Her dark brows shrugged. “Can you go into more detail?”
“What more do you need to know?”
“I find it difficult to believe he simply ran away.”
Oh, yeah. I kept forgetting that Max wasn’t just some guy but a public figure of sorts. People had their perceptions about him, even my psychologist.
“He didn’t run per se; it was more of a brisk, callus-prick-type walk.”
“Lily.” She held out her hands in a stop gesture. “I’m here to help you see things in a way that might be closer to reality so you can make better informed decisions. So when I say that I find it difficult to believe he walked away from you, I’m not defending his character. I’m merely commenting that I find it difficult to believe any man would walk away from you. You are a very extraordinary woman. I even find myself talking to my daughters about you—albeit confidentially—but I do talk about you.”
“What do you say?”
“I find your resilience fascinating. Your loyalty and heart, too. You see the world in a way that is altruistic, but you neglect yourself in the process.”
“What’s that have to do with Max?”
“I only know him through you, but knowing you, I can’t believe he’d simply—out of cruelty—walk away like you’re hinting at. There has to be another reason.”
“I can’t think of one. And I can’t believe you’d take his side.”
“I’m not taking sides, I’m helping you see the other side. And right now, my thoughts gravitate toward the moments before your accident. You were so sure, so confident that he’d betrayed you that you lashed out at him and then nearly killed yourself.”
God, what a horrible bitch! I hate you for being so right. “So I should allow him the chance to tell me what really happened and then I can castrate him and cry on your couch?”
“Exactly.” She smiled.
Fair enough. “I’ll tell you how it goes.”
“Please do, Lily. Oh, and by the way, have you told your family the good news yet?”
I cringed. “I’m waiting for the right time.” My parents’ stress over the matter would only add to the fire of this chaos called my life.
“Which is when?” she asked in a frank, nonjudgmental way I very much appreciated.
“When I know what I’m going to do with my life.”
“I suggest, Lily, and this is not to pressure you, but I suggest allowing them to help you figure it out. That’s what family is for.”
I nodded. “You’re right.” I was just used to dealing with everything on my own. But that needed to change. I couldn’t raise a child alone, nor did I want to.
Max…goddammit, Max. Why couldn’t he have just been happy? I felt like he’d robbed me of something. A life as a family.
I hadn’t realized it, but that was something I’d always believed I’d have when the time came. And now that he’d taken it from me, I wanted it more than ever. If not for me, then for this baby.
“Thank you, Dr. Monroe. See you next week.”
When I got home, I took a deep breath and decided it was time to call Max, like Dr. Monroe said. It went into voice mail, so I called Keri.
“Lily! Ohmygod. Where have you been?”
“I’m in California,” I replied.
“You have to come back. I can’t put everything off any longer and people need to get paid. There are also five different store leases we’re about to lose if someone doesn’t sign.”
“Where’s Max?”
“Gone—he took off again last week.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
The awkward silence on the other end of the line made my skin crawl.
“Keri?”
She sighed. “He told me not to. He said he’d really fucked things up this time and to leave you alone—something about causing you enough damage.”
Huh? “This makes no sense.”
“Please, Lily. You have to come back. I gave up a great job to work here, and I can’t afford to be unemployed again.”
I knew I was partly to blame for her losing her job earlier this year after CC was sold.
Crap. “I don’t know if I can—I mean…it’s complicated, Keri.”
“It’s not complicated, Lily. You own this company—yes, I know about it because I helped the lawyer with some of the paperwork. This is your vision, Lily, and we’re all behind you, but we need you. Max is…he’s…”
“What? He’s what?” A giant jerk-faced creep?
“I’ve worked for him for years,” she said. “I’ve never seen him like this. Before he left last week he was all…broken. Completely broken.”
I whooshed out a breath. Something had happened to him, but what? My gut told me it had to do with his sister. “Do you have any idea where he is? Did he take his plane anywhere?”