and kissed his fiancée full on the lips for what felt like an eternity.
Pain knifed through Olivia. Time spun out before her as the beat of her heart sounded in her ears and tiny speckles of light floated before her eyes. Tearing her gaze from the screen, she flicked her cell phone off, not trusting herself to simply close the application.
A spark of anger tightened her chest. The burgeoning spark heated her from the inside out like a flaring coal in a once-dead fire. He’d made his choice. Now she would make hers. She drew her chin up and forced her gaze away from her cell phone. There’d be no more time alone together and absolutely no more touching. Olivia released her pent-up breath in a rush—it was when he touched her that all her good intentions vanished.
She was a professional, for goodness’ sake. Her first and only priority was Paige.
Max tried to dredge up a smile for the photographer at his and Annalise’s engagement party. Yet he couldn’t keep his thoughts off a different female who, after today’s events, would be harder to reach than ever.
“Max?” Annalise’s whisper cut through his thoughts. “You might be here in person, but you’re miles away in your thoughts. What’s up?” She turned to face him. Their gazes held.
He offered Annalise a tight smile. There was a time when she’d known him better than anyone else in the world. She’d been an anchor for him in high school when he and his dad were having disagreements about every little thing. She’d been his best friend. Time and distance had changed him, but Annalise remained the same. Though the things they wanted out of life were different, when she’d come to him for help, he’d found he couldn’t refuse because of the bond they’d once shared.
Max plunged his hand through his hair. “It’s nothing,” he lied.
“Nothing by the name of Olivia Tyler?” she asked.
He nodded.
“I saw the pictures of the two of you together with that young girl. What’s her name . . . Paige?”
“She’s a student of mine.”
Annalise shooed a photographer away with a swish of her hand, then pulled out of his arms. She studied Max with a frown. “Is that why the three of you were together today? It had to do with teaching?”
Max tried to dredge up those old feelings of friendship that used to fill him when he was near Annalise. Nothing came but an irritated emptiness. “What are we doing, Annalise?”
She gave him a heart-stopping smile, one designed for all those who might be looking at the two of them. “We’re pretending we’re getting married,” she whispered. “That’s what we’re doing. Now play the part. Daddy’s here. He’ll know something’s up if you don’t. We have a deal. That means you’ll be the enchanting bridegroom tonight, and tomorrow you’ll come with me to my doctor’s appointment.”
He felt a growing twinge of irritation. “Do I have a choice?”
She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Not really,” she said for his ears alone. For a heartbeat, she looked at him with eyes he remembered from their high school days—eyes that were once compassionate. “Please, Max. Play along with me a little more. I need you.”
He wished for a desperate minute that he’d never agreed to this scheme. But he had. “All right, Annalise. For tonight, let’s pretend.”
She offered him a true smile this time as she led him directly to her father. “Daddy, Max and I want to thank you for throwing us this lovely party.”
The older man handed Max a glass of champagne. “It’s nothing. My little girl deserves the very best. You’ll be that for her—won’t you, young man?”
“I’ll do my very best.” Max took a long sip of his champagne, hoping it would dull the lies twisting inside him.
He handed a glass of champagne to Annalise, but she shook her head. “None for me now that I’m pregnant.”
“You’re pregnant?” Her father’s eyes rounded with anger. At that moment, the noise level in the room dropped, and his words echoed all around them. Victor Ellington’s face turned red as he shifted his glance to Max. His gaze scorched Max with its vivid intensity. “You violated my daughter before her wedding day.”
“Daddy, it was my choice.” Annalise threw herself between the two men with an apologetic look at Max. She took her father’s hands and gave them a squeeze. “You’re going to be a grandfather. Doesn’t that mean something to you?”
Victor’s gray eyes softened. “It means everything to me. But whatever happened to getting married before you have children?”
“Does it matter what order it happened? There’ll be a new baby in our family soon.”
The fire in the older man’s eyes died down as he studied his daughter. “You never could do things in a conventional way.”
> Max drew a tight breath. Annalise had been correct about one thing—the way her father would react to learning she was pregnant. At least that part of this arrangement was over. The news was out, and Annalise’s pregnancy was no longer a secret.
“Everyone,” Annalise’s father addressed the room in a loud voice. “I offer a toast to the bride and groom and their soon-to-be baby.”
An electrified murmur went out over the crowd as glasses tipped in their honor. Two photographers rushed forward, snapping candid shots of Max, Annalise, and Victor. All the while, Max forced a cheerful smile. They weren’t supposed to announce her pregnancy in such a public way. But then again, not much of their agreement had actually unfolded according to their mutual plan. Annalise was doing exactly as she pleased, and Max was left to suffer the consequences of her behavior.
He got it—she was protecting herself and the child. But she was also manipulating him, leaving him as the only one accountable for her mistakes, all for the price of $1 million.
Thoughts of Olivia tore through him. Would he give it all up to be with her right now? Could he let go of his life’s work, his dream, just to be in her arms once more? He’d never known a woman like her before. She was strong and capable. A partner. And nothing like Annalise.
“Max.” Annalise’s edged voice brought him back to the moment. “You’re going with me to my first ultrasound, right?” A small group of Annalise’s friends and family had gathered around, waiting for confirmation that he would be the father they all expected him to be. His own family and friends hadn’t been invited to the party because Annalise had feared they’d see through his false smiles. “Max?” Annalise prompted when he didn’t answer.
His heart heavy, he forced a nod. “Of course. Whatever you want,” he replied, though in the back of his mind he couldn’t help but wonder what it would take to break free of this situation with Annalise.
Monday morning at exactly ten minutes to one o’clock, as directed, Max arrived at the Nordstrom Tower, downtown Seattle. He made his way to the Minor & James Medical office where he would find Annalise waiting. Only Annalise wasn’t very good at waiting. Instead of finding her in the lobby, a nurse escorted Max back to an exam room where his supposed fiancée reclined on a table in the middle of her ultrasound.
Along Came Mr. Right Page 9