Beyond the Breaking Point (14 page)

“So, you and Max…pretty cozy together,” Erika teased as she cut into the cake.

“Uh-huh,” Cassidy said, her tone sarcastic. “And don’t think I didn’t notice how you set me up.”

“Who me?” Erika batted her eyelashes. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Cassidy simply shook her head. Protesting too much would only cause Erika to dig in her heels. Then she would never get her friend to shut up on the issue. “Cut the cake,” she said instead, “and don’t take half for yourself. The rest of us would like some as well.”

Erika pursed her lips in a frown, though her eyes danced. “Party pooper.”

“Greedy hog,” Cassidy countered.

The cake, luscious and decadent as it looked, was on the small side. If cut properly, it should yield eight nicely proportioned slices. However, Erika was more than capable of taking a quarter of the cake for herself. True, she’d be sick later, but she’d moan over every bite as it went down.

“On second thought, you take the plates and I’ll cut the cake,” Cassidy stated, pushing the plates at Erika in a manner where she’d have no choice but to catch them. She snatched the cake cutter off the counter, leaned over the open box and made the first cut.

“You’re slicing them too small,” Erika protested as Cassidy portioned off the second piece.

“No I’m not. Not everyone wants chocolate overload at this time of night. The sugar alone will keep you up for hours,” she contradicted.

“Not me, but then I’m a chocolate connoisseur, unlike the rest of you wimps,” Erika gloated.

“What’s a conni, conna—” Macey asked.

“It someone who really, really likes chocolate,” Erika said with a small laugh.

“Am I one? I like chocolate,” Macey said.

“Sorry, kid,” Cassidy told her. “You have to be over the top, crazy about chocolate, like your mom. Maybe one day.”

“Here, take this to your dad and be careful. We don’t want to get icing on Cassidy’s new floor,” Erika told her daughter as she handed her the small plate and fork.

Cassidy smiled as she watched Macey very carefully hold the plate in both hands as she carried it to her father. If only…

She shook her head. Life was too short to waste it on wishful thinking.

Erika turned to her, a serious expression on her face. “Now that little ears aren’t listening, what I meant was that you and Max seem very comfortable together. There’s none of the awkwardness I expected, given your situation. I can see you two being friends—just friends. He really is a nice guy and he doesn’t give off that vibe.”

Cassidy’s brows furrowed. “What vibe?”

“You know, that I’m
the man
. I-tapped-that-and-I-know-she’s-just–waiting-for-me-to-tap-it-again vibe guys get when the sex was good,” Erika explained.

“Oh,
that
vibe.”

“Yeah. He hasn’t made a move on you, has he?”

“
Max
? No!” Any supposed sexual moves on Max’s part were clearly a manifestation of Cassidy’s unruly imagination.

“See!” Erika pointed in exclamation. “Like I said, a nice guy. Look, Cassidy,” Erika stepped close and laid her hand on Cassidy’s arm, “I know you’re still freaked out by what happened, but don’t let it get in the way of your being friends with Max. You both went through an emotionally traumatic event together. It’s only natural that it would create a bond. After all, he understands better than anyone what happened and what you’re feeling because he was there. He experienced it too. There’s nothing wrong with you leaning on each other to get through this. Max seems like the type to hold things inside. Actually, he’s a lot like you in that respect. If he wants to talk, don’t turn him away.”

Cassidy glanced past Erika to the living room where she could hear Max and Dave laughing. “Okay,” she said simply and sliced the cake.

Chapter Eight

Two hours later, only Max and Cassidy remained in the silent apartment. Erika had bundled a sleeping Macey off, citing bedtimes and workday tomorrow. Max seemed inclined to linger. Remembering Erika’s words of wisdom earlier, Cassidy didn’t encourage him to leave even though she had to be up early for her shift tomorrow.

“You ready for work tomorrow?” Max asked as he helped remove their empty plates from the living room.

“Yes and no. I’ll be glad to get back to my routine, but I’m not looking forward to the questions that are bound to come once word gets out that Phillip and I are no longer together,” she told him.

“Speaking of Phillip, he called today,” he said casually.

She glanced at him in surprise. “He must really be desperate if he called you.”

He tossed the trash into the trashcan and went and dropped down on the couch. Cassidy joined him, sensing Max wanted to talk.

“Phillip is under the impression that he did me a favor and therefore, I have no reason to be mad,” Max said wryly.

Cassidy gaped at him. “He said that?”

“Yes. In addition, he seemed honestly baffled that you weren’t home waiting for him and doesn’t understand why you won’t answer his calls. To his credit—not that I’ve a mind to give him any—he seems genuinely worried about you.”

“Too little, too late,” she said, meaning it.

Max shifted to face her, bringing one leg up on the cushion and resting his arm along the top of the couch. “Don’t be surprised if he shows up at your job tomorrow.”

She bit her lower lip. “You think he will?”

He shrugged. “It’s what I would do. It’s the one place he knows he’ll find you.”

She sighed. “I don’t need any drama at work. The place is a rumor mill as it is. I don’t want to become the source of speculation and entertainment.”

“Then you’re going to have to stop avoiding his calls,” Max said.

“The thing is, I have nothing to say to Phillip that hasn’t already been said, and I’m not interested in anything he has to say to me. It won’t change my decision. Our marriage is over,” she said firmly.

The side of Max’s mouth quirked up. “I believe you, but I’m not the one you have to convince.”

“I know.” She scowled. Whether she felt like it or not, she was going to have to talk to Phillip. Apparently simply moving out wasn’t enough to get her message across.

“Amber came by and got her things today,” Max said quietly.

Hearing the undercurrents in his tone, she asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” He rubbed his face with both hands. “Do you know what she said?” He looked at her. “Amber said she did it to prove a point. That she knew you and Phillip didn’t like her and coming on to him was her convoluted way of…Hell, I don’t even know what it was supposed to prove,” he admitted wearily. “The worst thing was, I listened to her trying to justify her actions and all I could think was, ‘Who is this woman?’ We lived together for two years. I thought I knew Amber inside and out but suddenly today, I realized I didn’t know her at all.”

Cassidy laid a comforting hand on his thigh. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. I don’t think it’s possible to ever completely know a person. We all have aspects of our personalities and characters that we keep hidden until the right set of circumstances come along to bring them out. I think you did know Amber, as much as she allowed you to, that is.”

“She was going on and on about how you looked down your nose at her, like she was some whore I’d picked up off the street.” He shook his head. “I don’t know where she got that idea from. You’ve never said anything against her.”

She winced and cleared her throat. “Actually…” Cassidy moved her hand off his thigh and toyed with a loose thread on the seam of her jeans.

“What?” he asked, his tone cautious.

She sighed and raised her gaze to meet his, knowing she owed Max this truth. “I never said anything to you—or Amber, or anyone else for that matter—but I did tell Phillip I thought you could do better.” When his gaze narrowed, Cassidy rushed to apologize. “I’m sorry, Max. I didn’t realize she had picked up on my feelings. There was just something about Amber I never liked. Maybe it was the way you two got together? I just felt like she saw an opportunity and capitalized on it but…you seemed to be happy with her. It was your life and yours was the only opinion that truly mattered. No one but the two involved really knows what goes on inside a relationship and it’s really not my way to butt in and offer an opinion, so I kept my thoughts to myself.”

Max took the hand that was steadily unraveling the seam in her jeans and held it between his own. “It’s okay. Maybe you should have said something. Got it out in the open. Regardless, you were never anything but polite to Amber.”

“Maybe that’s the problem,” Cassidy mused. “I was polite but never really friendly. Perhaps that’s what she sensed.”

“It doesn’t really matter. Amber’s really not a girl person. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever heard her mention any close female friends. Most of her friends are male. In hindsight, maybe that should have told me something,” he said.

“Don’t look at me as any judge of character. I was married to Phillip for eight years and had no clue—” She broke off abruptly, for some reason uncomfortable with telling Max what she’d seen on Phillip’s computer.

“Well I’ve known him longer than you and he damned sure surprised me. I’d have never thought he’d betray our friendship this way,” Max said consolingly.

“I guess he fooled us both,” Cassidy said, the thought doing nothing to comfort her.

They both were silent with their thoughts. Then Cassidy stood and in the process, pulled her hand free of his. “If I’m going to be worth anything at work tomorrow, I’d better get some rest.”

Max rose. “Yeah, I anticipate a long day, catching up on all the work that piled up while I was off.”

Cassidy gazed up at Max, debating, and then went with impulse and gave him a hug. “We’ll both be fine, Max. It’s just going to take a little time.”

He hugged her close, resting his chin on top of her head as they simply held each other. “Time,” he echoed.

They separated and walked arm-in-arm to the door. Once there, as Max released her he said, “I didn’t bring your keys with me. It occurred to me with Phillip out of the picture, and you having no close family nearby, you might need a backup.”

The thought startled her. “You’re right. I hadn’t thought of that. I could ask Erika,” she mused, “but she has a family and her work schedule is as busy as mine. It might not always be convenient for her to come riding to the rescue.” Cassidy didn’t mention she had a cousin also living in the area.

“So, you trust me with the keys to your apartment?”

Cassidy met his solemn gaze. “At this moment, I can’t think of anyone I’d trust more.”