by Calista Fox
Was he really that colossal an idiot?
He instantly thought of Elizabeth reaching for the knot on his tie to whisk it off and dab club soda on the silk before the splatters of mustard stained it. And Ryan had taken his glasses off to clean them.
How had that looked to Maxi? Especially when he’d introduced her to Elizabeth?
But then again—
“Ryan, are you okay?” Avril asked, concerned.
He raked a hand through his hair in agitation. He’d specifically told Maxi that it was over between him and Elizabeth. So why would she instantly jump to the conclusion that they’d suddenly reunited?
Her words spring-boarded to the forefront of his mind: …being emotionally invested in a man, as you call it, has gotten me, uh…nowhere.
She’d been burned before. Had been used before.
Was clearly sensitive to the slight.
But, damn it! Didn’t Maxi know that he was crazy about her? That he had no intention of ever returning to Elizabeth and was, instead, ecstatic to be involved with Maxi?
Just Maxi?
“Christ,” he mumbled, when he really wanted to roar. To Avril, he said, “When you see Maxi, please tell her I have to speak with her immediately. It’s urgent.”
Because if he was right about the assumption she’d made, he needed to clear the air as quickly as possible.
* * *
Maxi was in her office when Staci stopped in at a half-past five.
The striking redhead who owned Staci Kay Shoes wore a pearly white smile that made Maxi relax just the tiniest bit.
“Please tell me you have good news,” Maxi said, as her boss swept into the room with a saucy sway to her hips and crossed to Maxi’s desk.
“I have stellar news,” Staci declared.
“Thank God. I could certainly use it.”
Staci’s smile dimmed. Her brow dipped. “You do look pretty down in the dumps. Not like you at all. What gives?”
“Nothing to worry about.” Maxi had been squirting drops in her eyes in hopes of clearing the red that cropped up every time tears stung them. She bucked up further to throw Staci from the trail of heartbreak. “I’d rather talk about what brings you down from the executive floor for a visit.”
“Maxi.” Staci slid gracefully into one of the white armless chairs before the glass-topped desk. “Something’s up. What is it?”
Maxi waved her hand in the air, wanting to dismiss her friend’s concern. “No worries, really. What’s up with you?”
Staci wasn’t nibbling on Maxi’s feigned nonchalance. “Come on. We’ve been through tough times together before, personally and professionally. This isn’t work related. I know you too well. Tell me what’s going on.”
The corners of Maxi’s mouth quivered. The backs of her eyes burned. Emotion swelled in her throat.
“Maxi…” Staci sat forward and gave her a compelling look. “You’re breaking my heart here.”
“Oh!” The word wrenched from Maxi’s mouth on a sob. Her hand flew up, and she covered her mouth, trying to control any further outbursts. Fat drops sprang to life and rolled down her cheeks.
“Jesus, Maxi.” Staci was out her seat in the next instant. She came around the desk and took Maxi’s free hand. Squeezed it tight. “Tell me!”
“It’s just something I have to get over,” Maxi said. “Something that apparently meant more to me than it should have. And damn it, isn’t that always the case?”
She’d sworn off men who were bad for her. Men who used her.
She’d been so convinced from the very beginning that Ryan Donovan, PhD, was not that way. That he was different. Much different, she’d mentally asserted when she’d first laid eyes on him.
How could she have been so wrong?
How could he have turned out to be a player—just like all the others she’d been attracted to in the past?
Staci knelt beside her, still clutching Maxi’s hand. “Hey. I’m no stranger to your relationship woes. Is that what’s happening here?”
Maxi couldn’t hold it in a second longer. Not when it was Staci who was suddenly so upset and worried about her.
With a nod, Maxi painfully confessed, “Ryan and I sort of had this thing going. And now we don’t.”
Staci’s brows knitted. “Why not? He’s an amazing person, Maxi. Honestly. You tapped a gold mine there.”
Maxi stared into tawny eyes filled with confusion. “You really think I was the one to end it?”
“Well…” Staci frowned. “I’ve seen the way Ryan looks at you. And he was incredibly flirtatious with you when we were out with Lola and Alex the other night—just you. So I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have—”
“But he did,” Maxi said, as the stream of tears continued to flow. “He’s back with Elizabeth.”
“No.” Staci shook her head vehemently, sending sleek, straight strands of dark-auburn hair flying about her shoulders. She stood and stared down at Maxi with conviction stamped across her lovely face. “Absolutely, positively, one hundred percent not.”
“I saw them together, Stace. In his office. They were quite cozy. Really cozy.”
“No, no, no.” Staci released Maxi’s hand and began to pace in her pretty, midnight-blue Mary Janes. “Ryan is not like that. Trust me. I know him. He’s genuine. He’s totally the real deal. He’d never—”
“Please,” Maxi couldn’t help but scoff. Then sniffle. “I’ve dealt with enough cheaters in my day. I’m a magnet for them. I thought I’d broken that vicious cycle, but…obviously not.” She reached for a tissue. Dabbed at her cheeks, then blew her nose. Too bad the tears kept falling. “On the other hand, it wasn’t as though Ryan and I had sworn exclusivity to each other. Still. We were, like, nuts about each other. And the sex was phenomenal.”
“Then he definitely wouldn’t go back to the Ice Queen. Seriously.” Staci drew up short and asked, “What’d he say when you confronted him?”
“Confronted him? Are you fucking kidding me?” Maxi gaped. It took her a few seconds to recover. “You know me so much better than that! You of all people know how many times I’ve confronted, yelled, sobbed…and taken back. Oh, no. Hell. No. I refuse to fall apart in front of Ryan Donovan. I’m his boss, Staci!”
Ugh!
That made it even worse!
Maxi wanted to scream at her own idiocy. “I never should have gotten involved with him in the first place. I realize that. But I am not going to let him see all of these tears. I really, really liked him, Staci. I mean…massive like.” Her heart constricted again, her chest pulling so tight that it hurt. “I just thought…” She shook her head, tried to swallow down that lump of emotion still filling her throat. “I thought we had something great going. He’s the perfect guy for me, and I might have even been—”
“Falling a bit in love?”
That accent!
Maxi’s gaze flashed across the room at the sound of Ryan’s voice. He stood in the entryway, his hands stuffed into his pockets, a grave and forlorn look on his ruggedly handsome face.
He said, “Because I was thinking the same thing on my end.”
“Ryan!” Staci declared with shocked disbelief in her tone. “Whatever Maxi saw in your office couldn’t have been exactly what she saw. That’s not the kind of person you are. You’d never—”
“She did see me and Elizabeth together.”
“Ryan!” Now Staci wailed her disappointment.
Maxi stood on slightly quivering legs. Partly because the mere sight of the sexy PhD made her knees knock together. The other part was born of pure devastation.
She mustered the strength to say, “Look. It doesn’t matter, okay? Nothing matters except the work that we all have to do.” She snatched another tissue and swiped her cheeks.
Why the hell did he have to walk in when she was losing it?
Forcing a steadier inflection—or at least hoping to—Maxi said, “I should have just stuck to my plan of concentrating solely on my job. This is much too cr
itical a time for us to drop the ball, so it’s better that this all fell apart now and we can just shove it under the rug, pretend it never happened, and get back to what we really need to do—work.”
It was a bitch to make that proclamation, because Maxi really did burn for a confrontation, an explanation from Ryan. But she squared her shoulders and lifted her chin, determined not to let the emotional damage show further. To brush it aside. To prove she was tough and that she was, indeed, his boss.
All of which became the hardest thing she’d ever had to do.
She spared a glance at Staci, hoping her friend would back her up. Interestingly, Staci appeared as wrecked as Maxi felt.
The redhead said, “I can’t believe you’d go back to Elizabeth, Ryan. I mean, I was there.” Pain and accusation edged her voice. “That night she pitched a snit-fit the likes of which I’ve never seen, because you expressed interest in helping me here, rather than taking another government consulting job. We were in a ballroom full of people. All of your friends and associates were in attendance, as well as hers. And she just shredded you, with no concern for your feelings or mine. Or how uncomfortable it made everyone else. So…what?” she boldly demanded. “You’re just going to forgive and forget?”
“I do forgive her,” Ryan said, his expression contrite, though somewhat perplexed. “She was under a lot of pressure, trying to land a promotion at the hospital.”
“And that’s a reasonable excuse?” Staci asked, aghast. “Did you give her back the ring you’d insisted she return that evening, following her volatile eruption?”
“I forgave her,” Ryan repeated, solidly standing his ground, “because she finally showed her true colors that night and it broke whatever spell I was under. It liberated me from whatever it was about Dr. Elizabeth Sherman that turned me into someone docile and complacent, when that’s not the person I’ve ever been. Not the person I want to ever be. Not the person I’ve been with Maxi—in just a short period of time. Everything has changed for me.”
“Please,” Maxi said between clenched teeth. “Both of you…just…stop. I don’t want to hear another word about Ryan and Elizabeth, all right? I don’t care. So let’s just move on!”
“But you do care,” Staci asserted. “I can tell you’re holding back some serious waterworks, my friend. So fight for him!”
“He cheated on me!” Maxi yelled.
“I most certainly did not!” Ryan fervently countered.
Their gazes locked. Sparks instantly flew.
Maxi couldn’t escape them with this man.
How the hell was she going to work with him after everything that had happened—everything she still felt for him? To the depths of her soul…
Ryan said, “I would never betray you like that. I’d never do that to anyone. But I most certainly would not intentionally hurt you, Maxi. That’s why I’m here. I realized when you started avoiding me that you saw something completely different than what really happened in my office with Elizabeth.”
“But you just said—” Staci tried to interject.
“Staci,” he cut her off. “I’m trying to win back the woman I’ve just lost. Be on my side here, the way I was that night I defended your honor and your company in front of six hundred people.”
Her mouth snapped shut.
“Now wait a second,” Maxi said. “Staci is my friend.”
“She’s both of our friends,” Ryan contended, “and can be on both of our sides. If you’ll just let me explain everything you missed before and after you were in my office, I think you might concede that there’s been a huge misunderstanding.”
Maxi could see he was getting a little hot under the collar. His jaw set. His muscles were rigid. His eyes deepened in color so that they were almost black.
God, he was sexy!
Angst and a razor-sharp edge radiated from him and called to Maxi. So that she found herself involuntarily taking several steps around her desk, closer to Ryan.
Yes, she was a magnet. He was steel.
But was there a point to their powerful and unwavering attraction to each other?
Maxi had stood up to Kev the last time he’d ripped her apart, and she absolutely refused to play the sucker again. Ever.
Ryan said, “Elizabeth came to my office to try to get me back—I won’t dispute that. I told her that would never happen. And I meant it. Never.”
“I saw you with your glasses off, Ryan,” Maxi told him, the mist returning to her eyes. “Elizabeth’s fingers were wrapped around your tie. Her coat had obviously been tossed off in the heat of passion. Are you honestly telling me you hadn’t just kissed her or weren’t about to?”
Lord, this was agonizing—to have to keep reliving that moment!
And now rehashing it in front of Staci. How much humiliation could one person stand?
Maxi fought the anger burning through her veins as Ryan continued.
“Elizabeth got upset and lost her temper again—because I refused to reconcile with her. She slammed her hand down on my desk, onto a packet of mustard that burst open and splattered all over me. That was why I took my glasses off. And she stepped in to help by removing my tie and cleaning it.”
Maxi planted her hands on her hips. Her teeth ground together.
It was an incredibly far-fetched scenario. Which made it oh so conceivable.
But could she believe it was true? Could she believe in Ryan?
Standing so close to him reminded her of how well they’d worked together as partners leading their division. Not to mention how hot and heavy they got with each other. His nearness excited her even now. At this crucial moment when she really needed to keep her wits about her so she wasn’t duped.
Ryan said, “It all happened rather quickly. I swear I shooed her out of my office and demanded she never return. Anne Phelps bore witness—ask her yourself. It is over, Maxi. There isn’t anything under the sun that Elizabeth could have said—or could say—to make me change my mind. I’m happy to be freed of her. Honestly.”
He took a step closer, minimizing the gap between them to mere inches. She inhaled his delicious scent and it made her a little hazy in the brain.
He removed his glasses, and Maxi got lost in melted chocolate irises.
Ryan said, “I’ve come to realize that what I had with Elizabeth was never love. It was warped and convoluted. I don’t know what I was thinking or how I got so caught up in something that didn’t make any sense. I can’t fully explain it. But I sure as hell know now that it wasn’t love.” He speared Maxi with a solemn look. “You’re the one I want. The only one I want. That is the absolute truth. Because just like you, Maxi… I’m starting to fall in love too. And I want it. With you.”
“Oh, God.” Staci sighed and dabbed at the corner of her eyes with a fingertip. “That is so sweet. Isn’t that sweet, Maxi?”
More tears filled Maxi’s eyes, but she managed to glare at her friend. “Maybe you don’t need to be here for this.”
“Right!” Staci hopped-to. “Make-up sex is the absolute best, so I’ll leave you to it!” She scooted toward the door.
Maxi said, “We haven’t made up.”
“What else is there to say?” Ryan quietly demanded. “I heard what you told Staci before I came in, and even if I hadn’t overheard your conversation, I know how you feel about me. I can see it in your eyes. I can feel it when you kiss me, when I’m inside you.”
“Ryan! Staci’s still in the room!”
Their boss lingered at the doorway.
Ryan spun around, and Staci gave a little waggle of her fingers. “You two are really very explosive together,” she said. “And by the way, the reason I stopped in to begin with is to say that I found new facilities for us. A friend of a friend has a building here in town that he’s considering renovating and turning into residential lofts. It’s not currently on the market for sale or rent, and he thought some additional cash flow before he starts construction would be beneficial. So it’s a temporary fix, but it give
s us six months to come up with an alternative. Now I’m gone!” She breezed out the door.
“This is such a bizarre working environment,” Ryan muttered.
“Not always.”
“Anyway,” Ryan said, as he seemed to get his bearings. “About the two of us…”
Maxi crossed her arms over her chest. Fought the gravitational pull that would have her in his strong embrace with one small step forward.
He told her in his sexy, irresistible accent, “I meant every word I’ve said. You’re perfect for me, Maxi. We’re perfect together. Let’s really and truly go for it.”
She stared up at him. He whisked the wetness from her cheeks with his thumbs, though the trickling didn’t stop.
“Come on,” Ryan coaxed. “You’re killing me here, being tormented over something that didn’t actually happened. You know I would never hurt you. And, Maxi…there’s no denying that we’re right for each other.” He used her own words from the very first time they’d made love, modified slightly for his current purpose: “We are metaphysically, viscerally, cerebrally, algebraically right for each other. Totally. Admit it.”
Her heart fluttered. Her body trembled.
Dare she take the chance…?
“Maxi.” One of his hands swept through her hair. His head dipped. He murmured, “Please, sweetheart. You’re it for me. Trust me.”
She searched her feelings, calling upon her newly honed romantic instincts.
And found her answer deep within her soul.
“Maxi, I will do anything to—”
“Yes,” she said, the tears now streaming faster. “I do trust you.”
They gazed at each for what felt like endless moments.
Then Maxi took a deep, ragged breath and said, “Let’s go for it, Ryan. Let’s completely and truly go for it.”
She couldn’t help but let her heart guide her. After all, it seemed to be on the tried-and-true path these days.
Ryan pulled her into his arms. Maxi held on tight. A much clearer intuition telling her that she’d finally chosen the right man.
Telling her that Dr. Ryan Donovan’s love was exactly what she needed.
Epilogue