Page 8

“L ike I said before, I’ll finish out the day,” Max said.

Lily blinked.

He was giving up just like that?

Then she had to remind herself. It was easy for Maxwell Deckman to walk away.

Making a derisive sound under her breath, Lily turned to her computer screen.

If she had to put up with him for the day, so be it. She would immerse herself in her work.

But as the hours passed, she found herself gazing at him more often than not.

“I can send you a photo,” Max murmured.

Heat slapped into her cheeks. “No thank you.”

“Are you sure?” Max’s smile mocked her.

Oh, she wanted to slap him into next week.

“I don’t need any reminders.”

Max crossed his arms and flexed his pecs—one side after the other, back and forth, making his shirt pop.

“Oh my god!” Lily slammed a hand over her mouth to hold back the laughter.

“What?” Humor laced his smoky eyes.

“Not impressed,” she said behind her hand.

When she could finally keep her mouth in a straight line, she lowered her hand, but knew her eyes were still filled with amusement.

“You’re laughing,” he pointed out.

“You’re ridiculous.”

Max smirked.

Lily sighed…all humor aside though, she couldn’t fathom why Max was here.

“How did you know I needed a bodyguard?” She squinted at him.

“William told me.” Max shrugged and stretched. “So…I took the job.”

What in the world had Max been thinking by taking this job?

And what the hell had Blake been thinking when he hired her ex-boyfriend to be her bodyguard?

Her irritation with Blake increased. Several times over the past month, she had been on the verge of asking for a separation. Perhaps now was the time.

She eyed Max. Did Blake know that Max was her ex?

Lily paused with her fingers on the keys. Thinking back, she wasn’t sure if Blake even knew Max’s name. Of course, Blake knew she had a few boyfriends in the past, but she hadn’t shared anything other than maybe a first name.

Sharing details of old lovers with her husband wasn’t something she would do. Her hands clenched. This must be some horrible accident on Blake’s part.

Damn William for telling Max that she needed a bodyguard. Maybe William had only been trying to help?

Lily didn’t think so. Sara and Michelle, William’s wife, were tight. And Sara didn’t like Blake.

Lily would bet money Sara and Michelle talked about Blake behind her back. And while the two women were part of her tight circle of girlfriends, it irritated her. Even though she was starting to have big doubts about Blake, her friends were supposed to have her back! And having Max show up like this smelled like a big fat setup.

And she was the dummy caught right in the middle.

It was just after five o’clock when Lily slid on her heavy coat, wrapped a scarf around her neck, and lifted her purse. She walked out of her office with Max striding next to her.

She had always felt incredibly small next to him. It could be because Max was taller and bigger than Blake in every way. But it was more than that. Rather than intimidating, Max’s size felt protective.

Oh, stop it, Lily, she silently bitched.

Max was off limits.

He was an asshole. He had broken her heart.

Besides, she had fired him, so after today, she would never see him again.

Good riddance!

She refused to acknowledge the tiny spark of sadness at the thought.

Max easily kept pace with Lily as she walked down the wide staircase and outside into the brisk Washington weather.

He loved seeing her laugh, but after her first burst, she had turned sad, quiet, and standoffish.

Lily’s town car pulled up and she shot him a glare. “You’re off the hook,” she said as she slid into the back seat.

“Oh, you think so?” Max moved up and crowded her. It was easy to get her to move over to the far seat.

“Hey!” she squeaked and moved over so he wouldn’t sit on her. Max settled in the car and closed the door.

“I said you’re fired…” she insisted. Her anger was thick and hot, but Max ignored her.

Stretching across her, Max leaned over her and grabbed the seatbelt.

Her breath hitched.

Max felt it to his bones.

And his dick.

Holding her eyes, he snapped her seatbelt. The loud click filled the silence between them. He sat back into his seat and buckled his seat belt, keeping his eyes locked on Lily.

Temper continued to flare in Lily’s pale blue eyes.

“I can buckle my own belt!”

“I know,” he soothed.

“You said you’d finish out the day!”

“I didn’t mean it,” he countered.

Max grinned because he knew she hated it when he smiled in the face of her anger.

Sure enough, fireworks turned into rockets and she pulled out her phone.

“I’m texting my husband.”

“Whatever you need to do,” Max said, losing his humor.

He was not leaving Lily’s side.

After all, he had signed a contract with Stevenson.

Plus…this was Lily.

And there was no way in hell he was letting anyone else keep her safe.

Not even her husband.

Blake Stevenson sat behind the desk in his home office and gazed at the screen of his laptop.

When he had found the email from Maxwell Deckman inquiring about the bodyguard job for hire, he could not believe his good luck. The price had been unbelievable.

His phone buzzed. Lily had sent him a text saying that she had fired Maxwell Deckman.

With a snort, Blake responded with his own text.

Sorry, honey, I signed a contract with him.

Lily reached home and Max escorted her to the elevator in the lobby.

“I’m fine from here,” she insisted, still angry with both Blake and Max.

Damned men.

“I’ll be here in the morning,” Max said and tipped his head.

Lily watched his powerful form until the man disappeared through the sliding doors. She shook herself and caught the elevator before the doors could close.

Reaching the apartment, she hurried inside and tossed her purse on the couch. She kicked off her shoes in the middle of the room and stomped into the kitchen.

Pulling out a decaf espresso pod, she popped it into the maker and added two tablespoons of heavy whipping cream.

“Is that coffee?” Blake asked from the doorway.

“Yes,” she hissed. “And don’t you even think about pouring it down the sink.”

Silence fell thickly over the room.

“What’s the matter?”

She tossed Blake a scowl and found her husband wearing a confused expression on his handsome face. He’d dressed in off-white lounge pants and a shirt and was barefoot. His brown eyes were kind, with no signs of anger like hers.

Blake acted like they’d been getting along all month and that irritated her even more.

She scowled at him.

What the hell was she supposed to say? That he had hired her ex-boyfriend to be her bodyguard?

She could imagine the warm brown of his eyes turning to hard chips of granite and she didn’t want that. She was tired of the fighting.

So, she held her tongue by omitting the truth.

“I had a hard day at work is all,” she muttered and turned back when the coffee stopped brewing. Bringing the cup to her lips, she took a long, deep swallow.

“Then you don’t need to be drinking this.” Blake took the mug from her hand so abruptly that some of the hot liquid splashed her white suit.

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

She lost it when he dumped it into the sink.

“I’m sick to death of your fucking controlling!”

He held her eyes. “I’m controlling because I care about you?” he scoffed.

“I can make my own damned decisions. I don’t need you to tell me what to drink, eat, or wear. You want to do something? Then get a god damned job!” she snapped and walked past him and out of the kitchen.

The silence between them for the rest of the evening reached a new level of frost.

And Lily knew she had to make a decision. She wasn’t one to call it quits, but she really didn’t see Blake changing.

And that scared her.