Page 5 of Max's Mission

Hoping to diffuse some of the frustration and anger he saw brewing in her eyes, Max inched closer, trying to offer her a shoulder to lean on without actually touching her. “Okay, I understand the alone thing. But how is this stuff with Tad your mess? The man left you with no notice.” He didn’t know much about what happened with her ex. She never talked about him, but he knew that much.

“Something drove him away.” She jabbed the spoon into the gelato again, then gave the bowl a soft shove before bracing her hands on the edge of the counter. “Whether it was my drive tosucceed or becoming parents unexpectedly—I’m not completely blameless.”

Max closed the distance in one quick step. He’d heard enough. Grasping her chin, he tipped her face, forcing her to look him in the eye. “He left you. No discussion, no expressing his concerns. He just up and left. Whether he didn’t like something about you or the life you two had, it’s not your fault.”

Margot opened her mouth to say something, but he shifted his hand, cupping her jaw and slipping his thumb over her lips. “You are not the problem. He is. Nor are you a burden to people.”

He could feel her jaw flex beneath his hand as she held his gaze. After a moment, she shook her head, her eyes telling him she wanted to refute his words.

He soldiered on before she could. “And as far as helping you goes, that’s what friends do. Especially our group of friends. We’re more than that. We’re a family.” Max’s heart thumped at the swirling emotions that blazed through her blue eyes. They moved too quickly for him to discern what she was thinking, though.

After a beat, she stepped out of his hold. “But I’m not. Not really. I’m just Annabeth’s tagalong.”

Max forced his hands to stay at his sides. He wanted to grab her and shake some sense into her; at the same time, he wanted to hold her close. This was a side of Margot he’d never seen. She was an unsure, almost scared woman waiting to be hurt.

In all the time he’d known her, she’d been on the quieter side—except around her daughters and Annabeth—and it suddenly made sense why. She felt like she was on the outside looking in.

The realization overrode the part of his brain that cautioned him to go slow and to give her space. He laid his hand over one of hers. “No, Margot, you’re not. The moment Dean brought you into the fold, you were part of the family. You and the girls.”

This was not a subject he was willing to debate, so he changed the subject. “Now, have you booked a flight north yet?”

She pulled her hand away again and snatched her bowl off the counter, cradling it against her chest. Picking up the spoon, she waved it at him. “I know what you’re doing, Max. Changing the subject won’t magically make things different.”

Stepping back and giving her some space, he picked up his bowl and spoon, fighting a frown. “No, but maybe by doing so, eventually you’ll come to realize I’m right. Now answer my question.”

She stabbed her gelato again. “No.”

He arched an eyebrow. “No, you won’t answer my question or no, you haven’t booked a flight?”

“No, I haven’t booked a flight.”

His lips stretched in a smile. “Good. I’ll get on that and book us on one. When do you want to leave?”

“Max…” she ground out through clenched teeth. If he’d been frozen, like their gelato, the fire in her eyes would have melted him.

He pointed his spoon at her before taking a quick bite. “Don’t argue with me. Not on this.” He softened his voice a bit. He didn’t want to push her too far. Yet. “You need someone with you. I’ll follow your lead, but I know we’d all be happier if you didn’t go alone. You don’t know what you’re walking into or what the cops are thinking. Let me be the shoulder to prop you up, to have your back? Please?”

She stuffed a spoonful of gelato into her mouth and looked away, the angry frown on her face turning slightly less belligerent and more thoughtful. Finally, she looked at him again. “This is hard for me. Accepting help. Annabeth badgered me into moving in with her when Tad left; otherwise, I’d still be in Texas, struggling while I spent ninety hours a week at the hospital and the rest trying not to be a stranger to my children.”

The vulnerability in her eyes cut deep into Max’s heart.

“She’s the only person—other than Tad—I’ve ever truly trusted, and I need her now to watch my kids while I straighten this out.” She swirled her spoon through her treat once more. “But you’re right. I don’t want to go alone. I’m dreading going at all.”

“So, does that mean you won’t protest if I tag along?” he asked when she paused.

Margot scooped up another bite of gelato, slipping it past her lips. She glanced away, a deep furrow forming between her eyes, and sighed. “I suppose not.” She pinned him with a narrow-eyed look. “But that doesn’t mean I’ll let you buy my ticket.”

Max shoved a bite of his own gelato into his mouth, hiding a smirk. One way or another, he’d get his way. “How about you let me arrange all the travel? You can pay me back.”

She snorted. “No. I know you. We’ll end up in first class, which I can’t afford.”

He turned up the wattage on his smile, hoping to persuade her to see his side of things. “But I can. For both of us. How about this? I get the first-class seats, but you pay me for the cost of an economy ticket?”

Her frown returned. She opened her mouth to speak, but he raised a hand, cutting her off. “I don’t want to sit in economy for a flight that long. I’m too tall, and I can afford not to be smushed. I also don’t want you to sit alone. That’s just dumb.”

Which was true, but if she pushed back too hard, he’d suck it up so she didn’t have to sit by herself. He hoped she didn’t, though. They would both be much more comfortable in first class. “And it’s not like an extra first-class ticket will break me. I’m not Brooke rich, but you know I’m far from poor.”

She pursed her lips and blinked at him. Finally, her expression relaxed. “All right, fine. You win. But can we not stay in a super fancy hotel? The local Holiday Inn is fine.”

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