Page 29 of Maximum Dare
But I let Max remove them. He put them back and chose another pair, sliding them onto my face. “Look in the mirror.”
I turned and studied my reflection, loving how the delicate frames complemented my face and made me look pretty. Max rested his hands on my shoulders and turned me around to face him. His eyes were so easy to fall into, but my gaze dropped to his mouth.
And my surroundings slipped away…
Dazzled by him, I was unable to stop staring, and I felt my cheeks blaze with heat at my failure to tear my gaze away.
A ghost of a smile curled Max’s lips. “Beautiful,” he said, as though I confounded him.
He stepped closer and reached around to pull out my hair tie, releasing my ponytail. Locks tumbled over my shoulders. Gently, he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, sending a shiver through me.
Looking up at him made me feel protected, as though all he had to do was wrap his arms around me and everything would be all right again.
I heard a sigh, and it was mine, full of wonder as both of us remained suspended in a moment seemingly meant for us.
“Let me know if you need any help!” the shop girl piped up.
She broke the spell and we stepped away from each other self-consciously.
Max threw a nod her way. “I was making sure they go with her hair.” He faced me again. “What do you think?”
I spun to look in the mirror and caught my surprised expression—his comment had made my insides feel warm and fuzzy.
“They make your eyes pop.” He grinned at me. “Like them?”
“I love them.” This was the kind of excitement usually reserved for something a lot bigger than buying glasses. I couldn’t deny how much I loved being around Max.
His soul was on fire for life—he was a person willing to embrace happiness and share it.
“I found the one!” he said, and then quickly corrected himself. “The right glasses, I mean.” Max took them out of my hands and walked over to the counter. “I’d like to buy these, please, for Daisy Whitby. Her prescription should be on file.”
Minutes later, we headed out of the shop after receiving the promise that I could pick them up tomorrow.
Max drove me home and parked outside the house. He sat for a moment, tapping the steering wheel as though he wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet.
“Thank you, Max.” I reached for the door handle.
“I have something for you.” He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
I took it from him, and realized it was a check. “What’s this for?”
“You helped pay the mortgage.”
“This is more than I paid.” In fact, it was more money than I could make in years.
“It’ll be a nice deposit on a flat when you’re ready.”
My lips trembled at what this meant; what he really thought of me.
“You want more?” He reached into his coat again.
“No!”
My relationship had a number on it. No, that wasn’t it. The shopping trip to buy new glasses had been a ruse. Max had merely waited for me to let down my guard so he could pay me to disappear.
I ripped the check into tiny pieces, throwing it over him like confetti. It landed in his hair and sprinkled his shoulders and coat.
He didn’t blink. “Well, that didn’t go as expected.”
