I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable with the way her comment shifted the vibe from two people hanging out and enjoying one another’s company to a business transaction. But of course, it was a business transaction. That was what we’d agreed on.

  “Yeah, of course,” I said. “And you’re helping me out too. It’s an even exchange.”

  “Speaking of, any news from Ford?”

  I shook my head and felt tension cinch between my shoulder blades. “Not yet. I think the last episode with Pam really set me back.”

  “Is it worth it?” Max asked me pointedly. “Is Pam going to keep butting in if you guys end up moving forward with the partnership?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think she will. She doesn’t actually care about the business side of things. And once the contract is signed, I’ll basically be able to avoid her until she loses interest.”

  Max drew her legs up on the chair and circled her arms around them. “Well, that’s good, since you won’t have me around to run interference for you.”

  It was the truth, but that didn’t mean I liked thinking about it. Our expiration date was always in the back of my mind, and it impacted me more than I was willing to let on.

  “I should be fine without your muscle,” I said, trying to sound lighter than I felt. “I can be very intimidating when I need to be.”

  Max shuddered. “Trust me, I’ve seen glimpses. When you woke me up on the Brilliance? Yikes.”

  The reminder of where it all began, where we began, sent a shot of warmth to my heart. “Sorry about that.”

  “Oh, now he apologizes,” she teased me. Then she smiled. “It’s fine. Technically, I was a stowaway.”

  “A very talented stowaway,” I replied, pointing to her open portfolio. “Speaking of, we still haven’t made any decisions.”

  She glanced at her phone. “The night is young, it’s only seven.”

  I hoped that the night would continue in bed. Neither of us had said anything about whether she’d spend the night—or how we’d spend it, once work was out of the way—but there were little tells about how we were both feeling, like the way Max kept finding excuses to touch me, that convinced me I’d get her clothes off sooner or later.

  “The moon shot is my favorite,” I said. “Definitely include that one.”

  “Don’t you think it’s a little … basic?”

  I started to answer but Max’s phone interrupted us. She glanced at it.

  “I don’t recognize that number. Probably spam.”

  A few seconds after it stopped ringing, it started up again. “Should I?” She turned the screen so I could see the number.

  “It’s a Miami area code. Might be one of your model friends?”

  She answered and her face fell immediately when she heard the voice on the other end. “Whose phone are you using?”

  Max stared off into the distance as she listened, like I wasn’t in the room.

  “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” Max replied, frowning. “The one on 5th, right? Okay, wait there.”

  She disconnected the call and started gathering her things. “I need to go.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  Max paused but didn’t look at me. “Family stuff, as usual. My mom and Nick were going to cook a nice dinner, so they went to grocery-shop together and they got into a fight over something stupid. She said it was a big one, people actually intervened. He took off with her purse in the car and left her at the grocery store. She had to use some random guy’s phone to call me.”

  “Shit, Max, that sucks. I’m sorry. Want me to come with you?”

  She shook her head as she stuffed her laptop in her bag. “No need.”

  I wasn’t about to let her get involved with anything dangerous. “If he’s that agitated, he could come back and cause trouble,” I said gently. “It might be good to have me there, just in case.”

  She paused and dropped her head. “Yeah, okay. You’re right,” she said softly. Max finally met my eyes. “Sorry. I know this is more than we agreed to.”

  Again with the arrangement. Did she really think I was keeping score like that?

  “It’s fine,” I replied. “You need help, I can provide it. Let’s go.”

  As much as I wanted to reach out and take her in my arms, to try to erase the worry from her expression, I followed her to the door with my itchy hands clutched at my sides.

  21

  MAX

  I glanced over at Theo as he maneuvered his tricked-out Land Rover into traffic. I hoped he didn’t mind the interruption to his evening, especially for something as distressing as my hysterical mother.

  What we were doing was so opposite of what we’d agreed to. Getting involved in my mom’s drama was going to center Theo in my dumpster fire of a family, and I knew it was the last thing I should ask of him. I’d expected him to wave a speedy goodbye when he’d heard what I had to go do. The kindness in his offer to come along shook me to my core.

  It seemed like he really wanted to help.

  “Tell me what I’m up against,” Theo said. “Is Nick a big guy? Does he get violent?”

  “No to both, thank God,” I said quickly.

  But then I thought about all of the ways Nick’s behavior had been escalating lately. His confrontations with Rafe were getting worse because my brother seemed to be sick of his shit and realized that he needed to stand up to the man in defense of our mom.

  “I guess I should say that he’s never gotten violent that I know of,” I added, glancing at Theo. “To be honest, I’m not sure my mom would tell me if he did. She knows how I feel about him.”

  Theo grunted.

  I felt safe having him with me, even though I didn’t need his protection. Or at least I hoped I didn’t.

  “Is there any way she can get out? I know you said there’s a financial implication, but I can’t imagine her and Rafe being there is healthier than the alternative.”

  “This fight might be the push she needs to start thinking about moving on.”

  “What’s their backstory? How did they meet?”

  “Nick used to be a charmer. Handsome, funny … they met at a friend’s party and she was smitten. I think she was just looking for companionship. A good time to forget about her sadness, you know? But then he started looking after her, buying her things, moving us into his place so we didn’t have to worry about rent. She didn’t have to handle everything on her own anymore, and I think she liked that. They met when I was nine, were married by the time I was ten—and I was eleven when Rafe was born.” I paused, remembering the way my mom’s face used to look when she’d tell the story of how she and Nick got together. Her smile wasn’t genuine. “She’s never come out and said it, but I don’t think it was a love match. Not really. She was grateful to him and she liked the way he treated her—at first, anyway. And then Nick started tightening the screws and the next thing you know, she’s trapped.”

  I glanced down at my hands and realized that my fingers were twisted so tightly together that they were turning white. I could feel Theo watching me, and it was a shock when he pulled my hands apart so he could lace his fingers through mine.

  “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I’m sorry things have been hard for your family.”

  I let out a long sigh and dropped my head back against the headrest. “We all have our shit, right? Except you. Your family seems really tight.”

  He grunts again. “Yeah, we’re good now, but we had our own struggles. I lost my dad to a heart attack. Dropped dead, right there in the kitchen.”

  He said it matter-of-factly, but I could tell that he was shoving down old pain.

  “I’m sorry,” I brought his hand up to my mouth and brushed my lips against it.

  His mouth went into a tight line. “My mom has always said my dad was her one true love, and that no one else would come close to loving her the way he did. So she never dated after he died. It was just the two of us—plus her sisters and my cousins, of course. Then when Jess lost her mom, we made up our own little pieced together family.”

  I looked out the window and thought about all of the painful memories we kept to ourselves. I guess Theo felt the same way I did; it was easier to bury the hurt than try to work through it.

  “There she is,” I said, sitting up a little straighter to point out the windshield. “Shit, she’s a mess.”

  I could tell even from a distance that my mom was going to be hard to handle. Her blotchy face and smeared make-up meant that she’d been crying. But her defense mechanism was to swing harder in the opposite direction, covering up her sadness with fake, manic happiness, like the mascara smeared under her eyes wasn’t really there and everything was fine, just fine.

  She was more dressed up than usual, which meant she was probably trying to turn a trip to the grocery store and the resulting home-cooked meal into a date. She was wearing a white flowy skirt, the type she favored because she says they “hide sins,” and a waist-length sleeveless blouse. Her brown hair was flipped out into choppy wings all over her head, probably because she kept running her hands through it as the tension between her and Nick edged up.

  “What should I call her?” Theo asked as he parked.

  “Renee.”

  I realized in that moment that we were adding yet another layer of lies to our partnership. I’d never considered that Theo would meet my mom.

  Damn it, she was going to love him.

  I slid out of the car and speed-walked to her.

  “Hey sweetie,” she said, her eyes filling with tears when she spotted me. “Sorry to drag you out over this little fight.”

  We embraced and I felt her tremble a little.

  “Stop, it’s fine. You know I’m always here for you.”

  “Are you okay, Mrs. Simon?” Theo asked when he caught up to us.

  “It’s Dawson,” I muttered. I never got used to us having different last names.

  My mom frowned and glanced between us, running her fingers beneath her eyes to try to clean herself up. “And who are you?”

  “Mom,” I began haltingly. “This is Theo Barnes … my boyfriend.”

  A genuine smile lit up her face as she took him in. “Oh my, I had no idea! Well, it’s so nice to meet you, Theo. I do apologize for the circumstances.” She sniffled a few times and ran her fingers through her hair. “And please call me Renee.”

  “Nice to meet you as well,” he replied. “Do you need anything? Some water? Tissues?”

  She laughed. “I am sort of adrift, no purse or phone or anything. Silly me. Water would be wonderful, thank you.”

  She smoothed her hair again as Theo walked toward the store.

  “Maxie, you didn’t tell me you were involved with someone,” she whispered. “And so handsome!”

  “We can talk about that later,” I scolded gently. “Right now, we need to worry about you. What’s going on? Why did he leave you here?”

  “Oh, the usual silly stuff. The recipe I wanted to cook called for risotto, but he wanted rice instead. I said it wouldn’t be as good because shrimp risotto is totally different from shrimp with rice, and he lost his temper a little, right in the produce aisle. I shouldn’t have argued with him. I can’t do anything right.”

  My heart fractured for her.

  “Where’s Rafe?” I asked.

  “He’s at a friend’s. This was supposed to be a date night for us.” She gave me a half smile. “So much for that. Can I borrow your phone? Nick didn’t pick up when I used the nice man’s phone to call, but he knows your number so he’ll answer.”

  I dug through my bag and handed it to her. “Sure.”

  I wasn’t confident that Nick would pick up if he saw my number either. He hated when my mom leaned on me for support because he knew how I felt about him. She dialed then paced in small circles, biting on her lip. It killed me how Nick managed to siphon her confidence away.

  “He’s not answering,” she said, handing my phone back with a wan smile. “He might be out taking a walk.”

  We both knew that Nick never worked off his frustrations with physical activity. More than likely, he was stewing and waiting for her to come home, so he could yell at her for making him leave her at the store.

  Theo came striding across the parking lot, and it was hard for me to keep from staring at him. He was just so … magnetic. He looked like he was ready to solve all of our problems, either with muscle, money, or both.

  “Here you go, Mrs. Dawson, I mean, Renee,” he said, handing a plastic bag to her. “Water, tissues, and some trail mix, just in case you need a pick-me-up.”

  She looked in the bag then teared up again. “Thank you, that’s so kind.”

  I rubbed her back. “Why don’t we head back to my place? Give you both more time to cool down. Sound good?”

  My mom glanced between me and Theo. “What time is it?”

  “Close to eight,” Theo answered.

  I could tell she was weighing what to do. The obvious choice was to come to my apartment with me until it was time for Rafe to get home. But I knew that she was concocting a way to make it sound reasonable to go back to her abuser.

  “You know what? Nick is probably getting worried about where I am. Maybe I should just get back there so he’ll know I’m all right. Can you take me home?”

  I frowned as I glanced at Theo. I could tell by his expression that he didn’t agree with her decision either.

  “How about I take the two of you to dinner first?” Theo suggested. “You’re hungry, aren’t you Max?”

  He winked at me.

  “Starving. That’s a great idea, T.” I turned to my mom. “Sound good?”

  “No honey,” she gave me a sad smile as she shook her head. “That’s sweet of you, but I really should go home. Can we go?”

  I sighed.

  “Of course, of course, I parked right over there,” Theo said as he pointed across the parking lot.

  We walked to his car in silence. I knew exactly what was going on in my mom’s head, the mental gymnastics required to turn the fight with Nick into something that she could handle, an issue she could fix. But Theo’s thoughts? No clue.

  Maybe he was wondering how he could get rid of his high-maintenance hired girlfriend and her delusional mother.

  Although the way he kept watching me with kind, worried eyes made it seem like saying goodbye was the last thing on his mind.

  22

  THEO

  Dropping Renee off at her home felt wrong, but there was nothing Max and I could do to change her mind.

  We’d each tried to sway her during the drive, me with promises of a dozen different restaurant options, and Max with the hard facts about what would be waiting for her at home. I stayed out of that part, thinking that Max would have the best shot at getting through to her, but nothing Max said seemed to have an impact on her mother.

  I thought about speaking up…but it wasn’t my place. Max had made that abundantly clear.

  We pulled up in front of the modest home, and I wished that I felt close enough to both of them to feel comfortable walking Renee right up to the front door, so I could glare at the man who was making her life miserable. Intimidate him a little, and maybe make him rethink his communication style.

  Instead, I had to sit in the driver seat like a chauffeur while Max debated with her mom just outside the car. It sounded like she wanted to go inside to speak to Nick, and Renee was attempting to prevent it. I was ready for action, either way.

  I watched Renee head up the sidewalk solo and felt a surge of energy. Max said the man wasn’t violent, but she also mentioned that he’d been escalating. I hated the thought of what Renee could be walking into.

  Max slid into the front seat, and we both watched in silence as Renee slipped inside.

  “Let’s just wait a few minutes,” Max murmured. She rolled down her window. “I want to make sure he’s not going to blow up at her.”

  “Should we do something?” I asked. “I mean, if we know he’s going to be on her case can’t we—”

  “Theo,” she barked at me. “You don’t need to worry about this, okay? I feel bad enough that you’re here. And what can we do, anyway? She’s a grown woman, it’s not like I can drag her out of there. Trust me, I’ve tried reasoning with her from every angle I can think of. Nothing works.”

  “But what about Rafe?” I asked.

  She let out a long breath. “Yeah. Rafe.”

  We both fell quiet at the sound of a slamming door echoing out. Max held up a finger to shush me even though I hadn’t been talking. We sat in silence and both seemed to relax when we couldn’t hear anything else.

  “Okay, good. He’s not yelling right off the bat, which means he’s probably pouting. Not a great response either but at least he’s not being aggressive toward her.”

  “I can’t even imagine that kind of dynamic …” I shook my head.

  “Don’t get me started.” Max was staring out the window frowning. “We can go. She’s fine.”

  “For now,” I muttered.

  I eased the car onto the road and tried to figure out what was safe to discuss. Clearly not her family.

  “Where to?” I asked. It was getting late, but I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Max yet, and I hoped that she felt the same.

  She was leaning back against the seat looking totally drained by what we’d been through. I wondered how often she had to get involved in her mom’s drama.

  “I don’t have anywhere I need to be …” she rolled her head so she could meet my eyes. “You?”

  “Wide open. Want to go back to my place, eat candy and watch a movie?”

  She finally smiled at me. “You have candy?”

  “I don’t at the moment, but I can stop in that convenience store right there and load up on anything you want.”

  “Let’s do it.”

  I maneuvered my car into a parking spot and held my hand up when she started to unbuckle her seatbelt. “Please allow me, m’lady. Wait here.”

  “Oh, you’re a candy concierge?” she laughed, and I felt relieved at the sound of it.