Chapter 17
For several seconds, Max stood there and stared at Sienna, taking in her sweet face, then smart attire, and her pretty feet. She looked as if she had lost some weight, and he wasn’t happy about that. Was it by design, or had he caused her enough distress that she’d lost her appetite? But weight loss or not, she was beautiful. Poised, perfect. And very mad at him.
“Well?” she demanded. Her irritation was clear in her voice and written on her face. It killed him to know he had put it there with this stupid ruse. “Are you gonna answer my questions?”
Where would he begin? He wondered. She deserved answers to more questions than she had voiced. But he’d been such an idiot from the get-go that he’d woven himself a tangled web from which it would be difficult indeed to free himself.
“I can’t believe I’ve found you,” he managed to say. “I’ve been looking for so long. You have no idea. I’ve been looking for you online for three months—”
“Maybe you couldn’t find me because I didn’t want you to,” she shot back.
That was fair, but it didn’t diminish how frantically he had searched. “It was only when I found your YouTube channel… There you were, as smart as always, looking so beautiful. I can’t express what it felt like to see your face again.”
She was still skeptical, still cautious. Frowning at him and glancing back towards the exit. He knew if he didn’t talk fast, he would lose her. He wanted to step forward, take her into his arms, but he didn’t dare.
So, he rushed in, his words tumbling over themselves. “I found your hometown, your business address, and your housekeeping service. I remembered you telling me about it. I figured the best way to finally get your attention was through your business. I bought this house when—”
“You bought a mansion for an excuse to see me?” She gaped at him. “How is that even possible?” She looked around herself, and Max could see it all through her eyes. Brand new, freshly painted, but still it didn’t have that lived-in look. He was waiting for a designer to settle on details such as any furniture and appliances that went beyond the basics. Nevertheless, it was clearly a home built for wealthy occupants.
“That crazy! How can you even afford this? You’re a bartender!” She looked at him horrified, as if she expected him to confess that he’d signed away his soul in blood for the chance.
“That, I guess, is where my story should start.” He gestured towards the sofa. “Do you want to sit?”
She looked stubborn. “Nope. Just spill.”
Might as well, he decided. “I’m not just a bartender,” he began. “I own the bar.”
Her brows went skyward. “Okay.”
“And the building the bar is housed in. The buildings on either side of the bar are owned by my parents.”
“What?”
She opened her mouth to say something further, but he held up his hand. It was best he got it all out into the open in one go. “Sienna, I haven’t been entirely honest with you—”
“Oh, really?” she said snarkily.
He ignored the barb and continued. “My parents are extremely wealthy. They own substantial real estate holdings, including a sizeable portion of downtown Aix. Most of the business spaces are leased out by my family. Remember that mall where we watched the movie with the kids? My parents own it.”
“You own the mall?”
“Several, actually. And the amusement park where we, you know…”
“Why are you telling me this now? It’s of little consequence to me.”
“Sienna, I meant what I said in France. I want to explore a relationship with you. When we began our relation—”
“Fling,” she corrected him.
“Yes. I had no idea I would develop feelings for you. But I did and I want us to be exclus—”
To his dismay, Sienna whirled around, shouldering her bag and heading for the door. “That’s it. I’m out.”
“What? Why?”
“Why? You completely bamboozle me, lie to me even—and on top of it all, you turned me into a side-chick! I’m not having it!” She rushed out of the room and back to the foyer, and if Max hadn’t been quick enough, she’d have made it out the door.
“I’ve done no such thing!”