by A. K. Evans
I gave her a nod of understanding. And because I wasn’t going to be rude, I turned to Max. “Anything for you?”
“I’ll come with and help you,” he stated.
Crap.
I did not want to be alone with him right now. Because I knew when I said what I had to say I was going to end up crying. Poor Claire did not need to witness that. I couldn’t possibly bring myself to pop the happy little bubble she lived in.
“Auntie Nora?” Claire called.
My heart skipped a beat as my eyes went to hers. “Yes, honey?”
“Where should I put my picture?” she asked, looking around for what I assumed would be a safe spot.
My eyes darted back and forth before I suggested, “Well, do you want to give it to your mom or dad to hold so that you don’t forget it here?”
She shook her head. “No, this is for you.”
“You drew that picture for me?” I asked even though she’d already told me she did.
Claire nodded her reply.
I stood up straight, held out my hand to her, and announced, “Well, then that deserves a spot front and center on my refrigerator. How about you come with me to the kitchen while I’m getting the drinks so you can find the perfect magnet and perfect place to hang it?”
Claire bounced over to me, took my hand, and walked with me to the kitchen. When we made it there, she looked up at my refrigerator, and she marveled, “That’s so many magnets.”
I let out a laugh and admitted, “I know. It really is. I don’t have a lot of things I collect, but I like collecting magnets for this very reason. I was hoping one day I’d be able to fill my refrigerator with beautiful pictures.”
“You don’t have any now,” she noted the obvious as she looked at the sad refrigerator with only magnets covering it.
Nodding, I agreed, “You’re right. That’s why your picture is super, extra special. It’s the very first one, and I’m never going to take it down.”
The smile on her face got so big, it lit up the room.
“Okay, you look through these while I get everybody drinks. Then, we’ll hang it up together, alright?”
Claire agreed.
So, I quickly pulled the carafe with the sweet tea out of the fridge along with a beer. As Claire perused the magnets, I got out glasses for the tea. At that point, Max had entered the kitchen.
“You can grab yourself a beer if you’d like one,” I offered, keeping my eyes focused on what I was doing. “I can also get you a glass of tea if you’d prefer.”
I heard Max instruct, “Take two steps back, so I can open the fridge, Claire.”
Good. He was getting his own beer.
I finished pouring a glass of tea each for both Courtney and myself when Max was in my space. “Ella, what—” he got out before I cut him off.
“Don’t,” I ordered, my eyes spearing him. “Not now. Please, not now.”
Max studied me, his look more than slightly bewildered.
“I found one!” Claire interrupted at the perfect moment.
My gaze went to her as I said, “Oh, let me see which one you chose.” I walked around Max toward Claire. She showed me the magnet she chose before I picked her up and let her select whatever she deemed the best spot on the refrigerator to hang it. Once it was in the perfect place, I set her down on her feet again and moved back to the drinks. I picked up the two glasses of tea while Max grabbed Jim’s beer.
For the next three hours, I sat on a couch opposite of Jim and Courtney. Max was seated next to me. I didn’t get up and move because I really didn’t want to cause a scene. But it was hard to sit there next to him. Especially when he threw his arm around me and rested it on the back of the couch.
The visit with Max’s sister and her family was mostly spent talking about the kids. Claire was a great source of entertainment and distraction. Courtney had asked about my family, my life in Florida, and ultimately, my career. I shared openly. It’s not like I had anything to lose anymore.
But as it approached dinnertime, Courtney finally remarked, “We should probably get going so we can get the kids back to Grandma and Grandpa’s for dinner, baths, and bedtime.”
That was another thing I’d learned during their visit. Part of what they’d decided was to stay temporarily with Courtney’s parents until progress could be made on the case. Given that their family was specifically targeted because of Jim’s line of work, they wanted to take precautionary measures for the time being. The security was a bit tighter at Courtney and Max’s parents’ place, so they figured it was the best spot for an immediate solution. Either way, Courtney wasn’t letting Claire or Julian out of her sight.
“Well, it was so nice of you to stop by,” I began as I stood. “It’s a bummer you’re not back in your house yet, but I’m happy you’re all managing okay. If you need anything, I’ll give you my number. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.”
“Claire, how about you give Auntie Nora a hug and a kiss before you go with Daddy to get your jacket on?”
Claire did as she was told and came over to give me a hug and a kiss. I held her tight for a moment before her dad urged, “Come on, sweet pea.”
Courtney walked over to me, Julian resting on her hip, and reached for my hand. I was acutely aware of the fact that Max was standing right beside me. Squeezing tight, her voice just a touch over a whisper, Courtney stated, “I didn’t want to do this because of Claire. She listens and hears everything, and I don’t want her to know that anything was ever wrong.”
Shaking my head, I tried to ease her concerns. “Courtney, I would never say a word about it to her. And you don’t have to worry that because I am who I am that Claire’s situation will ever become public. I can promise you that’ll never happen.”
“I appreciate that, but that’s not my concern,” she returned.
“Oh. What’s wrong?” I asked.
She held my eyes for several long moments before she rasped, “How can I ever thank you for what you did for Claire?”
“There’s no need,” I insisted. “I have a picture hanging on my fridge right now that is really all the thanks I want.”
She closed her eyes and squeezed my hand tighter. “Thank you,” she whispered when she opened them.
“Don’t worry about it. Really. Besides, I already kind of owed Max.”
Her head tipped to the side. She eyed Max curiously before she looked back at me. “For what?” she wondered.
Of its own accord, my neck craned and I looked up at Max. I stared at his handsome face as I answered quietly, “He plowed my driveway.”
I heard a laugh come from Courtney before she advised, “I hate to break it to you, Ella, but what Max did for you was nothing in comparison.”
Returning my attention to her, I shook my head and somehow managed to speak past the lump in my throat when I confessed, “It was so much more, Courtney.”
Realizing there was no point in trying to argue with me, she gave me a nod and let go of my hand. We walked out into the foyer where we met Jim and Claire. I gave out a round of hugs to everyone, except for Max, and moved with them to the door.
With Courtney holding Julian and Jim carrying Claire, I watched the beautiful family walk away from my house and back to their car.
Max did not follow them.
Eleanor
When I turned and saw that Max was making no effort to leave, I recommended, “It would be best if you would leave now, too.”
He followed me back into the house, closed the door, and crossed his arms over his chest. “What is going on with you?” he asked.
I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. “Me? What’s going on with me?” I shot back. “I don’t know, Max. What do you think could possibly be wrong with me?”
“I don’t have much to go on here, but my best guess is that you’re pissed I didn’t return your calls yesterday,” he bit out.
“Yeah, how about we start there?” I suggested. “You’re right. I am pissed that you didn
’t return my calls yesterday. I don’t understand what would have been so hard about that.”
“Ella, I told you I needed some time to think about things,” he reminded me of something I already knew.
“Oh, so now I’m Ella?” I scoffed.
“What?”
I shrugged and threw my hands up indicating my lack of understanding. “I don’t know. Two nights ago, I was Eleanor Page.”
“Yeah. That’s your name, isn’t it?” he challenged.
Shaking my head, I sassed, “Not for you, it isn’t. You’ve never called me Eleanor. It’s always been ‘Ella’ or ‘darling’. And if my memory serves me right, I can even recall a ‘baby’ once or twice in the throes of passion. But never Eleanor…until two nights ago.”
“So, you’ve barely been able to look at me all day because I called you by your given name one time, and I didn’t return your calls yesterday even though I told you I needed time alone to think?”
He was such a good liar. Because had I not seen what I saw last night I would have actually believed his inability to understand why I was so upset.
“Time alone? Really?” I sneered. “Max, at least have the decency to be honest with me.”
“I am being honest with you,” he growled. “Other than when I went over to Court’s yesterday afternoon, I was home.”
I rolled my eyes. “But you weren’t alone,” I murmured.
“Excuse me?”
I couldn’t take it. I thought I was all cried out last night and this morning, but apparently, I was wrong. My eyes welled with tears as I rasped, “Did you call her ‘darling’ when you made love to her, too?”
Shock and horror came over him. Evidently, he didn’t think I knew.
“Who? Ella, what are you talking about?”
He couldn’t admit it? Fine. I’d tell him what I knew so he could stop denying it.
With tears rolling down my cheeks, I shared, “I was in my office last night when you got home. I saw you pull into your garage. I saw the other car pull up behind you. I watched as you stood at the back of your truck while she walked over to you.” I paused a moment, trying to regain my composure. It didn’t work, so I just did my best and kept going. “You hugged her, you followed her into your house, and ten minutes later, the light went on in your bedroom. That light never went off until more than an hour and a half later when she left, and you, presumably, went to sleep, never having returned my call.”
Through my tears, I watched as realization dawned and Max’s face got soft. His voice was gentle when he spoke. “Ella, darling, I did not do anything last night with that woman.”
I didn’t believe him.
And I wasn’t going to allow him calling me ‘darling’ for the first time again since everything had happened affect my ability to stay strong for myself.
Max continued, “I get why you’re upset now. What you saw, what you believe happened…your feelings right now based on your assumption are completely justified. But you’re wrong. That was Vanessa. She is a long-time family friend and is a financial planner who took over her mother’s client portfolio a few years ago. My father originally had Vanessa’s mother handling his investment portfolio. Naturally, when I’d reached a point that I had money to invest, I did the same. But when Vanessa took over, I trusted the relationship we had with her mother to continue working with her.”
Did he think I was stupid?
“And you expect me to believe that you discussed your investment portfolio with this family friend late last night in your bedroom?” I scowled.
“She was never in my bedroom,” Max countered. “My safe is in the back of the master closet in the bedroom. I ran upstairs to get some papers out of it. I must have forgotten to turn off the light afterward.”
Having been so convinced of what I believed Max had done and not wanting to look like a complete fool if what he was saying was the truth, I snapped, “Okay, fine. Let’s assume you’re telling me the truth about that. What happened to needing time alone? That wasn’t what you needed, was it? It was just needing time away from me, right?”
“Not at all,” he fumed. “And I’ve got to tell you, Ella, I’m really not liking the way this is going. You explained the reason for your attitude, and I got it. But when I tell you the truth about your incorrect assumptions, I don’t appreciate having you insinuate that I’ve lied to you or that I don’t give a shit about you, especially when you were the one who lied to me.”
In all fairness, he had accepted the attitude I dished out, and didn’t get defensive when I explained where it came from. Now, I realized I was being just a bit of a bitch by not extending the same courtesy to him. But I hated that he kept saying I lied to him.
Embarrassed, I kept my mouth shut and my eyes on him.
“I did need time to think,” he started, his voice less harsh. “For crying out loud, my four-year-old niece was kidnapped. I thought that was the most devastating thing I’d ever go through in my life. But I was wrong. Because the worst part was when we realized she was being held for ransom and that we had almost no time to get a shit ton of money together that we didn’t have readily available. Fuck, Ella, my niece could have been killed two days ago. And if it hadn’t been for you, she very likely would have.”
His voice. He was tormented by the idea of what could have happened to Claire.
“Max,” I said softly, taking a step toward him. He took a step back, and I felt the sting of that in my belly.
He continued, “So, at the same time I’m trying to deal with what could happen to that little girl I adore more than anything, I learn that my woman is a billionaire. A billionaire, Ella. How the fuck does that not ever come up in conversation before then? How is it that we sat down to have dinner and a movie that we watched on your app, and you didn’t think to mention it to me?”
I wanted to answer him, but I had a feeling he wasn’t done.
“Yes, I needed some time to process everything that had happened. The biggest of those things being that if it hadn’t been for the woman I fell in love with stepping up to the plate big time for my family and me, my niece might not be here drawing pictures of herself wearing purple dresses.”
“You…you love me?” I asked meekly.
Shaking his head in disappointment, he bit out, “Christ, Ella. How can you not know that?”
My lips began to quiver.
“Instead of knowing deep down what we have between us, you sat here last night thinking that I was cheating on you?” he asked in disbelief.
A single tear leaked from my eye as I nodded.
He didn’t say anything.
Then, I burst into tears and buried my face in my hands. Seconds later, I felt Max’s arms around me as he pulled me close. “Darling…” Max trailed off. “I’m sorry about how I handled this whole situation. But you’ve got to know that I’m not that kind of guy, and I’d never do that to you.”
Hearing that, I cried harder.
He kissed the top of my head as my hands left my face and slipped around his waist. We stayed like that a long time before I tipped my head back. I barely had the opportunity to do that when Max’s mouth captured mine. We kissed for a long while before he picked me up and carried me out to the kitchen so we could make dinner together.
“I’ve got to ask you a question,” Max blurted.
“Okay?”
We were cuddled up on the couch. He was on his back; I was curled into his body. We’d just finished dinner and dessert a few minutes before, and while we ate, we didn’t discuss anything that had happened in the last two days. I had a feeling that time was coming to an end.
“Can you tell me why you didn’t tell me the truth about who you are?”
“Yes,” I answered honestly. “It’s the same reason I assumed you had moved on to someone else last night.”
Max waited for an explanation.
“I thought that once I told you who I am, you’d leave.”
“Why would I do that?” he wondere
d.
“It has been my experience that most men can’t seem to handle the fact that I’m successful,” I explained. “The more I got to know you, the more I liked you. And I didn’t want to risk not having you in my life.”
“Ella, I was eventually going to figure it out.”
I shrugged. “I know. I guess I was hoping that if I could get you to fall in love with me first that it wouldn’t be so easy to walk away from me. I really, really liked you, Max. I didn’t want to lose that.”
Max gave me a squeeze.
“Is it a problem for you?” I asked.
“What?”
After I lifted my head, I replied, “The fact that your girlfriend is a billionaire.”
“Fuck no.”
“Really? Not at all?” I pressed.
“Darling, I’ve got my own money. I don’t have billions, but I’m not starving either. Any man who’s threatened by your accomplishments isn’t a man. Your ability to make a living and be successful shouldn’t be stifled by anyone. And if a man loves you, he wouldn’t want that for you either.”
I couldn’t help but smile at him. Max shot me one in return.
“Alright. So that’s out of the way,” he began. “Now we’ve got to talk about something else.”
My body stiffened. “Why do I feel like this is going to be bad?”
“Relax,” he urged. “It’s not bad, but I want to explain why Vanessa was at my house last night.”
I bit my lip, already feeling uneasy.
“Ella, stop worrying. I swear to you; my family has known hers for years. She really is just our financial advisor. After I brought you back here two nights ago, I tossed and turned beside you in bed. There were too many thoughts running through my mind. And it wasn’t easy to settle down with you right beside me. So, I went home. It didn’t get much better because I couldn’t stop thinking about what you did. Fifty million dollars for my niece. I love knowing you feel that much love for me, darling. I really do. But that amount of money is not something I’m okay with you dishing out to ensure Claire’s safe return. I had Vanessa come over last night so I could see what my options are for returning that money to you. King Enterprises has a high net worth, but a lot of that money is tied up in assets. I already have Vanessa working to move some of my personal investments around, so I can get you at least ten million within the next week or so. We’ll get the rest sorted soon after that.”