“I don’t really care if he sells the business to you outright.”
“Madison Beck cares what happens to Grayson Enterprises, very much in fact.” Max’s words came out in a warning tone.
“What?” Romi shook her head, but the words made no sense. “What in the world does that mean? Maddie doesn’t care about business any more than I do.”
“No, but she cares a great deal for you.”
“I know that.” They were sisters in everything but blood.
“And you care about her.”
“You know I do.”
Maxwell nodded his head, his pewter eyes reflecting both satisfaction and certainty. Or was that determination?
Whatever it was, it sent a frisson of something up Romi’s spine. She couldn’t call it fear because it felt way too much like anticipation.
Maddie always said Romi had an overdeveloped sense of adventure. Coming from Madcap Madison, the risk-taking heiress, that was saying something.
“Are you ready for lunch?” Max asked, as if he hadn’t just been making cryptic comments latent with portent about her father’s company and Romi’s SBC.
“I think so?”
“Is that a question or a statement?” he prodded with some amusement.
“I’m not sure.” In fact, she was fairly sure this lunch idea was a bad one, but she had come up with her deal and now was as good a time as any to proffer it to him. “You’re an enigmatic guy, Max.”
“And you wear your every thought on your lovely face.”
“Opposites attract?”
His laughter was real and warm, a sound she knew very few ever heard. She treasured the moment despite her sense of confusion.
“Let’s go. We will eat lunch.”
“And talk.” He’d said so.
“Yes.”
“I have a deal for you,” she offered, to show he wasn’t the only one with plans for the future the other didn’t know about.
“Do you?” he asked, still half-amused, but also clearly intrigued.
“Yep.”
“You’ll have to tell me about it in the car.”
She considered talking about what she wanted to in the car. “Did you drive yourself?”
“Didn’t you see the Maserati outside?”
“I wasn’t really paying attention.” She’d been thinking about what she was going to offer Max and practicing her nonchalance.
“I drove myself.”
“Then we can talk in the car.”
“So this deal has a private component?” he asked in a teasing tone.
She didn’t hesitate to admit, “Very private.”
“Interesting.”
Here was hoping.
She’d noticed the other night that the Maserati was new, not the same car he’d had when they were dating before. More differences were apparent in the light of day.
His previous car had been luxurious, but this one was gorgeous and a little bigger. Was that just because it was a four-door?
“Please tell me you don’t trade your cars as often as your bed partners.”
He laughed as he pulled out of the circular drive in front of her home. “Not at all. I had my last car for five years before I bought this one.”
“Wow, that’s actually a long time. So, you are capable of longer-term commitment.”
He didn’t laugh like she expected. “A car is an investment, not a commitment.”
So he still didn’t like the C word. She wasn’t surprised. “A sports car is an indulgence is what it is.”
“The Maserati is an extremely well-made car.”
“With impressive racing lines and an über-powerful engine.” Even she was impressed by it.
He shrugged. “I don’t mind the luxury, either.”
“You’d be kinder to the environment if you drove a hybrid.”
He actually shuddered. “No thank you.”
She bit back laughter. “Many of the newer hybrids are more powerful than the earliest models.”
“I will make you a deal, Romi.”
“Yes.”
“When Maserati designs a hybrid, I will buy it.”
She smiled. “Deal.”
“Until then, we’ll settle for their foray into the more environmentally conscious diesel engine.”
“This is a diesel?”
“Yes.”
“Hybrid would be better.” Many environmentalists would actually disagree and she was sure he knew it, but she couldn’t stop herself teasing him.
“Says you. We will have to agree to leave it up to you to drive the greener vehicles.”
“I don’t have a car at all.”
“Your father’s driver is at your disposal and if I am not mistaken, your father has a Daimler.”
“I ride public transport most of the time. I only use Dad’s car and driver when I have to dress up.”
“What?” Max demanded, his tone sharp. “You ride public transport?”
“Yes.” She grinned, feeling a little smug at his reaction.
“At night?” he asked with credible horror.
“Sometimes.”
His jaw looked hewn from granite. “That is not safe.”
“We aren’t the Rockefeller branch of the Graysons, you know? Dad and I don’t even have bodyguards.”
Max swore. In Russian. It was kind of cute.
“Don’t worry about it. San Francisco has a very confusing transportation system, but I’ve got it down. I know the fastest route everywhere I need to get in the city.”
“You need a keeper.” He didn’t sound like he was joking.
“Are you applying for the job?”
He swore again. This time in English.
“Is that a no?” she pressed, really enjoying this more than she should be.
The sound that came out of his throat could have been a growl.
She giggled.
“Tell me about this deal you have for me,” he instructed in a tight voice as they traversed familiar streets.
“I want you. That’s no secret.”
His nostrils flared, his eyes narrowing in shock. “No, it is not.”
So, he hadn’t been expecting this conversation, either. Nice. The Maxwell Blacks of the world could do with a little more of the unexpected in their lives. “And you want me.”
“I do.” Firm, unequivocal.
“Right. Only, I’m not interested in an affair.”
“So you said a year ago.”
Oh, she definitely had. And he’d listened.
Maybe it was the fact he had that made her capable of putting forth the offer she was about to. “But I’m also not particularly keen to remain a twenty-four-year-old virgin.”
He flicked a quick glance at her, his expression now more than shocked. He didn’t look superhappy with her pronouncement, either. “What do you plan to do about that?”
“That’s what my deal is about.”
“You want to make a deal for your virginity?” he demanded, sounding almost impressed.
“Not for, about. One night. You and me.” He could read between the lines and get what she was offering.
“You want to have sex for one night?” he clarified, his voice strained.
“Yes.”
“And then what?”
“And then we go our separate ways.”
“Why only one night?”
“Because I don’t want my heart broken.” She just might survive a single night with him.
Any longer and she was going to be lost to love. How could she help it? Just looking at him told her he was her ideal man, but she had the taste of pleasure from a year ago to back that up.
“You
are too honest for your own good.”
“Am I?”