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“Yay! It looks so pretty, don’t you think?”
“Not as pretty as you,” he says with a chuckle, setting her down on the floor. He hasn’t shifted in our direction yet, and I finger my necklace, biting down hard on my lower lip, just waiting to see his face.
Because I need to know what he’s thinking right now.
My stomach churns even though I haven’t eaten a bite this morning. I tap my foot, berating myself for allowing this anxiety to take hold when I should want to rush up to him and clock him in the jaw for standing me up last night.
He bends down to ruffle Cassidy’s hair and slowly rises to his full height. My breath catches as I catch a glimpse of his profile…his bruised and swollen profile.
Looks like someone already beat me to the punch. Literally.
Oh, my God…
“Sloane?” Steven asks, touching my arm. “Are you okay? You look a little shaken.”
I nod my head. “Y-yes. I’m fine. Just fine.” I force a smile, dragging my eyes away from Max. Raspy breaths and quivering knees for the guy who ruined me. Just freaking fabulous.
But much as I try to force my eyes in any other direction than his, they betray me and catch his gaze. My chest tightens, and it suddenly feels like all of the air is being sucked out of the space. “Holy shit,” I mutter under my breath.
“What’s wrong?” Steven asks, but I don’t answer. I can’t. And I am desperately fighting the urge to fling myself into Max’s arms and hold him close.
“Sloane.” Max’s voice is low and gravelly. “I, uh, didn’t think you’d be here this morning.”
My mouth opens, but no words come out. Stringing together a coherent thought is beyond my grasp at this second. Steven clears his throat next to me, and then I remember. Everything comes rushing back.
I’m mad. So freaking mad!
But devastated. And disappointed. And heartbroken.
But most of all, confused.
I finally find my voice. “Max, this is Dr. Steven Kiley. Steven, this is Max.”
Max looks at Steven and nods a silent greeting. They’re about the same height, although Max could probably crush him like a cockroach in the blink of an eye.
Steven nods back, eyeing him up and down. Interesting. I’ve never actually seen two guys size each other up like this before, but they’re staring at each other like they’re about to throw down at any second. “Are you part of The Buddy System?”
Max shakes his head. “Nah, I’m a friend of one of the kids up here. Was just visiting with him.”
“Oh.” Steven looks at me. “And is Max a friend of yours, too?”
“I hope so,” Max murmurs, his gaze steady on my face.
“Are you okay?” I whisper, gingerly placing a hand on the bruises shading his face.
Max shrugs and flashes a smirk. But there’s no laughter reflected in the depths of his dark eyes. “I’ve seen better days, but hey, I’m still standing.”
A sad chuckle escapes my mouth. “So now you’re quoting Citizen Kane and Elton John in the same sentence? I didn’t think you even listened to songs with lyrics.” He listens almost exclusively to that noise otherwise known as electronica. Ironically, I think it helps quiet things in his head, things he can’t process. Things he doesn’t want to acknowledge. It’s a bad joke, but for some reason I feel the need to cut the tension between us.
“You know me too well,” he quips in a monotone voice. It’s not sarcastic or playful. Just…sad. And the sound makes my chest ache.
What the hell happened to him last night? Why couldn’t he just be honest with me?
I bite down on my lower lip.
Would it have made a difference?
My eyes flit over to Steven’s face. A tight smile stretches across his face, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. Not like the smiles he always flashes when he looks at me. Not like the ones that were plastered on his face last night and this morning when he spotted me here.