“Hey! That’s enough,” I protested. “Tell my mom to stop talking about me.”
Max gave me his back and strolled over to the window. Yes, I took notice of his broad shoulders and the taper of his muscles that gave his body that perfectly masculine Y-shape.
“Yes, I heard that,” he said to my mom. “And I’m very pleased you enjoyed your day at Lily’s store.” He glanced over his shoulder and flashed a smirk my way. “Especially because I have a very big favor to ask.” He listened.
Oh no… Mom, don’t you dare!
“Thank you, Gladys,” he said, “because a family emergency has come up, and I need Lily here in Chicago for a few days.” A long pause. “Well, I will let her tell you all about it, but I just wanted to be absolutely certain that you’re all right with holding down the Lily Pad while I’m away.” Pause. “Great. You are truly the best mother anyone could ever ask for.” Pause. “I miss you, too.”
“What the fu…?” my voice faded as Max ended the call, slipped his cell into his jeans, and cocked his brows. “What the hell was that, Max?” I scowled.
He shrugged. “What?”
“‘I miss you’?” I repeated his words like an accusation.
Max looked down at his feet and gave his scruffy chin a scratch, making those little bristly sounds. I loved that sound. It was uniquely masculine and sorta turned me on.
“Your mother and I—well, and your father, too—have remained in touch these past six months.”
I blinked while his words sank in. Once they did, I was not happy. “You mean to tell me that my parents have been helping you keep tabs on me?”
Max gave me a hard look. “You truly believe they would do that?”
I crossed my arms. “You tell me.” They’d kept their relationship with him a secret, after all.
“We only spoke a few times. I think they were checking on me—you know your mother is an excessive worrier.”
“Hey! Don’t bad-mouth my mother.” It was true, however. My mother’s and father’s constant worrying had once prompted me to blaze my trail a little further from home. It wasn’t that I didn’t love them, but space was good.
Now, after everything that happened, I didn’t mind their worrying so much, and I sometimes wondered if Max’s mother had something to do with that. I’d only met Mommy Dearest the one time, but it was enough to help me understand why Max was who he was and be grateful for my own mom. To Max’s credit, he wasn’t nearly as messed up as he should be. His mother was as cruel as she was bonkers. She’d even had us stalked by a photographer, who took pictures of Max and I having sex at night in front of his beach house in Hawaii. Long story short, she thought if the world knew he’d been dating a very, very ugly woman, it would deflate the rumors that he had a disorder and save his company. Her company. Maybe it would’ve worked, but her actions had only helped me believe he’d been using me.
God, if I ever see that woman again, I’m going to punch her down there. Right in the clit. Or maybe I’d break her nose so it would be crooked forever and drive her mad.
“I’m not bad-mouthing Gladys,” Max said, bringing me out of a very wonderful daydream of me straddling his mother and beating the crap out of her face. “I think her worrying is sweet. I would’ve given anything for a mother and father like you have. They’re good people and they care.”
“Oh, fuck you!”
Max’s head jerked back in shock.
“That’s right!” I said. “Stop being so perfect and saying all the right things. It’s annoying and making me feel all squishy.”
Max stepped forward. “You mean you love me?”
I huffed. “That’s not the issue.”
He pinched my chin. “Then what’s the problem, Lily?”
Ugh! He already knew the answer. “Can we not go into this right now?”
He tweaked my nose. “Whatever you say, Lily Pad.” He stepped around me and opened the door.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“To the airport.”
“Max, no.”
“Your mother just told me she had the best day of her life running your store and ‘talking with so many interesting people.’ I need someone to fill my shoes here, and I can’t think of anyone more qualified than you.”
I gnashed my teeth together.
“It’s my sister, Lily. I have to go. So don’t force me to pull the guilt card,” he added.
Dammit! He just did! I knew how worried he had to be about his sister, and being the perfectionist that he was, he probably wanted to go to Argentina to be by her side as much as he did to oversee that everything possible was being done for her. Perfectly.
Dammit, he’s so awesome. I wanted to kick him and his perfect everything.