Who Gets To Marry Max?. Neesa Hart

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СКАЧАТЬ looked down at her hand, stared at it for long seconds. She sensed a struggle in him. “No, I don’t suppose there is.”

      “If you push Greg into a corner, he’ll fight you.”

      He visibly tensed. “If he does, I’ll win.”

      “Probably. But if the price is alienating your brother, is it worth it?”

      “It’s the right thing for Greg’s future. In time, he’ll understand that.”

      “Max—”

      He surged out of his chair, rounded the desk, and towered over her. She had to tilt her head back to hold his gaze. His expression looked harder than usual. “I realize this probably sounds ruthless to you, but I’ve spent my life taking care of my family.” He raked a hand over his face. “Sometimes, that means I have to decide what I think is best and make sure it happens. And I’m good at it.”

      “And do you always get what you want?”

      He studied her for long seconds, that same unnerving gleam in his eyes. Then he carefully took her hand in his larger one. In less than a millisecond, the center of his focus had shifted from his brother’s engagement to rest squarely on her. She sensed it as surely as she had sensed the tension thrumming through him last night. “As of today,” he said quietly, “I’m batting a thousand.”

      Having the full force of that indomitable concentration directed at her sent goosebumps skittering along her flesh. Anticipatory goosebumps, she realized as she forced herself not to look away. “Max, I—”

      He turned her hand to study her palm. “In fact, I think we should just clear this up right now. It’s been on my mind since last night.”

      “It has?”

      He nodded. “Very much so. And unless I’m completely off my game, you’ve been thinking about it too.”

      “We’re not talking about Greg and Lauren anymore. Are we?”

      “No.”

      Sidney shivered. “I didn’t think so.”

      “I’ve been told that I lack a certain, ah, finesse in situations like this.”

      “Really?”

      “Yes. But it’s like a business venture—once I know what I want, I don’t see any point in hedging about it.”

      “Wastes time.”

      “Precisely.” His fingers tightened on her hand. “So do you know why I really asked you to stay out at the estate for the weekend?”

      Her brain short-circuited. He didn’t give her a chance to recover. “I want you, Sidney.”

      The soft declaration made her ears ring. Her fingers quivered in his warm grasp.

      “And you want me.”

      Sidney pulled in a ragged breath. “Max—”

      He squeezed her hand. “Don’t you?”

      “I—”

      “Look, I’m not trying to rush you. I know small talk generally eludes me.”

      “You could say that.”

      “I wouldn’t have told you last night—I should have told you last night, but I was afraid you’d leave. I wanted you here. With me.”

      Sidney concentrated on breathing normally. “It wouldn’t work. We’re too different.”

      “I thought so, too.” He cast a swift glance at the door. “For a long time, I thought so. But I changed my mind.”

      “If that gets out,” she managed to quip, “it could cause the value of the dollar to plunge in the foreign currency markets.”

      His soft chuckle rumbled along her nerve endings. “You have an overinflated sense of my importance, I assure you.”

      “As long as we’re laying our cards on the table, is this a good time for me to tell you that you scare me to death?”

      His eyebrows rose. “I’d never hurt you, Sidney.”

      “I know that. That’s not what I mean.”

      “Explain it to me.”

      She searched for words. “I guess—I don’t want to feel like another corporate takeover.”

      He blinked. “Excuse me?”

      She pulled her hand from his. “It’s hard to explain. After Carter—after my divorce—I swore I’d never do that to myself again.”

      “Are you comparing me to your ex-husband?” His tone had turned flat—and sounded somehow more dangerous.

      “No.” She shook her head. “No, you’re nothing like Carter. He was weak and selfish, and I was a fool to marry him.”

      “Sidney—”

      “Don’t say it,” she said with a slight smile. “There’s no point in arguing with me. What kind of idiot gets involved with a jerk like that?”

      “It wasn’t your fault.”

      She inwardly cringed. He could never understand the flood of self-condemnation that had engulfed her when her marriage dissolved. Max didn’t make colossal mistakes. It was beyond his scope of experience. “Whatever. The point is, I had a really hard time putting myself back together after he—after it was over.”

      “I know.” His gray eyes studied her. “Philip told me.”

      “He tells you a lot, doesn’t he?”

      “He loves you.”

      “I know he does.” She managed a slight smile. “He loves you, too.”

      With incredibly gentle fingers, Max tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Sidney, no more stalling.” He seated himself on the edge of his desk. “Talk to me.”

      “I’m afraid of what might happen to me if I get involved with you,” she admitted.

      “I’ll take care of you.”

      “Oh, Max. Don’t you see? I don’t want you to take care of me. I’ve just started to feel like I’m pretty good at taking care of myself. I’m not ready to turn the job over to someone else.”

      That made him frown. “I didn’t mean—”

      “I know. It’s not you. It’s me.” She couldn’t hold his gaze any longer. “This is all moving a little fast for me.”

      “I’ve known you for ten years.”

      She laughed a little. “You’ve barely СКАЧАТЬ