Beyond Eighteen(51)

“What? Why?”

“It’s something to do with my grandparents’ house. If I don’t sign some papers before the end of the year, I could lose it all,” I stressed.

“Maxi, the lawyer is here. I think you and Wilson need to come down,” Nancy announced as she knocked on the door.

“Okay, Ma,” Max answered as he looked over at me. He was ready to go downstairs, fully clothed in his perfectly fitting jeans and even tighter black t-shirt that accentuated every curvy muscle and clung to every spot I wanted to taste.

Joanie had no idea of the silent conversation I was having there with Max. He looked at me, I shrugged as I pointed to the phone, Max shrugged back and pointed at the door…

Joanie continued, “Oh, I thought you were going to leave Sunday after New Year’s. Well, shit, that puts a kink in things, doesn’t it?” Her words caught my full attention.

“What do you mean a kink?” I asked her.

“Well, it’s just that we are here in Aspen, and we’ve always celebrated New Year’s in Cali. I was hoping we’d be here. Together. But if you gotta go back at least you’ll have Max with you.” When Joanie said that, my heart twisted. What does she mean by that? I’m telling her this so she’ll get ready to come back with us.

Max pointed to his wrist, at the fake, non-watch he was wearing, and said he had to go. I held my pointer finger in the air, asking him silently for one more minute. He stood waiting.

“Well, J, I assumed you’d come back with us. Max is going to get his father’s plane,” I offered.

She was silent for a moment. All I could hear were some very shallow breaths on the other end of the phone. I knew Joanie so well—we’d lived together for over ten years. I knew that she was about to tell me something I wasn’t going to like. She didn’t even have to say it. She had fallen hard for Nick and she wanted to stay longer with him.

“Wil—” she started to say my name but I stopped her.

“Don’t worry about it. I totally understand.” Even though I wasn’t happy about it and the tone of my voice reported it to her.

“I won’t stay in Aspen, if you need me. I am serious, Wilson; I will go home with you. I need to know you’re okay with this. Nick will understand,” she reasoned.

Max leaned over, kissed my temple, and whispered that he was going downstairs and to come meet them when I was ready. I watched him walk out of the bedroom, and as he shut the door, my heart was tugged clear out of my chest. So I did what Joanie had done for me when I fell hard for Max…I was happy for her.

“No, J, stay here with Nick. I’m totally okay with it. You deserve to be happy. I can handle this stupid lawyer thing back home. Don’t worry about it, I’ll be fine.”

“You sure?” she asked one more time.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Maybe you guys can have your first kiss at the stroke of midnight,” I teased.

Joanie gave a nervous chuckle. That’s when I knew, she was into him deep. One night and he had her going to the moon.

“You guys kissed already, didn’t you?” I asked, not really wanting to know.

“Yeah, we did,” she sighed.

Oh, my, she was taken. I couldn’t blame her. He was charming, a great kisser, and totally hot. And I’d never admit to anyone…not even J…that I was a little jealous of them.





Chapter Twenty


~ Max ~





I had to walk out of the room, I was done with all the responsibility that was being thrust down my throat, and all the excuses Gary was making for my dad’s selfish choice to make me CEO of Goldstein Petroleum. I didn’t ask for it, and I sure as hell didn’t want to be locked down to this company starting immediately. Why in the world is Calvin agreeing with Gary anyway? Everyone knows Dan is cut out for the job, not me. It was like a train ran straight through the middle of my gut without slowing down. Pain burned in the deepest parts of my chest, places that I didn’t even know could hurt. I couldn’t seem to catch my breath or say anything to Wilson as she met me on the stairs.

She had taken a shower. Her blonde hair, still damp, danced and tapped against her neck and shoulders. She was dressed in her slim-fitting black jeans and a blue top that clung to every curve of her body. I wanted to smile at her, wanted to let her know everything was going to work out, but I couldn’t. How was I supposed to tell her that I had to stay in Aspen? What words were going to be good enough to make her feel okay about going back to California without me?

“Maximillian, wait…” my mom shouted as I started taking the stairs two at a time. I stopped and looked up at Wilson before I turned down to her.