And his whole world turned upside down.
I found the phone, and called Melanie, asked her to bring some clothes for me and gave her the address. Then I sat at the kitchen table and ignored Max, no matter how persistent he was at hovering over me and asking murmured questions. The hardest thing I had to do in all of my life, up to that point, was to ignore his quiet, Bean, please, look at me.
He was standing close to where I was sitting. So, close the heat of him hit me like a wave. His deep, rich voice coming at me in that quiet way. Sweet Mary, help me. Not to mention, he was the first man who ever gave me a pet name, and he gave it to me not even an hour after he met me. I always wanted to have someone call me by a sweet nickname.
But, not like this.
His words tainted all the sweet things he did. I just couldn’t get over them. I briefly toyed with the idea he didn’t know my name, but I had told him. So, that wasn’t it. After a few moments, he sighed and went to lean at the kitchen counter. He didn’t try to engage in small talk again. He didn’t try to interrogate me either, and he didn’t apologize.
When I heard the soft knock on the door, I shoved the chair back and shot to my feet to run to it. I was just about to reach my target and open them wide, so I could make sure Nico hadn't got to her and that my friend was fine.
“Stop!” Max growled.
I instinctively did and turned to him. I just wasn’t fast enough. Walking toward me, he passed me by.
“You can’t seem to comprehend you’re in a certain situation now, and you need to be careful.”
He looked out of the side window for a second and then opened the door. Melanie gave him a huge smile, her eyes alight when they came to mine, but she lost all that in a second. Instead, a frown appeared on her beautiful face when she heard me speak.
“I’m in a situation?”
“Babe, you just ran away from Nico Barone today,” Max was walking back to his kitchen.
“Twice.”
“Okay?”
I was turning on my heels to try and look at his face so I could decipher what exactly he meant by that. I knew what I did. I was there. I had no luck with that.
"Babe," somehow that babe was a bigger blow than all the rest he delivered that day. "It's time to pull your head out of the sand and see the world you live in and the people you let in your life."
How many times do I have to tell this man I didn't know anything? How do I explain to him that I just didn't want to be alone anymore, and that was the only reason I put up with Nico’s behavior and occasionally turned a blind eye without sounding like a weakling? I turned to Melanie, needing some backup, but there was a knowing look on her face.
"You knew?" I asked and she nodded her head, not looking away from Max.
"Good for you, hot guy. Not wasting any time but going straight to the head. It was high time she found out who the hell she let claim her."
"You knew, and you didn't tell me?" I screeched.
"Sky, everyone knows who he is. I'll admit, I didn't know at first, and I will regret for the rest of my life that I pushed you to go out with him, but the moment I found out, I tried everything to get you away from him."
"But I was going to marry him today."
"No, you weren't."
"Yes, I was, and you were supposed to be my maid of honor," I exclaimed and that is when her body sagged as her face gentled.
“Honey, I would never have let that happen. I tried to get you to change your mind, I practically begged you on the way to church to let me take you somewhere, but you just looked out the window, completely out of it and ready to take whatever came just so you wouldn't be alone," I was shaking my head, trying to stop her from spilling all my secrets and announcing how pathetic I was to Max, but she kept going. "By the time I came knocking at your door, saying it was almost time, I had a car at the ready and a file waiting for you to read on the way out."
Melanie looked to Max, a smile spreading on her face. It was the happiest I've seen her in a while.
"It's just that the hot guy beat me to the punch."
I was speechless. I tried to form words to come out of my mouth, but my mind was in shambles.
Nothing made sense anymore. Melanie got tired of waiting for me to say something, and she made that clear by walking to and sitting at the table. The smile still present.
"A file?" Max's question shook me out of my stupor.
"Yes, I hired a PA to get as much dirt on Nico and his mother as possible. He didn't come up with much, but I was desperate and would take anything just to get my girl out of his claws."
"I need to see that file," they carried on as if I wasn't even there, as if those two didn't just shake the foundation of me.
"You knew about my warehouse?"
She watched me closely as I slowly came to the table and sat down. I could see her mind working, trying to make some sense of my question. And then I saw her coming up with nothing.
"What about your warehouse?"
I opened my mouth to explain all the filth that was invading it, even the little I knew was too much but wasn't fast enough.
"Come with me," Max ordered and then walked out of the kitchen, expecting Melanie to do as he demanded.
I turned to her, my eyes rolling and fully prepared to laugh, because no man ever told Melanie what to do, but she was on her feet and following him. They left me sitting there for about five minutes. Melanie was first to come back, her face pale, her eyes round and filled with fear. She came to me, giving me a fierce hug as her mouth moved close to my ear.
"I'm so glad a hot guy came and got you. You're going to be fine. I promise."
"His name is Max," I whispered into her shoulder.
I so needed this. While I was in her arms, I whispered my plan to her so Max wouldn't hear.
When she pulled back, I could see she didn't want to do it.
"Melanie, please," I urged.
Her eyes flicked toward the French doors and then came back to mine.
"Of course, you know I always have your back."
Chapter Five
Skylar
“I told you,” Melanie snorted. My eyes flew from the phone with the call on speaker that was sitting on Max’s worn out table to look into Melanie’s eyes filled with tears.
Tears from laughter she was trying to hold in but wasn’t that successful. I focused on her shoulders that were jumping up and down in silent hilarity, making her hair bounce. God, my friend, was pretty. Big green eyes, button nose that had a dust of freckles here and there. And her hair. God, I would kill to have hair like hers. Black, thick, and curly in such a way no hair product or styling tool would ever make it so. She was my height, which put her around 5’3’’ and slim. She was pretty on the outside, but the beauty that resided inside her had no comparison, and it spilled out of her eyes. Every man drooled over her. I chanced a look at Max, who was standing by the kitchen counter to see if he joined that particular club but he was watching the phone with a strange look, and then as if he sensed me looking at him, his eyes met mine. The instant they did, his look changed, and the way it changed made me tingle all over, one place in particular. The feeling was so intense I had to cross my legs and look away.