LITMIR.BIZ

       Seven

      Rachel hid a yawn behind her hand as Max turned the corner and arrived on her street. With her work schedule, she was accustomed to sleeping less than eight hours a night. But usually she lazed in bed on Sunday mornings and caught up on her rest. This Sunday morning she’d been in bed, but it hadn’t exactly been lazy or restful.

      As they neared her house, she automatically checked for Hailey’s car in the driveway. She didn’t really expect to see it there. Hailey had been spending more and more time with Leo. It wouldn’t be long before they moved in together. Especially now that they were engaged.

      Rachel sighed. She was going to miss having her sister around. The years Hailey spent at college were different. Then, Rachel had acted as parent. She’d shouldered financial responsibility for her sister’s schooling, worried about how her studies were going, and planned for the future. Now, Hailey was a capable, accomplished woman in charge of her life. She’d taken charge of her dreams. Soon, she would be making plans with her husband. Rachel’s role had been reduced to that of loving sister and nothing more.

      It left her feeling a little lost.

      Enter Max. Was she using him to fill a void? Being with him certainly filled a place inside her that had been empty for a long, long time.

      He swung into her driveway and stopped behind her car. He stared through the windshield in silence for a long moment. “I don’t want to drop you off and go home to an empty house.”

      Why did he always know exactly what to say to melt her insides?

      “Inviting you in is not an option.” She rushed a shaky hand through her tousled hair. “We’ll just end up …” She flipped her hand in a circular motion. “You know.”

      He laughed. Her heart expanded at his relaxed expression and the silver shards that sparkled in his gray eyes. Max happy was like watching the most gorgeous sunrise ever. Just being in proximity to him in his current mood made her feel lighter than air.

      “What if I promise to keep my hands off you?”

      “You can stay for dinner,” she said. “Although, it might have to be pizza because I don’t know if we have any food in the house.”

      “Why don’t you see what’s there. We can always run to the store.”

      Rachel got out of the car, amused by the thought of Max in a grocery store. He had a housekeeper to shop, cook and clean for him. She had a hard time picturing him pushing a cart down the pasta aisle and deciding between linguini and bow ties.

      “What’s so funny?” he demanded, snaking his hand around her waist as they headed toward the side door that led into her kitchen. He crowded her on the steps, his solid muscles bumping her curves in tender affection.

      Her body reacted accordingly, awakening to each cunning brush of hip and shoulder. “The thought of you shopping for groceries.” She dug her keys out of her purse and slid her house key into the lock. It had been acting up lately so she needed to jiggle it a bit to get the tumbler to align properly.

      Beside her, Max stiffened. “Someone slit your tires.”

      “What?”

      Before she could turn around, he was off the steps and prowling around her car like a pride leader who’d had his territory invaded by a stray.

      “All four of your tires are flat.” His gaze shot to her. Worry pulled his mouth into a hard line. “You need to call the police.”

      “No.” Her mind worked furiously. Brody had sounded more intense than usual during his last phone call, pushing her because the guy he owed money to wasn’t satisfied by a partial payment. Did her slashed tires mean Brody’s debt had become hers?

      “What do you mean no?”

      Seeing Max’s surprise, she scrambled for an explanation. “I’m sure it’s just neighborhood kids acting up. I’ll call a tow truck and get new tires.”

      “This is serious vandalism,” Max persisted. “You need to report it.”

      And explain her troubles in front of Max? Not likely. Besides, she didn’t know for sure this had anything to do with Brody and his money problems. “It’s not worth the hassle. The police won’t be able to track down the culprits.”

      “You don’t know that.”

      “It probably happened in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep so there won’t be any witnesses. I’ll have the tires replaced. It’s no big deal.”

      Max set his hands on his hips. “Has this sort of thing happened in your neighborhood before?”

      “Not to me,” she hedged.

      “Something’s going on that you’re not telling me. I don’t like it.”

      “Nothing is going on. It’s just some stupid vandalism.” Her voice grew more strident as Max continued to press. Rachel gathered a long breath and aimed for calmer speech. “Let’s go inside. I need to find someone who can fix the car or I won’t make it to work on time tomorrow. And you know how difficult my boss is if I’m late.” She tried for humor but it fell flat in the face of Max’s scowl.

      He took her by the elbow and walked her into the house. Once the door was shut and locked, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. It turned out to be a friend that owned a repair shop. Rachel retreated to her bedroom while Max arranged to have her car picked up and the tires replaced.

      Her heart pounded with vigorous force against her ribs as she dropped her overnight bag on the bed. A quick check told her Max was still on the phone. She shut the door and took her cell into the adjoining bathroom.

      “Someone slashed my tires,” she said when Brody answered.

      “Yeah, well, I told you this guy plays rough.”

      “This is your problem, not mine. Did you tell him where I live?”

      “It was that or he was going to

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