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“I’m glad you said that, because I was thinking the same thing,” she answered cheekily. Pulling out of his arms, she took him by the hand and started tugging him toward the front door.
Taken aback, Max followed behind her willingly, trying to figure out if she was thinking of a change of scene for their “ride.” He was more than up for anything. Literally.
She led him to the front door and opened it with a huge smile. “Happy birthday, Happy anniversary, merry Christmas,” she said, leading him outside.
Max squinted from the bright sunlight, and the glare in front of his eyes. His rental car was gone, and in its place sat a Ferrari 458 Spider, a car he’d considered—but had passed—on buying, even though he’d been salivating over it for a while now. “Whose car is this?”
Mia dangled a set of keys in front of his face. “It’s yours now. I wanted to get you something for all the holidays we’ve missed together. And I know you want it.”
Holy shit.Max’s jaw dropped and he turned his gaze to Mia as he asked, “How did you know I wanted a Ferrari?” Simon and Sam both had a Bugatti, Kade and Travis had a multitude of man toys, but all Max had ever really wanted was a Ferrari. There was something about the sleek Italian lines of the vehicle that just did it for him.
Mia propped her hands on her hips and gave him a naughty smile. “I was already arranging it before I had to leave the second time. I went to use your laptop a few times, and the screen was up for this car. Obviously you wanted it. Why didn’t you just buy it?”
Max drove a Mercedes, a nice sedan that had been moderately priced for that brand. “Because it’s not sensible. Why do I need another car, especially one that costs over a quarter million dollars?” He might be a billionaire, but that had never seemed to override his ingrained sense of logic and practicality.
“Max…you can afford it. You can have things you want. You don’t have to always do the sensible thing,” she teased him softly. “Sometimes it’s fun to do something just because you want to and not try to apply any reason to it.”
His eyes roamed over the car longingly. How long had he wanted a Ferrari but never bought one because he didn’t actually need it? It was completely impractical, and he fucking loved it. “You did this for me? How did you get it here?” he asked, still stunned.
“With my brother’s help. Kade arranged to get it sent here. Do you like it?” she asked nervously. “I paid for it from my own funds.”
He didn’t care whose funds she used. She was welcome to his money any time she wanted anything. In fact, he would have rather she had spent his money. He had a hell of a lot more than she did, so much that he couldn’t spend that much in a lifetime, even if he shopped for luxury products every day. It wasn’t the money that had kept him from buying it…it was the senselessness of getting one. “Hell yeah. I love it. I’ve been wanting a Ferrari forever.” He took the keys from her hand and walked over to the vehicle. It was sweet, red with black leather interior, and the top was down. It was an incredible vehicle, and he was itching to take it out on the road.
“You’ll rent a sports car, but you won’t own one?”
Max grinned at her boyishly, running a hand over the door of the car. “I had to scratch the itch occasionally.”
Mia wrapped her arms around him, hugging his back as she murmured, “It’s permanently cured now.”
Max turned and hefted her up against him. Mia wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing their faces level. “I have another itch,” he told her wickedly, ready to wait for the ride in his new vehicle. “I can’t believe you did this for me. How is it that you seem to know what I want before I do?”
“Observation,” she told him with a laugh. “I spied this time. And you knew you wanted it; you just wouldn’t admit it to yourself. You’ve spent a lot of senseless money on me in the past, but you make different rules for yourself.”
Max wasn’t sure, but he was pretty certain it was more than observation. Mia got him in a way he didn’t even comprehend himself. “I actually got something for you, too.” And he hoped she liked it. “And spending money on you is never senseless.”
“What?” she asked curiously, placing a tender kiss to his lips before unwrapping her legs from his waist, her feet landing gracefully on the ground.
Max nearly groaned aloud, the loss of having her so close to him almost painful. “I got it in Florida.” Digging in his pocket, he pulled out a black velvet box. Nervously, he opened the lid. “I didn’t know if we’d find your wedding ring again. So I got this.”
The ring had a platinum band completely covered in diamonds, an enormous sapphire on top embedded into a heart crafted of the same precious metal and surrounded completely by more diamonds.
“Oh, Max.” Mia sounded breathless as she took the box, her hand trembling. “It’s incredible. But I have my wedding ring.”
“You have another finger,” Max reminded her with a small smile. “One ring for our first marriage, and another for our second chance.” He pulled the ring from the box in her hand and slipped it over the ring finger of her other hand. “Keep me,” he demanded, not really wanting it to be a question. He was definitely keepingher.
Her expression stunned, she looked up at him with tears on her face. “This is exquisite. It must have cost you a fortune. The sapphire is at least seventeen carats.”
Max had forgotten for a moment that he was married to a jewelry designer who knew her gems, even though she wasn’t working with precious stones much anymore. “Cost isn’t exactly a problem. I wanted more diamonds, but Gabrielle said it would be overkill.”
“Gabrielle. Oh, God. I knew this looked like her work. But she’s booked forever for custom stuff. How did you get her to do this so quickly?”
Max had needed to shell out a lot of cash and do some groveling to get the famous jewelry designer to make Mia’s ring a priority, but he would have paid anything to get it, and have it on Mia’s finger as quickly as possible. After seeing the way she had mourned the loss of her ring, he would have given his entire fortune to get her another one. “Do you like it?” he asked anxiously, not wanting to discuss the price or how he’d gotten it so quickly.
Mia touched the ring reverently, her eyes shimmering. “There isn’t a woman in the world who wouldn’t. Thank you, Max. I love it. I love you.”
“Don’t cry.” He wiped the tears from her face gently. “It was supposed to make you smile.”
“I am happy. It’s just such an incredible piece of jewelry. You didn’t need to do this. I already have a gorgeous wedding ring.”