True Connections (8 page)

Chapter Ten

Lia had managed to avoid Max for three days. It was for the best. Each message he’d left her started with cajoling until anger tainted his tone. He was right. She couldn’t avoid him forever.

But she was a coward.

Nanna and Gram had called her cell, which she had to turn off. She wasn’t ready to face anyone. Her time was probably running out. Shame, along with guilt, ate at her. It had been wrong of her to get involved with Max. She’d lied to herself, believing the pact was the answer to avoid hurting their grandmothers, so she wouldn’t fail them. But it had been the perfect excuse to fulfill a dream—a dream with Max.

“Ms. McEvers.”

Lia looked up to see her secretary at the door.

“Mr. Sheraton is on line one and Nanna is on line two.”

She groaned. She couldn’t avoid them forever. “Tell Mr. Sheraton I’m with a client, and I’ll talk to Nanna right now.”

Her secretary nodded and closed the door. Lia picked up the receiver, drew in a deep breath, and pushed the button for line two. “Hey, Nanna.”

“Where have you been, missy?” she scolded.

Lia winced. “I’ve been out of town.”

“We’ve left you messages and Max has been to your apartment a few times.”

She knew. After Max had left, she’d spent the day staring at the boxes she’d never unpacked. And he’d returned looking for her, but she wouldn’t answer the door. Instead of facing him, she’d gone off to the city to clear her head. Meeting with her partner had given her a sense of ease, and she was surprised to learn that applications had increased since attending the charity event, but that didn’t dispel the emotions churning in her gut. Did she even belong in Grant anymore? Wasn’t it best for her to end the situation now before it was too late? The temptation to stay in the city seemed an easy answer to her dilemma.

“I had a meeting with my partner.”

“Always working. It’s not healthy, I tell you. You promised to come help me hang frames and get the house ready for the party.”

Lia groaned. She’d completely forgotten. “I can’t…”

“You promised. And maybe Max can come help you.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, her insides churning with what she needed to do. No doubt Nanna and Grammy had been talking up a storm about her and Max’s appearance. “Maybe I can swing by after work on Thursday.”

“No, no, no, no. The party is on Saturday night. Today is already Wednesday. Lia, what is going on?”

Leaning back in her seat, Lia picked up the pencil on her desk. “Nothing. I’m just busy.”

“I heard what happened at the charity ball.”

Lia winced. “Nanna…”

“Good for you. That guy deserved it. And Mindy? To think she was your best friend and—”

“I really don’t want to talk about this.” She shouldn’t have been surprised that the town was gossiping about her, but it reminded her why she’d left the city: failure. And now she’d only made a mess of everything by sleeping with Max. No doubt once their grandmothers found out, it would give them hope for the inevitable. But Max would never love her.

“Okay, honey. So how are things with Max?”

Lia sat up. “Um…”

“He seemed so worried about you when we talked to him. Almost angry.”

She winced again. “Nothing. I-I tried to set him up on the dates, and he didn’t seem interested in anyone, and then…and then…” And then what? She’d used him to ease her own loneliness because she wanted him. She allowed her head to fall onto her desk with a
thud
. Pain exploded through her skull.

“Lia, are you okay? What was that?”

Leaning back into her seat, she stared out into the window. The snow was finally starting to melt. She rubbed her head. “I’m all right. I just dropped something.”

“Do you and Max have something to tell us?”

She started to speak, but stopped. Guilt at lying to her grandmother held her back. How much longer could she pretend? “No. Nothing’s going on. I just went to the event with Max because he didn’t have a date.”

“That was nice of you. He told us you both had a grand time, and his friends were certainly impressed.”

Lia scoffed and her eyes teared. After the scene she’d made, she couldn’t imagine what his friends would be impressed with. Once again, she’d no doubt embarrassed Max more than anything. “I suppose…”

Nanna sighed. “I worry about you kids.”

“I know.”

“I just want you both to be happy and settled down before I die.”

Lia rubbed her forehead. She foresaw a lecture coming. As much as she loved her nanna, she couldn’t help the guilt blossoming in her chest. “So is there a lot to do for the party?”

“Just the frame and the decorating. Everything else is taken care of. By the way, it was unfair of Carol and I to ask you to help find Max a date.”

Something was up. “Okay…”

“Carol and I realized that we can’t always get what we want. Love can’t be forced. We can only give it a little push in the right direction. And we are done pushing.”

“Nanna…”

“You know I love you, right?”

Her heart tightened. “I love you, too.”

“I just want you to come to the party and have fun. I don’t think we’re going to have any more parties after his year.”

Not have their annual party? “Is everything okay?”

“Everything is great. Besides I don’t want you and Max to pretend to be together if you’re not, no matter how much Carol and I want that.”

Lia almost dropped the phone. “Nanna, what are you talking about?”

“Honey, we know you both would do anything to make us happy. It’s fine. I’ll talk to you later.”

Her grandmother hung up before she could say anything else. Lia stared at the phone. Something was seriously wrong. She dialed Max’s number.

The phone picked up after the first ring. “Where the hell have you been?”

She drew the receiver from her ear and cringed. “I’ve been in the city.”

“I’ve left you messages.”

The pencil slipped out of her hand to the floor. Her fingers shook as picked it up again. “Max, we need to talk.”

“Damn straight we need to talk.” His anger intensified the dread whirling in her gut. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

Her cheeks heated. “I’ve been busy.”

“Bull.”

She hated that he was right. “Nanna just said she didn’t want us to pretend we’re together if we’re not. Do you think they found out about the pact we made?”

After a beat of silence, Max let out a sigh. “They’re not dumb. They raised us. It’s not surprising that they see through us. It wouldn’t be the first. But I wasn’t pretending, Lia. I want more.”

Fear rose in her throat. She wanted to believe him, wanted what he offered, but would it really last? Instead, she said the first thing that came to mind. “She said they’re not going to throw any more parties after this year.”

“Good. We don’t like them, anyway.”

“No, Max. How are we going to fix this? They’re disappointed in us and—”

“Lia!” His voice vibrated into her ear.

She bit her lip. “Yeah?”

“Where are you?”

She threw the pencil onto her desk. “I’m at work.”

“Why are you really avoiding me?”

She swallowed hard. Her hands shook. “What we did shouldn’t have happened. It complicates things.”

He growled. “Meet me somewhere. I can be at Bob’s Coffee House in ten minutes.”

No way she’d see him. Not yet. “First we need to figure out what to do about our grandmothers.”

“I’m not concerned with them at the moment. I want to know why you avoided me for so long. What happened? I thought everything was going great.”

She drew in a deep breath. “You know why.”

“Was it something I did? Did I hurt you?”

His kindness and concern fueled her guilt. Why couldn’t he just be a jerk and taunt her like normal? “No. We just had sex, Max.” The words sounded so wrong, even before they left her lips.

“That’s bull, Lia.”

She stilled. “What?”

“You’re scared. You can’t run from everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look, sweetheart. It happened between us. I want to see you again.”

Her heart beat erratically. “We need to focus on our grandmothers.”

“
We
need to talk about us.”

“There isn’t an ‘us.’”

“There could be if you let it.”

She dropped the receiver. Had she heard wrong? His voice sounded from the receiver. She picked it up again and pressed it to her ear. “I’m here.”

“I thought maybe you hung up.” The sheepishness in his voice was almost too cute. Almost.

“Look, we both agreed to the pact just so we don’t disappoint our—”

“No,
you
agreed to the pact. Everything I’ve told you, I meant.”

She stilled, even though her heart pounded fiercely. “You’re insane. This is too much. I have to go. I’ll call you later.”

“Lia, don’t you dare hang—”

She set the receiver back in its cradle. The phone rang immediately, but she ignored it. What had she gotten herself into? Years of growing up with Max, hating him, treating him as the enemy—none of it made any sense anymore. They had no future. Nor could she risk it if he decided she wasn’t enough for him. She set her elbows on the desk and her head dropped into her palms.

A relationship with Max Sheraton would be disastrous. Their grandmothers would be more than happy if they found out she and Max had slept together, or at the very least, had been involved. She saw little babies with her hair and his blue eyes. She envisioned a grand house near Nanna and Grammy, with a floral garden that curved around the drive and a big backyard where the kids would run around.

It would be perfect.

But with her luck, she was destined to be alone.

Chapter Eleven

Max got out of his car, spotted Lia’s sedan in the driveway, and stormed up the walkway to Nanna Maria’s house. His grams had called him after Lia had hung up, and he was exasperated. Not by Lia’s actions, but more so by the fact that he missed her. She belonged to
him.

Three days without her, and it felt like a part of himself was out of place.

He raised his hand to press the doorbell just as the door swung open, and Nanna looked at him in surprise.

“Hello, dear. What are you doing here?” she asked, adjusting her purse strap on her shoulder.

“Grams said you needed help getting the party ready.”

She smiled—a big smile. His eyebrow lifted. Odd that his grandmother would call and tell him that Lia was at Nanna’s. Not really, he supposed, since them two were always scheming over something.

“Yes, I’d love the help. That’s very sweet of you. Lia is inside right now. I’m sure she could use help hanging the frames. I will be back later.” She moved aside to let him in.

“Where are you going?” he asked. Just out of curiosity. Wednesday nights, Grams and Nanna usually hung out together, but his grandmother had told him she couldn’t make it over today.

“I just need to go pick up some things for the party.”

He frowned. Nanna’s housekeeper usually did all the shopping for her, but he wasn’t going to argue. He wanted to talk to Lia alone. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her weathered cheek. “Okay. I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Okay, dear. Thank you for signing up at True Connections for us.” She gave him a sheepish grin. “Carol and I only want the best for you.”

Max’s heart softened. As if he could ever be mad at this little old woman for anything. “It was fun.”

“You’ll love the party this year. I’m sure you’ll meet lots of lovely girls. Toodles.”

He watched as Nanna Maria walked down the driveway and got into her car. Turning around, he closed the door and looked around the foyer. He followed the sound of a banging hammer to the living room.

Shoving a hand through his hair, he stopped short in the living room doorway. Lia stood hammering a nail into the wall. Her T-shirt rose, baring her stomach with each swing of her arm. Her jeans showcased her bottom perfectly, and he recalled the hours spent feasting on her delicate skin, kissing each freckle he’d revealed. He drew in shallow breaths as he stalked quietly into the room.

Circling his arms around her, he pulled her against him and buried his nose into her neck. She dropped the hammer and gasped, trying to jerk away, and then stilled.

“Max?” Her voice shook. She relaxed, but her breathing quickened. “What are you doing?”

He rubbed his lips against the sensitive spot behind her ear. The scent of strawberries teased his nose. “Why are you avoiding me?”

“I’m not.”

Catching her nervous tremor, he nipped her skin. “Don’t lie. You know that doesn’t work.”

She sighed as he teased her nipple with his thumb. “Max,” she warned, covering his hand with hers.

“We need to talk.” He continued to nibble on her neck like a starved man. He’d missed her, damn it.

“Let me go.”

“Not yet.” He slid his hand to the button of her jeans. He traced her waist, grazing his finger against her stomach. Her head fell against his shoulder. “Talk to me.”

She let out a ragged breath as he undid the button and reached in.

“I thought…I thought we were going to tell—” She gasped when he cupped her sex.

Pinching her nipple with the other hand, he continued to trail his lips along her jaw, reveling in the softness of her skin. “Going to…?”

“Max, stop. I can’t think when you do that.”

He grinned, sliding his finger along her cleft. He stroked her wetness, setting a steady rhythm. It wasn’t his intention to seduce her, but he couldn’t stop. He’d been without her for too long. He groaned when Lia rubbed her ass against his groin. “Keep talking.”

Her nails dug into the arm across her chest as short pants left her delectable mouth. He rained kisses over her jaw, her cheek.

“What?” she moaned.

He quickened the tempo of his fingers. Withdrawing his hand, he turned her around. He hoisted her up, clasping her butt cheeks, and wrapped her legs around his waist. He pressed her against the wall, away from where she’d hammered in the nail, and kissed her.

“Max.” She gripped his shoulders as she kissed him back with her usual ardor.

“I need you,” he murmured against her mouth. There was no other woman for him anymore. He’d known the moment she’d returned, reminding him of the years he’d missed her.

Lia stilled. She drew back, her eyes wide, lips parted yet swollen. A mix of emotions passed across her features. “Don’t…”

He frowned. “Don’t what?” He laid his forehead against hers. “Chase after you? Care for you?
Love
you?”

She heaved in a deep breath, pushing against his shoulder, but he refused to let her go. “We can’t—”

A door slammed shut, then footsteps sounded across the foyer floor.

Lia gasped and shoved him away. Max set her down and whipped around, shielding her from the intruder as she righted her clothes. His cheeks heated at the sight of Lia’s mother.

“What’s going on?”

“Hey, Dina, what are you doing here?” He swallowed hard.

Her dark brows lifted, and her lips pursed as she crossed her arms. “I heard Lia was helping Mother with frames, and I wanted to talk to her. Are you guys okay? You look flushed.”

He had the urge to rock on the balls of his feet like a kid about to be berated, but he shoved a hand through his hair and tried to act calm.

Lia came out from behind him. “Hi, Mother.”

“I can come back later.” Dina nodded to the front door.

“No!” Lia surged forward. “Max was just leaving.”

Surprise bit him. He frowned. She’d rather stay here with her mother than him? Did she plan to run again?

Dina glanced at him, and then to Lia. “I’ll just go upstairs and grab some things.” With that, she walked off.

Lia groaned. When he tried to pull her back into his arms, she quickly moved away. A chill surged up his spine.

“Don’t touch me.”

He scowled. “Honey, look, it wasn’t as bad—”

“It
is
bad, Max. Now she’s going to think that I’ve slept with you.”

“But you did.” He bit his inner cheek. “You don’t think everybody’s going to see through us?”

She pursed her lips. “There’s nothing going on betw—”

“Don’t lie.” Anger pierced him. He shoved away the urge to reach for her, curl his fingers around her upper arms, and kiss her senseless until she admitted there was something more profound between them. “It wasn’t just sex, Lia. And you know it.”

“I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”

A lump formed in the back of his throat. His fists clenched at his side. It had taken all but one taste, one time for her to lie in his arms for him to know. Whatever was happening to them was a lot more than just sex. “It wasn’t a mistake.”

Lia drew in a deep breath. “Why can’t you just let it be a one night thing? Can’t you forget it happened and let me return to my own life?”

One that didn’t include him? Hell no. “I want more.”

She shook her head. “Stop. I shouldn’t have come back.”

He swallowed the lump in his throat. He moved forward, his arms reaching for her, but she held up her hand.

“Max, it’s just a game to you.”

“It’s not! It’s more than that.” His eyes narrowed.

Tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear, she blew out another breath. “I’m never going to be enough for you. Even if we start something, you’re going to get bored and look for somebody else, and I can’t deal with that.”

Realization dawned. She was thinking about her mother. “Don’t compare me with the men your mother dates.”

Her lips quivered, her hand trembled as it lifted toward her stomach then it fell back to her side. “I can’t allow for any more mistakes. Any more failure.”

Rage choked him. “I see.”

“I’m sorry. I…used you…because I couldn’t deal with Mindy and Steve. And it was a bad idea coming back here. I know you love our grandmothers and want them to be happy, so can’t we just get through this weekend and forget everything that happened between us?”

Red clouded his vision. He would have offered her everything. “You know what? You’re scared.”

She shook her head. “I’m not—”

“
You are.
You’re scared to let yourself go. You’re scared to let someone else love you. You’re scared to trust me.” He surged forward. His hands circled her upper arms. Lia gasped. “I’m not the dirtbag or your best friend. I’ve always been there for you no matter what hell you’ve put me through. Just give us a chance, Lia. That’s all I’m asking.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “Why waste each other’s time? What’s the point of even trying for anything when it’s just going to end one day?”

Frustration tore through him. He tightened his hold and leveled his gaze with hers. “Don’t say that. How would you know it’s going to end if we don’t try? You’re it for me, whether you believe it or not.”

She stared at him hard. Shaking his hands off, she took a step back. “No.”

His chest squeezed tightly. Suddenly, it was hard to breathe. “So, you won’t even give us a real chance?”

“I can’t afford it. If we don’t work out, then it not only affects us, it affects our families.”

“But what if it does work out?”

She let out a small laugh. “Don’t play, Max.”

“I’m not.”

Worrying her bottom lip, she pressed her fingers against her mouth. “I’m sorry. I can’t risk it.” She drew a hesitant breath, then released it. Squaring her shoulders, she looked him square in the eyes before announcing, “I’m going back to the city after the party.”

Her words punched him in the chest, and his heart shattered into a million little pieces. He closed his eyes briefly to compose himself. When he opened them, he saw her slight tremor, saw the determination set in her face. And knew she wasn’t going to change her mind.

“I love you,” he said. “I do. I think I’ve always have. If you can’t see that, then keep running. You’ll stop running someday. But I won’t be waiting for you anymore.”

She shrugged. It was like a knife to his insides. Defeat bloomed. Pain exploded, instantly unbearable. He whipped around and stalked to the door.

His heart was broken. Again. Over Lia McEvil. The bane of his existence.