I wasn’t sure why and like most things where my instincts were concerned, I decided not to question it.
No matter where it took me.
Where business is concerned, I was used to going with my gut. In matters of the heart? Many would say I didn’t have one, although, that was bullshit. I loved Derek and his brother, Alex—my best friend. I loved my parents and even Alex’s. My circle was small for a reason—I’d learned the hard way.
Family were the only ones who’d stick by you through thick and damn thin.
So what if they had crushes on dead people, or were the banes of my life at work, family stuck.
And I had a very strange feeling that moment, as I looked over the young woman in my car, that she and I were going to be family to one another at some point in the future…
Chapter 4
Jessica
The way Max looked at me sent fire through my veins.
It also sent terror.
But heck, I should be used to that by now. Ever since Nida, I’d been petrified by the sight of interest in any man’s face.
The truth was, I was sick and tired of being scared. Of letting that one moment in my life define me.
I wanted, oh, so badly, to let loose. To rip off the chains of the past and dive into what this man was inviting with his technically inappropriate offer of a date.
Why?
Because he was different.
Earlier, I’d classified him as weird. Now, I wouldn’t say that, although I think many would.
I’d expected a cold and aloof mega-billionaire. Alpha to his hand-tooled Italian leather shoes and to the head of his four hundred dollar-a-cut hair.
But was he like that?
No.
He was funny. He was witty and charming.
He said things that shocked me, that made me laugh. There was something about him that put me at ease, and after being so uneasy for so long, he made me realize how exhausted I was.
The ride over was filled with his smartass and witty repartee. As he took me wherever he wanted to go, I allowed myself to relax, and when I did, I found that my laughter, so strained at first, flowed freely by the time Mackenzie was opening the door and letting me out onto the sidewalk.
I shivered the minute I did, though. Max wasn’t wrong; it was really damn cold tonight. So much so, when Mackenzie let Max out too, and he rounded the car and met me on the sidewalk, it was with pleasure that I snuggled into the arm he slotted around my waist.
Was it too soon for such gestures?
Maybe.
But, deep down, it didn’t feel it.
He was my boss, sure.
Technically.
The thought had my lips curving.
I felt like this man had made a fortune on the technicalities, and a part of me appreciated that he was throwing those aside to take me on a date.