Two Dates Max (13 page)

“Yeah. I was. Um…something happened and he broke it off but it doesn’t really make sense to me.” One of her elegant brows rose but she remained silent. “Well, he said something happened between the two of you and…he doesn’t trust himself not to hurt me.”

The surprise on her face made me feel a little better.

“Really? He actually said that?” I nodded. “Huh.” She took a sip from her beer bottle as I waited for more. “He didn’t actually hurt me. Well…he did, but it was unintentional.”

She took a deep breath and seemed to be searching for words. I fought down panic, tears and the urge to bolt from the room. Whatever she had to say, I needed to hear.

“Apparently Sean had a thing for me but I had no clue. To be honest, it took a bit for me to realize how Devon felt too. Once he came around Sean got upset. He cornered me in his office when I was leaving to meet Devon. He, uh…kissed me. Left bruises on my arms too but I slapped his face and did more damage. Really…he just scared me more than anything. I never would’ve expected it from him. Later on Devon met up with him and they actually had a fistfight, but I wasn’t there. It’s all water under the bridge now.”

And that was it. That was Sean’s big secret and silent fear. He had grabbed Mari, preventing her from leaving his office, shoved her against his desk and planted an unwanted kiss on her mouth. Devon had found out and they had exchanged blows over the incident, but then it was over and she was okay.

I sat in stunned silence for a few minutes as she finished her beer. Elle still hadn’t returned but I suspected she was listening from nearby.

“So…that’s it? He just grabbed you and kissed you. Nothing else?”

She shook her head, a sympathetic look on her face. It was so much less than I had feared I was almost giddy with relief.

“What exactly did he tell you?” she asked. “You seem completely shocked.”

“He made it sound like he fell on you like an animal or something. He made it out to be really bad.”

She snorted and rolled her eyes again. “He would. Sean is such an anal dumbass. He probably thinks he’s protecting you from his big, bad self. But really, he’s protecting himself from feeling too much for you. It took him almost two years to admit he liked me. Nothing would have come of it sooner because he was my boss. But he waited because he’s afraid of commitment. Typical man.”

I raised my brows at that and she laughed, waving the words away with one hand. “Not Devon.”

“No?” I asked, intrigued despite her earth-shattering revelation.

“Nope. He tracked me down and all but dragged me into his life kicking and screaming.”

I sighed at the picture she presented. It was definitely the other way around for me and Sean. “Oh…that’s sweet.”

She nodded and watched me for a moment. “So, what are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know. It took months to get as far as I did with him. I just don’t know if I can handle that kind of fight again.”

She seemed to think that over for a bit. “Yeah, well, if you really love him the battle will be worth it.”

I was surprised. That she would encourage me to go after Sean when he had given her grief was a bit of a shock. She just smiled.

“I don’t hate him, Meg. He was actually one of the few people I considered a friend. I’d like to see him happy and you definitely have a chance to do that. Just don’t give up on him, okay?”

I didn’t know what to say to that so I just finished my beer.

* * * * *

It took two more days to talk myself into fighting for the man I loved. My plans changed every hour until I was a complete neurotic mess. Luckily it was my day off and there was no one to witness me babbling to myself as I cleaned my house. It was spotless by noon so I decided to go grocery shopping.

Despite my resolve to win him back, I wasn’t ready to face Sean just yet. Especially on his turf. I drove past Hardy’s All Goods and down a few blocks to the Super Mart. Memories of shopping with Sean tried to invade but I pushed them aside and grabbed a basket. Just a few more days of bolstering my courage and I would try to come up with a plan. I had to. Mari’s words rang in my ears. Sean was worth fighting for. I just had to prove it.

I’d hit the frozen foods aisle and was strolling down canned goods looking for soup when a familiar voice grabbed my attention. My heart leapt and I froze as Sean walked around the corner. He wasn’t alone. The bottom dropped out of my stomach as the petite blonde at his side laughed and hit him playfully on the arm. He grinned at her in a familiar way that immediately brought tears to my eyes. I was too late. He had already replaced me.

I must have made some sound or a sudden move or something. Next thing I knew he was looking at me and our gazes locked. He probably saw pain on my face. I was almost blind with it. I glanced at the beautiful woman at his side and stepped back away from my cart.

“Megan.”

I heard guilt in his tone but didn’t stop to analyze it. Leaving my groceries where they were I spun and bolted out of the store. I might have heard my name again but couldn’t be sure. It took no time at all to get into my car and drive away, but I could barely see past my tears.

My phone started ringing as I pulled into my driveway. I ignored it and made my way into the house. I locked the door, dropped my purse and kicked off my shoes. My bed was calling and I didn’t want to do anything but answer.

I buried my head beneath a pillow. There was noise outside of my house that I ignored. It could have been someone knocking on my front door. It could have been a bulldozer driving through my living room. I just didn’t give a damn. I cried until there were no tears left and I was hiccupping, barely able to catch my breath. My phone finally stopped ringing, and I suddenly realized it had been going off steadily since I got home.

The sun disappeared and I lay on my bed in complete darkness. I had cried myself out and felt completely drained but not sleepy. There were plans to make. Sean had moved on so I should too. It sounded so easy when I repeated the mantra in my head a few times. The problem was my sluggish heart didn’t want to go along with the game plan. It was still shattered and bleeding. I decided to just ignore it for a while and finally slipped into an uneasy sleep.

* * * * *

Ryan didn’t sound at all surprised when I called in the next day. Apparently Sean had already called and been by looking for me. I didn’t respond to that news at all. Just thanked Ryan for letting me take the day off to get over my bad cold and hung up. Elle called me soon after from the gym.

“What the fuck did he do? He came by but wouldn’t answer any of my questions.”

I took a deep breath and considered a few answers before going with the truth.

“He was with another woman at the Super Mart.”

Her quick inhalation of breath had me rubbing my chest at the remembered pain. I had been shocked too. Who knew I was so easily replaceable?

“There has to be some reasonable explanation. There’s no way he’s already moved on to someone else…not if he knows what’s good for him.”

I almost wanted to laugh. Almost. I just shook my head even though she couldn’t see it and rubbed my eyes.

“It doesn’t matter, Elle. He doesn’t want me anymore. He couldn’t have made it any clearer if he’d taken out an ad in the
Chronicle
.”

“Hmph. Well that asshole better not come around here again. I might be a woman but I sure know a trick or two after dealing with Declan’s stupid ass for so long.”

She kept me on the phone until her next class time, making me promise to call her later. I hung up and stared at my call history.

Sean had called fifty-two times the day before, starting with about the time I’d pulled into my driveway. The hopeful part of me wanted to call him back and hear whatever bullshit he wanted to tell me. But that’s all it would be. With my luck he would say it was for my own good he had found someone else. I moved to the current day to see he had called twenty times. He had also sent three text messages. They all said, “Call me”.

No explanation was given, though doing so by text wasn’t preferable. Still, if he had a reasonable explanation and I wasn’t answering his calls, why hadn’t he just texted it to me? I sighed and pulled myself out of bed to take a shower. Pining away for him hadn’t done a damn thing for me the past two weeks. There was no reason to continue. Easier said than done.

I emerged from the shower to hear someone knocking on my door and a sense of déjà vu washed over me. I really didn’t want to see Sean, but it might not be him. I shrugged on my robe and went to the door but didn’t hurry. When I peeked out the peephole it was to see not Sean, but the blonde woman he had been shopping with. She knocked again, an expression of utter patience on her flawless face. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to throw up or find a weapon. I opened the door.

“Hi. Um…you’re Megan, right?”

I took a deep breath and reminded myself to give her the benefit of the doubt. There was no reason for her to show up on my doorstep to gloat. So, she had to be there for a different reason. At least, she better be.

“Yeah. I’m Megan.”

My voice was rough from crying and I could only imagine what my face looked like. I’d waited for the steam to fog the mirror before walking past it.

She smiled and stuck out her hand.

“I’m Shayla Maxwell.”

Every drop of blood drained to my feet and I had to lean against the door to stay upright. A look of alarm crossed her face and she took a step closer.

“Max-Maxwell? He…he got married?”

Her eyes widened and she grabbed my arms. “No! Oh my god no, I’m not his wife. I’m his sister.”

Relief flooded my system almost too quickly for me to process. I just stared at her for a moment as I got my bearings.

“Sister? He has a sister?”

She rolled her eyes and nodded. “Yeah, he has a sister. Me. That ass didn’t even tell you about me, did he?”

“No. No he didn’t.”

I couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. Shayla seemed to take pity on me and helped me into the house, shutting the door behind her. Now that I knew they were related, I could see a slight resemblance.

“I hope you don’t mind me showing up like this but I know what a bullheaded dumbass my brother is. Once you refused to answer his calls and texts he was ready to give up.”

“He was?”

I couldn’t seem to get past stating the obvious but she didn’t seem to mind. She steered me toward my sofa and we sat side by side.

“Yes. But I saw the look on your face when you saw us together and I swear, he had the exact same look. Oh, Megan. I’ve never seen my brother look at anyone that way. You’re the one.”

She seemed so happy with that news I almost hated to burst her bubble.

“But he doesn’t want me.”

“Of course he does.”

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. “No, Shayla, he doesn’t. I all but bullied him into dating me in the first place and he wasted no time pushing me away. He really doesn’t want me.”

She didn’t say anything for almost a full minute, watching me with a blank look on her face.

“Well…do you want him?”

I closed my eyes and leaned back against the sofa, as if shutting her out would make my confession easier.

“I’m in love with him,” I whispered.

A hot tear escaped my best efforts to keep it back, leaving a trail down one cheek.

“Oh, Megan. I can tell. You have to believe me that he loves you too.” She grasped one of my hands between her palms and squeezed. “He’s been completely miserable all week, but when I asked what’s wrong he wouldn’t tell me. Then I found his phone and saw your texts. He finally confessed everything.”

I snorted. “So you know I’m his stalker?”

She laughed. “He told me about that. Did you know how flattered he was with your attention?”

I opened my eyes and looked at her. “Sure he was.”

“Yes, he really was. He laughed when he told me about it but the look on his face spoke volumes. He was really shocked by the attention you gave him. No other woman has ever done that to him before.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “He once said I exasperated him.”

She giggled. “That’s a good word for it.”

I sighed and shook my head. “So what if that’s true? It takes two to make a relationship work and he keeps finding reasons to push me away.”

She finally released my hand and leaned back against the sofa. “He told me what happened at the gym, with that guy. It really scared him, you know.”

I whipped my head around to look at her face. “It did?”

She nodded. “Oh yeah…has he ever told you about our dad?”

“No. not really. He didn’t seem to want to talk about him.”

“Yeah. Our childhood wasn’t exactly fun. Our parents divorced when we were really young and dad moved away with Sean. It hurt so bad to stay with mom and be separated from my brother, but of course we didn’t have a choice. My dad was very abusive to us. Not Sean, mind you, just me and mom. He had this thing against women. It’s weird, I know. I think Sean has always worried he might end up like our dad.”