An Ounce of Hope(124)

She was a vision and Max could barely breathe.

"You wanna go over?" Riley asked.

"Yeah, stay here," Max answered unthinkingly, turning around and taking the first of the fifteen wobbling steps it took to reach her, leaving Riley where he stood. As he drew closer, Max's stare stayed on Grace's shoulder blades, watching the way they moved as she talked with her hands, as she always did, recalling the way they felt under his hands and against his mouth as he moved in her. 

He approached silently and stood a couple of feet behind Grace while she finished her conversation. The woman she was speaking to glanced alluringly over Grace's shoulder in Max's direction, alerting Grace to his presence. She turned to him, smile in full effect before she realized who he was. The smile fell like a stone in water, taking all of Max's courage and hope with it. Her green eyes flashed first with shock and then something Max couldn't quite identify. Nevertheless, it made him feel minute.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice a staggered breath.

Max cleared his throat and cracked his knuckles. "I came to see you."

He glanced at the woman and her male companion pointedly. They mumbled their good-byes and moved toward another part of the gallery.

Grace watched them go before turning back to Max, bewilderment clear on her face. "How are- What? Why?"

Max coughed a nervous laugh. "Why?" he echoed, his spiel all but dissolving the longer he stood looking at her. "Well, I wanted to see if you were okay, and . . . I, um, I thought that we could talk. Maybe. If you wanted."

Grace stared at him as though he'd spoken in an alien language. "Talk," she repeated. "About what?" She licked her lips, her green eyes sad as she lifted her shoulders. "What is there left to say?"

"There's a lot left to say," Max replied, swallowing hard. "Things I need to say, want to say." He sighed. "I tried to find you."

She nodded toward her feet. "I know. Sienna told me you were at the club. I got your note. I thought about calling but . . ."

She looked at him, her honest gaze like a warm blanket over his entire body.

Christ, he'd missed her.

"But I can't do this right now, Max," she whispered.

Max took a step closer when she turned to go. "Gracie," he pleaded.

Her face pinched. "Please don't call me that."

The hurt in her words and the anguish tensing her shoulders was like a punch to the gut. "I'm sorry," Max blurted. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to ask you a question-what I said to you that day . . ."

"Hurt me more than-"

"I know."

"I never asked you for anything other than to let me in."

"I know. I've-I'll never-"

"Everything okay here, Grace?"

The man who approached was tall, strong, and sickeningly handsome. Max's back straightened as he watched the man wind a protective arm around Grace's waist. White-hot jealousy seared through Max so quickly he wavered on his feet. The man's skin was the same color as Grace's, offsetting the white of his dress shirt, and the way he stared seemed oddly familiar. The man's dark eyes pinned Max in place before relief and understanding slowly began to settle into Max's bones.

Kai. It had to be her brother.

"Everything's fine," Grace said softly.

"And you are?" Kai uttered, fist clenching on Grace's side.

"I'm Max," Max replied, standing tall, not even remotely intimidated. "And I'm here to speak to Grace."

"Doesn't seem like she wants to talk to you-"

"Kai, please." She sighed, turning toward her brother.

Max clenched his teeth and looked down at Grace, ignoring her brother's dagger-sharp stare as Grace began to shoo Kai away.

"It's all right," she told her brother. "Really."

Kai huffed. "You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

Kai shot Max another heated look, standing firm at his sister's side, before he made his way back across the gallery.




 

 

"I'm sorry," Grace explained when it was just her and Max once more. "He's protective."

"It's okay," Max offered. "I'm glad he is. I just need five minutes. I have to ask-"

"Max," she interrupted, fisting her hands at her stomach. "I know you have things to say, but I'm not ready to . . ." She closed her eyes slowly.

Watching her face crumple as she tried so hard to keep her emotions in check broke Max in two.

What the hell had he been thinking?

He glanced around. His being there was an absolute mistake. He knew with certainty that he was no good for her. He was only human after all and, if they were together he would no doubt fuck up and hurt her again, and no one, least of all Grace, deserved that.