In a Heartbeat (Heartbeat #1) (21 page)

She still wanted him, every single piece of him. He could still make her body act of its own accord with a single look.

But one could only hope.

*

Max had gone out of his house on auto-pilot. He’d slept only a couple of hours and felt exhausted. Without even realising it, he’d put his running clothes on and headed out.

He put the volume of his iPod up to as far as it would go and, trying not to think of anything, started running. Unfortunately the loud music couldn’t drown out his thoughts completely. Soon, images of Stella from last night flooded his brain. Her dancing with that guy; her laughing that adorable, contagious laugh of hers; her disappointment in him; her warm body relaxed against his chest; her soft, honey-coloured hair between his fingers.

Beppe was right. Max was such an idiot. He’d made her cry last night, for Christ’s sake. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, in any way. He was done playing games.

Stella was the best thing that had come into his life in a very long time and he would be damned if he lost her. From now on he’d be what she needed him to be.

Running and thinking, Max had completely forgotten to pay attention to where he was going – until he realised he wasn’t on his usual running course. It was too late. Stella was coming towards him, dressed in her cute running shorts and impossibly tight tank top.

She definitely wasn’t making his task any easier. How was he supposed to resist her, when she was so sexy? Max was a guy who didn’t drool after every single beautiful girl; he was a guy who had been with a lot of women, who had female friends and who could, usually, control himself pretty well around women. He was a lifeguard – he worked around gorgeous, half-naked women all the time, without the uncomfortable feeling of his shorts suddenly getting too tight.

Yet the moment Stella appeared in his line of sight, his heart started beating faster – and his shorts definitely got a lot tighter.

Seeing him, she eased her pace to a slow jog and, even from the distance, Max could see her mouth spreading into a grin.

“What?” he asked when she reached him and stopped, still smiling and with a twinkle of amusement in her eyes.

“I went in the opposite direction today to make sure I didn’t run into you. And look where that got me.”

“Are you trying to avoid me,
tesoro
?” Her grin was contagious and he felt himself smiling, his mood instantly improving.

“Yeah.”

“And why is that?”

“I didn’t sleep a lot, and you can be quite overwhelming.”

I overwhelm her. I like it.

“Stop grinning like an idiot. What are you so happy about?”

“Nothing.” Stella pinned him with one of her incredibly sexy, demanding looks, but he didn’t elaborate.

“Fine: don’t tell me. Oh, by the way, this is off your route as well. Are you stalking me, Massimo?”

“No. I didn’t sleep well either and I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. I guess my legs found you all on their own.”

Stella rolled her eyes and brushing past him, continued her run.

“See ya,” she called over her shoulder.

Max contemplated running after her, but decided against it. Clearly, she needed her space right now and he wasn’t going to intrude. He marvelled at her ass for a few more moments before he continued his own run.

“Stop staring at my ass, you perv,” she called, without even turning back, but the smile in her voice was evident. Max laughed wholeheartedly and ran away from her.

The day had started well, and Max wondered how it would end. For some reason, ever since Stella had arrived his days had become unpredictable. Before then he’d been very certain of his daily life – how his days started, how they ended, who he met. For the most part, there were no surprises: just a routine. Now, he wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

And he liked it.

*

Stella grinned the whole way back home. Sometimes things were just meant to be, and as hard as you tried to avoid them, you just couldn’t. That had always been true in her life, but the difference was that it was usually true about something bad.

Maybe my luck is turning? About time!

When she got home she almost crashed into Niki as she stormed through the front door, travel mug in hand.

“Oh, sorry, honey,” she said, as she embraced her. “Got to run, but see you later?”

“Sure. Have a good day, Aunt Niki.”

“You too, sweetheart.”

Stella remembered that she had meant to ask her aunt about a follow-up on her conversation with her mum, but hadn’t had a chance. Thinking of Helen, Stella realised she hadn’t called her in a while. Maybe tonight she’d stay at home, lounge around and Skype her. Taking her phone, she typed a quick message to her mum, asking her to meet for a chat this evening. Of course she agreed almost immediately.

Lisa was in the kitchen when Stella walked in, stirring sugar into two cups of coffee.

“I love you,” Stella said, as she took her cup and kissed her cousin’s cheek.

“I know,” said Lisa, taking her own cup and moving to the table. “Running with Max again?”

“Actually, running
into
him. I tried to avoid him, but we met anyway.”

“Oh. Why were you trying to avoid him?”

Stella sighed and told Lisa everything that had happened since they had last talked on Sunday, at the stadium watching Max. Lisa was her closest friend and it killed her to hide things from her, even if it meant that she had to sit and listen to another lecture.

After she’d finished relating the story, Lisa was awfully quiet and there was something in her eyes – sadness? Defeat? Understanding? Stella couldn’t exactly pinpoint what, but it wasn’t there when she’d started talking.

“I guess you can’t run away from what’s meant to be,” she finally said, trying to force a smile but failing.

“That’s exactly what I thought. It wouldn’t be fair if it was something bad, Lis. It just wouldn’t. But I’m so ready for something good to be meant to be.”

“I know. Me too.”

“What’s wrong?” Stella squeezed her cousin’s hand, because she seemed to have grown really sad in just a few seconds.

“Nothing.” She forced a smile and this time it almost managed to look convincing. “I’m just tired.”

Stella didn’t want to press her, but it was evident for some time now that something was definitely bothering her cousin – something she hadn’t shared with anyone. She looked like a person who carried a huge burden, all on their own. Stella wanted to make her talk, but how? If she pushed her, Lisa would just withdraw even more.

She had to tell Max. Maybe he’d have some insight on what to do.

“So what do you want to do today?” Lisa asked.

“Don’t know. First, I’d like to have a long, hot shower. Then ... I don’t know. Maybe we could stay in today? Sunbathe by the pool?”

“Sounds good.” Lisa smiled, and Stella thought she detected relief in the smile.

Lisa’s mood seemed to get better as the day progressed. They swam in the pool and lounged around the garden until lunchtime. Then, Lisa made them some amazing snacks – mozzarella and pesto bruschetta, steamed baby potatoes with basil, pieces of melon wrapped in Parma ham, and frozen yogurt with amaretti biscuits for dessert. Stella simply loved Italian food – so simple and yet so delicious.

As they lay by the pool, trying to digest their food, Stella was fighting the urge to have a nap. She felt exhausted and the full stomach combined with the nice, sunny weather didn’t help.

“Stella?”

“Yeah?”

“I have to go out for a while. You think you’ll be OK on your own for a couple of hours?” Lisa asked.

“Yeah, but where are you going? I though you didn’t have to be at the gallery until five?”

“No, it’s not the gallery. I have to, um, run an errand.” Was it Stella’s imagination or did Lisa seem a bit guilty?

“OK. Go, I’ll be fine.”

Lisa immediately jumped from her lounger and went inside to get dressed.

That was weird.

Where would Lisa go that she couldn’t take Stella with her? And why did she act so mysteriously about it? Something was going on, all right.

Pushing all thoughts away from her brain, Stella relaxed and let sleep take over her tired body.

She woke up two hours later. The sun was still high in the sky, but there was no sign of Lisa. Grabbing her phone, Stella typed:

Stella: Are you coming home anytime soon?

Lisa’s reply came a few minutes later.

Lisa: No, sorry, got held up. Will go straight to the gallery. See you tonight.

So Stella was alone in the house, with nothing to do. Bored didn’t even begin to describe it. She thought about going out on her own, but somehow she didn’t want to be alone right now.

What was Max doing? Was he at work? Should she text him?

Why shouldn’t I?

Stella: Hey, are you at work?

Max: No. Why?

Stella: I’m bored out of my mind, Lisa ditched me two hours ago. Wanna entertain me?

Max: I was on my way out. I’ll pick you up in 10.

Stella stood up so quickly that she felt dizzy. Running upstairs, she changed from her bikini into a simple cotton dress and flip-flops. Just as she went in the bathroom to fix her hair, her phone beeped again.

Max: Wear a bikini.

Crap. She had just taken it off. By the time she’d changed and fixed her hair, Max was already waiting outside in his BMW.

“Hi,” Stella said as she flopped into the passenger seat. “Are we going to the beach?”

“Nope,” he said, with a wicked grin.

“Then why did I have to wear a bikini?”

“You’ll see.” He winked, and her treacherous body turned to mush.

Max parked the car near the docks. He took a big backpack out of the boot and, beckoning to a very confused Stella to follow him, headed straight for the docks. They passed by huge boats, and even bigger ships carrying everything from tourists to cargo, before they reached a different part of the dock. It seemed it was used for private yachts, because all the boats anchored there were smaller and looked recreational, rather than commercial.

They reached a beautiful white yacht, with the name ‘Elsa’ written in blue. Stella stopped and stared, because that was the last thing she’d expected.

“You sail?” she asked.

“Yeah, since I was a kid. My dad loved boats. Elsa was his.” He took Stella’s hand and led her towards the boat. He helped her up and then got in himself. After putting his bag in the cabin, Max got busy around the boat and Stella had no idea what he was doing. She’d never been on a boat before.

“Sit down, please. We’re going out and I don’t want you to fall. When we get away from here, in calmer waters, you can look around – OK?”

“Aye, aye, cap’n.” Stella saluted and sat down next to him. He grinned at her, started the engine, and they sailed away from the dock.

They sailed for a while, with Max in absolute control of the boat. When they reached a secluded spot that couldn’t be seen from the shore and with no other boats around, Max slowed down and dropped the anchor.

“You hungry?” he asked.

Stella nodded and he disappeared into the cabin. He brought his backpack and took two sandwiches and two canned sodas out. He also took off his shirt and, following his lead, Stella got rid of her dress. They lay down on the deck, eating their sandwiches and enjoying the sun.

Neither of them spoke for a while, but it was one of those comfortable silences that there was no need to fill.

Until Max’s phone rang. He’d left it in the bag and signalled to Stella to get it, as it was closer to her. She glanced at the screen – it was Beppe. Max gestured for her to pick up and activate the loudspeaker, since he was holding his sandwich and his drink.

“Yo,” Beppe’s cheerful voice sounded on the other end. “Where are you, man?”

“On the boat.”

“Oh, shit. I was hoping to grab a beer.”

“Sorry, man. Tomorrow?”

“Yeah, maybe. Hey, since I was busy dancing with your girl last night and couldn’t bag anything for myself” – Max’s eyes rounded with shock, and Stella giggled – “I figure you owe me a boys’ night out. Just the two of us.” Beppe paused, listening. “Is that Stella’s laughter I’m hearing?”

“Yeah. And you’re on speaker phone, so shut up.”

“You took her on your boat?”

“Obviously.” Max’s voice was stern.

“I thought nobody was allowed on your boat! I was begging for months; it’s such a chick magnet ...”

“What part of ’shut up’ don’t you get, dumbass? I’ll call you later,” he said and ended the call.

Max didn’t look Stella in the eye, just calmly finished his sandwich.

“He danced with
your
girl? Care to elaborate on that?” Stella was so happy she could taunt Max a little bit. In the short, two-minute conversation, Beppe had given her taunting material for the whole afternoon.

“Nope.” He took a sip of his drink, glancing in her direction.