Page 126 of Maximum Dare
São Paulo, my favorite city, had opened her arms to me upon my return two days ago, as though I’d never left. I’d craved the climate, the people, the remarkable landscapes, and the warm ocean.
Home.
I’d been craving coconut truffles, or more specifically, the woman I’d once fed them to. I missed Daisy so much.
This was the most I’d ever exposed my heart to anyone. And it had felt so good. I’d willingly let myself fall for her, daring to think love was a good idea.
My office walls now made me feel claustrophobic, the clean lines of the classic décor had grown stale, the air conditioning bitterly cold.
Daisy had changed me irrevocably. I was never going to be that man who sat behind this desk going through the motions of court dates, client appointments, and tackling endless paperwork.
All of it to grace my ego.
Even knowing Daisy for such a short while, I grew to care deeply for the woman who could make me laugh like no other person on earth. I had finally experienced London through a romantic’s eyes. Our time together was a memory I’d always cherish.
Doing the right thing sucked.
A knock on my office door shook me out of my daydreaming, and Gylda’s smiling face appeared. “Olá, Maximus.”
“Olá, Gylda. English, please.”
“Why?”
“I’m homesick for London.” I leaned back in the chair with my hands behind my head.
“This is your home.”
“Humor me.”
She shrugged. “Fine.”
“I got you this.” I reached for the paper bag I’d brought with me—all the way from the Quinto Bookshop.
Gylda eased the book out of the bag. “William Waterhouse’s paintings!”
“You like?”
“I love.” She clutched it to her chest. “Max, how did you know I would?”
“I had a little help.” My smile shimmered with sadness, but she didn’t catch it.
“How was your trip?”
“Good and bad.”
“I’m sorry to hear about the bad. Why?”
I let out a long breath.
“If you want to talk…”
Her eyes saw too much in the face of the man she’d known since boyhood. I never wanted to burden her. She had her own family to think of, her own life with its ups and downs and everything in between.
“You look tired.” She came in and sat in the chair opposite me.
“This trip was different.”
“You met someone?” She gave a nod. “That’s it, isn’t it?”
