He tossed his cards face-up on the table, and she gasped when she saw that he had been bluffing. Before she could voice her outrage, he was on her side of the table, bending forward to press his lips to hers. Immediately, all thought of cards, chips, or winning flew out of her head. She only knew she wanted him. That was all.
He lifted her body out of her chair and pressed her against himself. Held her hard and tight, so she could feel the full length of him, and the body that was both familiar and enticing. She’d not only lost the game, but she’d lost her mind. She kissed him harder, hungry for him after such a long period of fasting.
“Sienna,” he whispered. “If only you knew how much I love you. If only I could fully express—”
Her head began to spin. Her breathing stalled in her throat.Love,did he say? Did he mean that? She was filled with a giddy combination of joy and disbelief. She had gained more and more clarity recently about her feelings towards him, but the confirmation that he had strong feelings of love for her was incomprehensible. In what world could it be possible that these two unlikely hearts could have found such a match?
She withdrew from him just enough to see his eyes, to try to dive into their depth and read the truth. “Max,” she began.
The air between them was split with the shrilling of a phone. It was disorienting, like an alarm clock waking her up from a wonderful dream. He shook his head in irritation, pulled out his phone and said, “Let me silence it, my love. You and I, we need to talk.” He looked down, about to hit the button, and stopped still.
“Oh.”
She didn’t like the sound of that “Oh.”
“It’s my mother. I’m sorry, I have to—”
“It’s fine,” she said as he took the call and stepped away. But in truth, it wasn’t fine. It didn’t feel fine. She hadn’t survived this long, had so many life experiences, both good and bad, not to have developed a finely honed warning system. And this time, all alarm bells were ringing.
She watched as Max’s face went ashen, a chalky tinge deep under his light tan, and felt cold fingers clutch at her heart.
He hung up and looked at her with pain in his eyes. “I need to return to France.”
“What? Why?”
“Éloïse is gone.”
“What do you mean, ‘gone’?” This wasn’t making any sense to her. The woman was due to deliver any minute now, Max had said.
“She’s left the house with a few items of clothing. She’s been gone two days. My mother has been calling but her phone is off.” He rubbed the side of his head in bemusement. “She’s disappeared with the baby my mother so desperately wants. Her grandchild.”
She noticed he didn’t say, “My child,” as if his mind hadn’t fully come to grips with that.
“I’m sorry, Sienna, but I have to go. I need to find her before she does something stupid.”
She grabbed him by the sleeve, stopping him from rushing out the door. “Give me twenty minutes to pack.”
He gave her a confused look. “Pack…? Why?”
She knew this was a crazy impulse, but in her mind, it was only fair. “I’m coming with you. We had an agreement.”
“That doesn’t matter anymore. You’re under no obligation to—”
She shook her head emphatically. “We made a bet. I lost. You won my presence for a week, and you shall have it.” Her expression challenged him to say otherwise. “I never go back on my word. I’m coming with you.”