What the hell? He had spent all of ten seconds with her tonight.
He really did just think of me as the jilted lover.
I pulled the envelope out of my handbag. “When I ran into you, I was trying to give this back to Morgan.”
“How did you end up with it?”
“It fell out of her purse.” If Max was a lawyer, he’d know I was lying.
He took the envelope. “What is it?”
“I never looked inside.” I assumed it was an invitation for a fancy event.
“It was good of you to try to return it.”
I turned my head, hoping he hadn’t noticed the guilty look on my face. “You’re in London for Nick’s birthday?”
“Yes, I can’t believe he’s turning twenty-five.” Max tucked the envelope into his coat pocket. “I’ll give this to him tomorrow. We’re having a party—” He bit his lip as though he regretted revealing this bit of information.
“Will Morgan be there?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.”
“Tell him I said happy birthday.”
“What do you like to do for fun, Daisy?”
“You don’t have to do this.”
“Do what?”
I looked out the window as we pulled up to a terraced house. “We’re here.”
“Let me see you to the door.”
“That’s very old-fashioned of you.”
“I’m an old-fashioned guy.”
“You’re Nick’s opposite then.” As I stepped out, I realized how that sounded. I quickly met Max on the pavement. “That came out wrong.”
“Trust me, I was like him once. All fun and foolishness.”
“You’re not fun now?”
“My clients need a man who appears reliable. Being sensible comes with the territory.”
I smiled. “You must do something for entertainment when you aren’t at work?”
“I dabble in pleasure.”
My heart fluttered in my chest. I scurried on ahead down the pathway to hide the fact I was blushing again.
He joined me at the front door and waited patiently as my trembling hands fumbled for the keys in my handbag. Looking at him was half the problem. This man had me feeling all sorts of things and none of them were acceptable. He could have been my brother-in-law.
And he was so good looking, with a hint of charming, that it was hard to hate him completely. I liked knowing that Nick had a big brother to look out for him. Max would be there when things went wrong.
I pulled out my keys. “Here we are.”
“You’ll be all right?”
“Of course.” I forced a smile. “Oh, Nick left something behind. Should I give it to you?”
“Sure.”
I led him into the sparse sitting room and turned to watch his reaction. Max scanned the room as though trying to figure out what kind of life we’d lived here.
Had he visited the month before, Max would have seen how lovely I’d gotten the place. It had been a home. Now it was empty, other than the lone couch in front of us and a stack of boxes in the corner.
“Six months?” His tone sounded incredulous, as though he found it hard to believe I’d lived here with Nick that long.
“We were happy,” I whispered.
“I never came here,” he admitted. “Nick always met me at my hotel.”
This made me feel even worse.
Nick had told me he felt like the black sheep of the family and that was why he kept me out of their way. But there had been something else going on. Maybe he thought I wasn’t good enough for them? I knew his dad was the late David Banham, but he’d never made a big deal about it. Nick had always wanted to make it on his own.
“Are those his?” Max pointed to the boxes.
I shook my head. “They’re mine.”
He gave me a sympathetic look as I bent down to pick up the shoebox Nick had left behind.
I handed it to Max. “This is his.”
He gave it a shake. “What’s in here?”
“His pet mouse.”
Max held it at arm’s length. “What the fuck?”
I giggled. “Just joking.”
“I’m just going to take a look.” He lifted the lid. “Oh, it’s Pelé!”
“Yes, his Brazilian toy.”
“Pelé is not a toy. He’s a figurine. Edson Arantes do Nascimento is the most talented goal scorer in the world.”
The Brazilian football player was on a stand, posed at mid-kick with his leg in the air, his foot striking a ball.
“He’s your favorite player?” I asked.
“Yes, even though he retired forty years ago, he’s still a legend. This is a collector’s item. I thought Nick would like it.”
“Maybe you should keep it.”
“Already have one in my office.” Max looked incredulous. “Nick must have forgotten it.”
“It was hidden behind a bunch of stuff.” I tried to make up a reasonable excuse.
Max’s eyes crinkled in a warm smile, as though he knew I was trying to save his feelings. He seemed like a man who could be compassionate…someone who’d be good in a crisis. My life was crumbling and here he was like a knight in shining armor, making sure I got home safely after my hellish night.
Don’t kid yourself, he’s making sure you’re willing to leave here and disappear out of their lives.
“What’s that look for, Daisy?” he asked.
“I have to go back to that bar tomorrow,” I said. “I need to get my car before it gets a ticket.”
He held out his hand. “Give me your keys?”
“Why?”
“I’ll have Carl drive your Mini here. He’ll drop the keys through the letterbox. Will that work?”
“Yes, thank you.” I handed him my keyring.
“Well, Daisy, I should probably go.”
I smiled. “Thank you for the lift home.”
“Did Nick leave anything else behind?”
“Some clothes—they need washing.”
“Let me take them.”
“It’s fine. I plan on cutting them into thousands of pieces.”
His brow furrowed in concern.
“Or perhaps I’ll set them on fire in the garden. Hopefully, I won’t burn off my eyebrows.”
“You have lovely eyebrows. Let’s not risk burning them off. Let me take the clothes.” Max rested Pelé on the arm of the couch. “Why are you moving out?”
“I have somewhere better to go.”
He seemed to know I was avoiding the truth. “It’ll work out, Daisy. It always does.”
“I know.” Another lie.
“Is that his laundry?” He pointed to the linen bag in the corner.
“You don’t have to…”
Max strolled over and picked it up.
I hurried across the room and grabbed the other end. “Really, it’s no problem.”
He gave a tug. “It won’t be a problem for me either.”
I tugged back. “I insist on taking care of it.”
Another tug from his end. “No, really.”
“It’s no bother.” Another yank from me.