Tara’s stomach was churning as she watched Max walk across the apartment toward them. She couldn’t read his mood by the expression on his face, but she hoped Alethea had given him and his brothers what they needed. Tara stood and met him halfway. “So?”
“There are a lot of files on that drive, but it looks like your friend nailed the blackmailer. Everything is there.”
Tara searched Max’s face. “That’s good news, right?”
Max took one of Tara’s hands between both of his. “We can’t use the number you gave us without knowing who you’re working with.”
Tara kept her eyes on Max’s chest instead of his face when she answered. “I promised I wouldn’t say.”
“This is really important, Tara.”
Tara nodded without looking up. “So is my word, and I gave it.”
Max held a hand beneath Tara’s chin and raised her face until she was forced to meet his eyes. “Will you at least tell me why the person doesn’t want to reveal themselves?”
Tara chewed her bottom lip for a moment, choosing her next words with care. “She thinks people will resent how she found the information more than they will appreciate what she found.”
“Are you serious? This could keep my brother out of jail. It could save his company. Why would she think any of us would resent that?” He had an “aha” moment and answered his own question. “Because she hacked Cogent.” He looked down at Tara, and she could see the wheels turning in his head. “Someone like that could make evidence disappear. Can we trust her?”
“She said she’d do anything to protect the people she cares about. So, yes, I think you can.”
Gio came out of his office flanked by Nick. “I called Stephan. Two minutes after that Dominic Corisi contacted me. I know who gave you this.” Gio held up the card in front of Tara.
Max stood beside Tara. He looked like he was preparing to defend Tara against whatever Gio had uncovered. Tara’s heart melted, and she squeezed his hand tightly in hers. Together they waited for Gio to finish.
“I didn’t tell Dominic much, just that I was having issues and had received a mysterious offer of assistance. Dominic said this is exactly how he’d expect Alethea Niarchos to operate. She works with hackers.” Gio lowered his voice. “He also said we’d be fools if we didn’t accept her offer for help. She’s never wrong.”
With her heart thudding loudly in her chest, Tara said, “I promised Alethea I wouldn’t say where I got the information. Please don’t tell anyone else.”
Julia and Rena joined the group. Julia asked, “Don’t tell anyone else what?”
Tara covered her eyes.
Max put a hand of support on her lower back. “How good Tara is at her job.”
Julia looked to Gio, clearly not believing that answer. He shifted uncomfortably beneath her scrutiny.
Tara turned to Julia and Rena and said, “Please don’t ask. They say if you whisper a secret to the wind, you can’t fault the wind for whispering it to the trees. Your family got what they needed tonight; can we stop now before we hurt the person who gave it to them?”
Julia seemed to accept Tara’s heartfelt plea.
Rena joined Nick. “Is everything okay?”
His kissed her lightly. “It looks that way. It sure looks that way.” Then he looked across at Tara. “And it’s all thanks to Tara.”
Max pulled her to his side and said softly into her ear, “Will a day go by when you don’t completely amaze me, Tara?”
Tara smiled up at him. “I hope not.”
Despite her smile, knowing how the evening would likely end left Tara with a host of conflicting emotions. It would be so easy to fall right back into Max’s arms, but was that where she belonged? She wanted more. Watching Julia with Gio and Rena with Nick, Tara didn’t want to settle for less.
She knew she’d have to say something to Max. He might see it as another ultimatum. She could lose him again. Wasn’t some Max better than none?
Not if it slowly breaks my heart. I don’t want to jump back into something casual with him. I told him I wouldn’t lie to him again. I have to be honest about what I want.
Honesty.
Is it worth the risk?
***
Once Gio and Nick had chosen the next steps they’d take to resolve the problems at Cogent, Max made his excuses and whisked Tara out of there. He cared about the family business and his brothers, but there was something else eating at him that needed to be addressed.
He rehearsed what he wanted to say while he and Tara rode down the elevator to the car garage. He tweaked it in his head while helping her into his car. He started the car but left it in park. “Thank you for what you did tonight for my family.”
Tara clasped her hands on her lap. “You’re welcome.”
He gripped the steering wheel with both hands. “I should have stopped you from leaving Slater Island.”
“Maybe. Or maybe we both needed time to think about what we were doing.”
“I never meant to hurt you.”
“I know.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, then turned in his seat so he was facing her. “I almost sent you flowers, but considering you hadn’t been impressed with the gift of a car, I didn’t.” He took one of her hands in his. “You saw the worst of me the day you told me you’d been working for Maddy. I saw the worst of me. I’m not proud of what I said. I was angry.”
Tara met his eyes cautiously, and he wanted more than anything else to see her smile. “It’s okay, Max.”
He touched the side of her face lightly with the back of one of his hands. “No, it’s not. Tell me what I need to do to show you I didn’t mean what I said that day.”
The expression in Tara’s eyes softened and warmed. “You already did it. Tonight. You believed me, even when it would have been easier not to. And you stood by me when I needed you to. That meant a lot to me.”
“Come home with me, Tara. I want to spend the whole night making love to you.” Of all the responses he expected, the sad shake of her head took him off guard. “What’s wrong?”
She waved a hand nervously in the air. “Nothing. Everything. I want to say yes. Trust me, I want to say yes. But we jumped into bed before even going on a real date. Is it any wonder we fell apart so quickly?”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I thought I was a modern woman. I told myself I could handle casual sex. I can’t. I want to go to the movies, argue over which restaurant to eat at. I want to get to know someone and be with someone who wants to get to know me. Not just in bed. I know how corny all of this sounds, but being with you woke me up to what’s important. I don’t want to spend all my time tracking down unfaithful men. That job left me with very low expectations of what was possible. I want to believe in people again. And if that means I have to start fresh, I will. Does that sound crazy?”
Was she looking for a commitment? They’d known each other only a short time. He had feelings for her, but the idea of labeling them left him scrambling for a response. He started the car. “Am I driving to your place?”
“Yes.”
Every time Max thought he knew what he was going to say, it didn’t sound right, and he stopped himself. They made it all the way to the front of her apartment building without speaking. He released his seat belt, leaned over, and kissed her.
That slight touch was enough to have them in each other’s arms. He kissed her with all the need that had built up over the past week. She kissed him back with every bit as much passion. They couldn’t get close enough, their hands were wildly grasping at each other’s clothing.
Tara broke the kiss off. She pushed him back with a hand flat on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”
“I’m not,” Max said. “I’m not sorry at all. I’ve never wanted any woman as much as I want you.”
Still breathing heavily, Tara said, “If this is all we have, is it enough?”
He almost said yes, but he knew the answer she hoped for was no. Without thinking, he said honestly, “I don’t know what to say.”
She gave him a funny little smile and opened the passenger door of her car. “Call me when you figure it out.”
The next morning, dressed in lounge pants and an old T-shirt, Tara shuffled out of her bed to the bathroom, then off to the kitchen without stopping to look in the mirror. She needed a cup of coffee before she faced the day.
Dyson was at the stove, bare-chested as usual, making breakfast. His presence wasn’t a surprise, but Brigitte happily sitting at the kitchen table watching him still took some getting used to.
“Morning,” Tara said grumpily, sliding into a chair across from an already perfectly made-up Brigitte, wearing silk pajamas that bordered on being obscene and would have been on anyone with a less beautiful body. If Brigitte walked around naked, Tara doubted many would complain. She was simply that beautiful.
Dyson handed Tara a cup of coffee. “Rough night?”
“No,” Tara answered automatically, “why do you ask?”
Brigitte arched an eyebrow and asked gently, “Sweetie, do you own a hairbrush?”
Tara reached up and tried to flatten her wayward hair. “Sorry, not everyone can roll out of bed with their makeup still in place.”
Not at all offended, Brigitte laughed softly. “Dyson, feed her—fast. She gets grumpy when she’s hungry.”
Dyson walked over and filled half of Tara’s plate with scrambled eggs. “Should we tell her now or give her time to wake up?”
Tara sat up straighter. “Tell me what?”
Brigitte stood up and went to stand beside Dyson. They were beautiful together, like a Ken and Barbie set. “We’re taking it to the next step. Dyson asked me to move in with him, and I said yes.”
Tara swayed on her seat. “That’s fast.”
Dyson wrapped an arm around Brigitte’s waist and kissed her cheek. “Not really. I’ve been waiting a year for her.”
Brigitte looked up at Dyson with an expression Tara hadn’t seen on her face before. Brigitte was in love. “I thought I would feel trapped, but I don’t. I feel freer than I ever did on my own. Dyson didn’t make me choose, he waited until I saw no one else mattered. Isn’t it funny? You think you know who you are, then you wake up one morning and realize you want something you never imagined you would. Then everything changes.”
Dyson kissed Brigitte warmly, wrapped both arms around her, and looked over her head at Tara. “You won’t have to move, Tara. We’ll cover Brigitte’s part of the rent for as long as you want to live here.”
Tara forced a smile. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll figure out something.”
Brigitte walked over and gently smoothed Tara’s wild hair out of her face. “We want to. I don’t usually get on with other women, but you’re like family, Tara.”
Dyson ruffled Tara’s hair back into a mess. “The little sister I never had.”
Tara raised both hands and laughed. “I love you both, but you need to stop touching me. Get a puppy or something.”
Brigitte looked up at Dyson. “I’ve never had a dog. What do you think?”
Dyson smiled at her, and Tara had never seen him look happier. “I can see you with a tiny, white Maltese.”
A glow spread across Brigitte’s face. “I’ll name her Tarafina.”
Tara burst out laughing. “After me? Seriously?”
Brigitte pouted beautifully. “Tara, you know I’m going to miss you. It’ll be like having a little piece of you still with us, only Dyson and I won’t have to worry she will be shocked if she walks in on us while we’re showering.”
“Most people close the bathroom door. Just saying,” Tara defended, but she was still laughing. She would miss both of them more than she wanted to admit.
The intercom buzzer sounded. Dyson walked over to the intercom near the door and answered it. He looked back and called out, “Tara! It’s your boyfriend.”
“I don’t have a—” Tara froze in panic. “Max?”
“I buzzed him up.” Dyson gave her a smile that told her he knew exactly what he was doing.
Tara jumped off the chair. “You buzzed him? Oh, my God, he’s coming up.” She looked across at Brigitte for help.
“How fantastic to finally get to meet your Max.” Brigitte looked as happy as Dyson did. How did neither of them get that Tara needed an hour, maybe more, before she’d be ready to see him?
“You have to stall him. I need—” Tara stopped, imagined how her scantily clad roommate and her lover would stall Max, and halted before leaving the room. She waved a finger at Brigitte. “You, go put a robe on.” Then at Dyson. “And you, don’t throw him out before I get back.”
Dyson opened the door. “Too late, he’s already here.”
He was. Looking every bit as delicious as Tara remembered, Max stepped through the open door. He shook hands with Dyson, then walked over to Brigitte. Tara held her breath. She’d seen many otherwise calm and collected men reduced to tongue-tied puddles of adoration at Brigitte’s feet. Max held out his hand and introduced himself to Brigitte as if she were conservatively dressed and much, much less attractive. He said it was nice to meet her or something along those lines. Tara wasn’t listening; she was holding her breath and waiting.
With nothing more than a polite nod of his head, Max turned and walked to where Tara was standing. He had an oddly determined expression in his eyes. He took her face between both his hands and kissed her soundly. He kissed her until Tara forgot they weren’t alone in the room, until her knees buckled, and she was clinging to his shoulders for support.
Then he raised his head and said, “You want to date, Tara? Let’s date. I’ll take you to every goddamned movie theater, every romantic restaurant; I’ll even break out my old ice skates and spin you around at Rockefeller Center. Anything you want, but I’m not leaving here without you.”
Between gulping breaths, Tara tried to sort through the wave of emotions flooding her. “What changed since last night?”
He gathered her to him and tipped her face up to his. “Everything. I went back to my hotel room without you and realized the only thing stopping you from being there with me . . . was me. I thought about what you said. I wouldn’t describe anything between us as casual. I want to take you to my bed every night. I want to wake up and see you smiling down at me. You said we don’t know each other well. So, show me your world. And come see mine. But don’t ask me to take it slowly with you, because you’re all I can think about.”
In the background, Dyson said, “Oh, he’s smooth.”
“If she says no, don’t let him leave until after I talk to her,” Brigitte said in a loud stage whisper.
Tara chuckled nervously, then she looked up into Max’s dark eyes, completely awed that she could inspire the burning desire she saw there. “I need a shower before we go anywhere.”
“Sounds like the perfect way to start our day together,” Max breathed into her ear. He picked her up and started carrying her toward the bathroom.
“Close the door,” Dyson called out.
“Or leave it open,” Brigitte said with a laugh. “Both ways are fun.”