In a Heartbeat (Heartbeat #1) (38 page)

“What can I get you?” he asked with a flirty smile, as Stella realised she was staring at him in awe.

“Do you have something non-alcoholic?” she asked, returning his smile.

“Sure. I can mix you any cocktail without the alcohol. What do you like?”

She chose a virgin Tom Collins and the barman chuckled. Someone put a hand on Stella’s shoulder and tore her attention away from the barman’s dimples. Expecting it to be Max she turned around, but saw Rico instead. She offered him a polite smile after he had kissed both her cheeks in greeting.

“Hey, how have you been?” she asked.

“Good. You?” He looked at her in a way she didn’t appreciate. His gaze travelled over her whole body, from her bare legs, up her short, pleated skirt, right up to her low-cut T-shirt. When he finally met her eyes, there was lust in his. Stella thought they had parted ways in a friendly manner, with her being honest with him about her feelings for Max. So why was he looking at her like that?

“Me too.” She needed to get her cocktail and get the hell out of here, because if Max saw her with Rico he’d flip.

“So, are you here alone?” Rico asked, taking a sip of his beer, his eyes never leaving hers. She supposed he didn’t know about her and Max, but still, she’d already rejected him once.

“No.” Stella took her cocktail from the counter, thanking the barman, who rewarded her with his gorgeous smile, and attempted to leave. “I’ll see you around, Rico.”

“Stella, wait,” he said and touched her upper arm before she had turned her back on him. “I know you and Max are hooked up, but I need to tell you something.” She turned her attention back to him. What could he possibly tell her that would be of any interest? “About a week after we went out, I saw him in a club, drunk out of his mind. He had this chick all over him and didn’t seem to mind at all.” Stella frowned; Rico took that as a good sign and continued. “The next day, I saw him in that same club with Beppe. He didn’t seem that drunk, but he left with two girls wrapped around him.”

Just as Stella was about to open her mouth to set him straight, Max appeared beside her, anger radiating from him.

“Why don’t you mind your own fucking business, Rico?” he barked and Stella felt he was ready to pounce any second now.

“I just wanted her to know what you’ve been up to behind her back. I guess some people never change.” Rico stood his ground, levelling Max with his own angry glare. Stella needed to intervene, otherwise these two would be punching each other in less than two seconds.

“Rico, stop meddling in other people’s lives. Now leave.” She hoped she sounded authoritative enough, because she didn’t feel that way at all. Max’s rage was suffocating her.

“If you don’t want to believe me, then fine ...”

“I believe you,” said Stella, and cut him off before he said something stupid. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I know all this.” Rico’s surprised expression made her smirk. He might have expected a fist in his face – but not that she already knew what he was saying. Of course, Stella didn’t clarify that it had been before she and Max got together – she didn’t owe him any explanation. Why was he trying to stir up trouble between them? He had seemed like such a nice guy. Quickly recovering from his shock, Rico frowned, still not backing away from them.

“
Sorry, my bad
; I just thought that you weren’t dumb enough to get involved with a cheating, lying, psychotic son of a ...” He didn’t finish the sentence, because Max punched him and his jaw cracked in protest, sending him reeling a few steps back. Grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, Max steadied him before he fell. There were already a few curious eyes on them and even though the music was loud, people around could hear the exchange. Max leaned in towards Rico’s face and in a terrifying low voice said,

“You call my girlfriend dumb again and I swear I’ll rip your tongue out.” He pushed him away, but not hard enough to make him stumble and fall. Rico’s face was red with humiliation as he turned around and left.

“What the fuck was that?” asked Beppe, as he approached them with a thunderous expression on his face.

“You invited
him
? Really? You thought he and I in the same room was a good idea?” Max took a few steps towards Beppe and stood inches away from his face, but his friend didn’t even flinch. Wow, Beppe had some balls. In Stella’s eyes Max looked absolutely, terrifyingly pissed off right now. She wasn’t sure matching his angry gaze with an even angrier one was a good idea. Stella moved closer to them in case she needed to break them apart. Since Beppe had appeared most of the people around them had dispersed, sensing the argument, and thankfully they didn’t have an audience any longer.

“Listen to me, Max,” said Beppe, with a calm but firm voice. “This is my birthday, my house. While you’re here you’ll respect my guests, and I don’t give a flying fuck if you have a problem with that. Got it?” Max’s expression changed immediately from blind rage to regret. The connection between the two men was so strong, so startlingly obvious, that Stella had no doubt they could work out anything that came between them.

“You’re right; I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“It’s cool. Now, go get yourself a cocktail and relax. I swear, if I see you harassing anyone again I’ll throw you out myself,” Beppe threatened, but his mouth spread into a smile. Max turned to face Stella, clearly regretting his actions.

“I’m sorry, babe. I didn’t mean to embarrass you, but that asshole wanted to cause trouble between us. It doesn’t help that every time I see his face, I remember his lips on yours and I want to punch him without any additional reason.”

Stella wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled.

“You’re not angry?” Max asked.

“No. He was getting on my nerves, too.” Max grinned and kissed her.

When they separated, he took her hand in his and led her towards the French windows that led out to the terrace. Before they reached them, however, the front door opened and Stella saw Gia walking in. She looked a bit uncertain; her usual confident walk seemed a little tentative. In her hands she had a small present wrapped in dark blue and gold, and she shook her head when a waitress gestured for her to leave it at the gift table. The waitress frowned, but didn’t insist. Gia looked around with worried eyes, obviously searching for Beppe.

Stella tugged on Max’s hand and pointed her chin towards his sister.

“She came,” she said and grinned, unsure why. Maybe because she knew Gia’s appearance would make Beppe very happy.

“I didn’t think she would. They haven’t spoken since that night at the karaoke bar. Beppe didn’t want to admit it, but he was devastated,” said Max. Stella nodded as she watched events unfold before her. Beppe saw Gia from across the room and headed towards her with long, purposeful strides. He stopped right in front of her and hesitated for a couple of seconds before enveloping her in his arms. Gia seemed surprised at his reaction, but quickly recovered and hugged him back.

Stella smiled and pulled Max back towards their original destination.

Chapter Thirty One

The following Thursday, Stella woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep. She lay in bed, her head on Max’s chest and his arm around her, and listened to his steady heartbeat. He was breathing slowly and evenly and, uncharacteristically, didn’t move when Stella lifted her head off his body and slipped out of bed. He was probably very tired – he’d been working in the bar the night before. Stella had insisted on staying home and not going with him, despite his efforts to convince her otherwise. They’d barely spent an hour apart for more than three weeks and Stella felt it would be good for them to be away from each other for a few hours. Max had pouted and made his irresistible, sad-eyed face that usually got him everything he wanted, but this time she hadn’t backed down.

When he’d finally got home, it was past 2 a.m. The moment Stella opened the door for him, he pounced on her, kissing her with such urgency that if she hadn’t known they’d been separated for five hours, she’d have thought it had been five days. He’d made love to her and held her in his arms as if she was going to disappear if he let go.

Just thinking about how fast the end of her holiday was approaching made Stella’s chest hurt and she found it difficult to breathe. A little more than two weeks; that was all she had left with Max. How was she supposed to continue to live her life as if nothing had happened? As if she hadn’t met him? Hadn’t loved him with all her being?

A tear streamed down her face and, brushing it away angrily, Stella slipped quietly from the bedroom. They had both known what they were getting into; it was a relationship with an expiry date from the very beginning. No drama, they’d said.

As difficult as it would be to leave, Stella didn’t regret a single second she’d spent with Max. She’d do it all over again, even if she had to have her heart broken irreversibly again. The past few weeks had been the happiest of her entire life and she wouldn’t have traded them for anything.

“Hey – what’s wrong?” asked Lisa. She was sitting at the dining table drinking coffee and had a piece of paper in her hand.

“Nothing, I just ... didn’t sleep well.” Stella poured herself a cup of coffee and joined Lisa at the table.

“Where’s Max? Didn’t he come over last night?”

“He did. He’s still sleeping and I didn’t want to wake him up.”

Lisa put her hand on Stella’s forearm to grab her attention, before saying,

“You know you can always talk to me, right?” Stella nodded, even though in this case she couldn’t talk to her. She wasn’t ready to admit she was in love with Max and didn’t want to leave to anyone. “This is the first morning since you started dating that you haven’t come downstairs together. Are you sure everything’s fine?”

“Yes, I’m sure. Just drop it, OK?” Stella snapped and immediately regretted it. “What’s that? Is it a note?” She pointed towards the piece of paper Lisa had placed on the table in front of her, in an attempt to lead the conversation in another direction.

“Yeah, a note from Mum. She’s suck a geek – who leaves notes these days?” Lisa rolled her eyes and read aloud:

Dear kids (that includes you, Max, since you apparently live in my house now),

Please be home for dinner at 7 p.m. sharp. I have a huge surprise for you all! Don’t you dare be late! Oh, btw, make the dinner. I won’t be home until 7;, I have something to do first. Can’t wait to see you all in one place for a change!

Love, Niki.

“Weird,” said Stella, taking the note from Lisa and re-reading it.

“I know. Be home for dinner, but
make
the dinner? I don’t know what she’s up to.” Lisa sipped the last of her coffee and took her cup to the sink.

*

Max woke up to find the bed empty beside him. He stood up abruptly and looked around, but there was no sign of Stella. He felt a sharp pang in his chest that was so strong it momentarily made him dizzy. Last night, when he’d spend the whole evening without her, it was pure torture. All he could think about was her. He was on edge, snapping at the waitresses and Marco, impatient with the customers. That was so unlike him – he usually quite enjoyed working at the bar. He kept looking at his watch and felt as if time had slowed down to an unbearable speed. Without her Max felt unbalanced, uneasy. Alone. Empty.

It painfully reminded him that soon he would indeed be alone; she was leaving in about two weeks.

He couldn’t let that happen. He couldn’t lose her.

The mere thought of never seeing Stella again made his whole body tremble. Raking shaking hands through his hair, he swung his feet off the bed and went to look for her. Why had she left the bed without him? She’d never done that before. It was still only 9 a.m.; considering they hadn’t fallen asleep until well past 4 a.m., they hadn’t had nearly enough sleep.

Where the hell was she?

Max heard her voice in the kitchen and headed that way, not caring that he was wearing only his boxers. Seeing Stella standing by the sink chatting with Lisa made him relax a little.

“Babe?” he said to attract her attention. She looked at him, surprised, and her beautiful, full lips stretched into a smile.

“Why are you up? It’s early.” She came to him and hugged him around the waist.

“I woke up and you were gone.” He realised how sappy that sounded, but he didn’t give a damn. He wanted her snuggled beside him when he slept, not sneaking out of bed. “Please come back to bed. I can’t sleep without you anymore.” He kissed the tip of her nose and tucked her hair behind her left ear. What was he going to do when she left? Suffer from insomnia for the rest of his life?

“OK,” she whispered and released him from her embrace. He held her hand firmly in his, afraid she’d change her mind and decide to stay here with Lisa. “Lis, I’m going back to bed. How about we go to the supermarket this afternoon to buy the food for dinner?”

“OK. I’ll be in my studio; I’m not working today. Call me when you’re ready to go.” Lisa didn’t make any comment about Max being in his underwear, or their PDA, or the fact that he had dragged Stella back to bed with him. Weird. Usually she would have thrown at least five teasing comments his way by now.

It didn’t matter. Stella was coming back with him.

They snuggled under the covers and he tugged her body to his, pressing her back to his chest until there was no space for even air between them. Max kissed the nape of her neck and inhaled the scent of her hair.