Page 57 of Summer Ever After
“She beat you?” Max gasped.
“Not directly. She’s more of a pusher, I tripped over one of Chloe’s toys and fell into the coffee table -that time.” I wasn’t sure whether I should continue.
“That’s still bad, Rosie. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
I shrugged. “Kids are resilient.”
“They shouldn’t have to be.” There was an edge to Max’s voice.
“Anyway,” I continued. My father must have been lonely. I can’t believe that he married Christina, but he was a smart man. She thought he was rich. We had everything, a huge house, fancy cars, a lake house…” I gestured to the lights of the Starling Estate, towering above us. “but it was all in a numbered company. When my father died, Christina was left with nothing. Except me. My inheritance is in a trust, and she’s the trustee. She is the one who can release it to me when I turn twenty-five.”
Max turned to face me, resting his wet foot on the dock between us. “That doesn’t sound right. I don’t think that she can do that. That’s more of a conservatorship.”
“She calls it that sometimes. She’s kept me around for the past ten years. I think that she’s waiting to see if she can get the money. That is if she’s unsuccessful at snagging another rich man. That’s her hobby by the way.”
“Wait a minute.” Max looked like he was thinking. “Are you talking about Christina and Chloe, who were here tonight?”
I nodded. “Yes. That’s them. If they would’ve recognized me, there would’ve been a scene. I’m shocked that they didn’t.”
“I recognized you the second I saw your eyes.” Max rested his hand on my shoulder. “But even before that, when you were in the boat with Jessica, I felt like I knew you.” He leaned in to kiss me gently. “Go on.” He squeezed my hands.
I shimmied closer to him. “I’ve been working two jobs ever since I could lie about my age. Whatever wasn’t spent on clothes and makeup and highlights for my stepmom and stepsister, I stashed in a drawer. I always dreamed that I’d be able to save up enough money to get away from Christina.”
“Wouldn’t she still have control of your inheritance?”
It was a good question. One that I’d thought about over the years. “If I had enough to survive, I would leave. I’d walk away from the money rather than spend one more night living under her rule. They treated me like…” For the first time, my voice wobbled.
“It’s okay. I get the picture.” Max squeezed my hands. “It still doesn’t explain why you pulled the old bait and switch with your house though.”
“Can’t you see Max? It does.”
His brow furrowed. “How?”
“I couldn’t drag you into this mess. Also, if you saw where I lived, how I lived, who I really was, you wouldn’t want to have anything to do with me.”
He bit his lower lip. “You thought that? After the afternoon we spent together? Rosie, you don’t run into your soulmate on a dirt road every day.”
Soulmate.
“I can see how stupid it was now, Max. At the time, I was so embarrassed. I felt something with you that day, something that I’d never felt before, something that I was afraid of.”
Max stood and pulled me to my feet. “You’re here now and I’ll never let that woman hurt you – ever again.” He wrapped his arms around me and held me to his chest, his chin resting on my head. I’m not sure how long we stood in the moonlight in that embrace. Being wrapped in Max’s arms, I knew that nothing in the world could hurt me.
I was crying, but I didn’t let go. He stroked the nape of my neck and held me until my tears stopped. I pulled back, and his face was glowing in the moonlight. “I wish you would’ve told me all this last year. I wouldn’t be single at this damn event.”
Max was serious about me. I knew that I loved him, and my heart ached for the words to tumble out of my mouth. “Kiss me, Max,” I said instead.
“I want to do more than kiss you.” His voice was a growl. His hand rested on my ass, and he pulled me close to him. My body thrummed, and I ached to feel him inside of me. I slid my hand down the front of his tuxedo pants, his cock, girthy, and hard pressed against the fabric.
His hands slid from my ass to the top of the dress, and he unzipped it. The heavy skirt dropped to the dock in a pool of silk around me. I stepped out of the gown and undid the buttons on his shirt. “Will anyone see us here?” I glanced around as a smatter of applause from the tent echoed from around the point.
“There’s a security guard posted at the end of this dock. No one is coming over here, but…” his voice trailed off. “With those paparazzi, you never know.” He swept me into his arms and tossed the dress over his shoulder. “There’s a bunkie in the woods right here.”
“Take me there,” I whispered in his ear.
Max bounded up the stairs and flicked on a little lamp in the corner of the bunkie. There was a bunk bed, a nightstand, a chair, and not much else. I hadn’t been assigned to this side of the island, so it was a completely new building to me.
He set me down and kissed my chest, the sensitive space between my breasts. I finished undoing his buttons and slid the shirt off his shoulders. His cummerbund fell to the floor and his pants followed. His erection was massive and tented his silk boxers.
