“Your party is here. I’ll take you to your table.” The tall brunette waited for Maddie to come up behind her and led her through the sophisticated restaurant to a quiet table in the corner. The décor was quietly elegant, finished mostly in black and white with modern but tasteful prints, one wall constructed entirely of glass to overlook the water.
Max Hamilton rose as Maddie arrived at the table, a genuine smile on his lips as he said, “Hi, Maddie. I’m so glad you could make it.”
He was suave and elegant in a tan suit and navy and tan matching tie, every inch of him exuding power and control, but she had never sensed any harmful intentions behind his smile, and she still didn’t.
He seated her before returning to his own chair. “What would you like to drink?” he asked, summoning a waiter, and ordering a Scotch on the rocks for himself.
Shrugging out of her coat, she answered, “Just a glass of wine. Anything that isn’t extremely dry is fine.”
Max placed an order for a glass of white Zinfandel as she accepted a menu from the waiter.
He openly stared at her after the waiter left, his expression unreadable. Maddie looked at him with open fascination. What was it about this man that drew her, made her want to hug him until he didn’t feel so alone anymore? Loneliness and sorrow seemed to hang over him like a dark cloud, even though she’d mostly seen him smiling. She could sense both emotions, subliminal, yet heartbreaking.
Tearing her eyes away from his face, she picked up her menu. “What’s good? I’ve never been here before.”
He grinned. “Everything. It just depends on what you’d like.”
“I’m not exactly a picky eater,” she answered in a self-mocking tone.
Their drinks arrived and they ordered. Max asked her a million questions while they sipped their drinks and during dinner, his interest flattering. By the time they had their dessert, they were talking like old friends.
“So tell me how you know Simon and Sam?” she asked curiously before taking a bite of her incredible-looking chocolate mousse.
“We’ve joined forces in ventures together for years. Sam has a knack for picking all the right ones. I just invest.” He answered, placing his spoon on his plate, his dessert finished.
“That’s not true,” she retorted, naming some prominent ventures that had been his initial idea.
He looked startled. “I guess you really pay attention to the financial news. Probably watching Sam,” he guessed…correctly.
Maddie hated to admit that she’d followed Hudson and its financial achievements for years.
Max put up a hand. “I’m not offended. Don’t worry. It’s obvious you and Sam have something going on. I like Sam. I’m not even thinking of stepping on his toes. I just want to be…friends.” His voice hesitated on the last word.
Maddie examined his expression. He seemed sincere, but she suspected that there was something else he wanted. Her best guess is that what he really wanted was companionship, something to take away the loneliness she could feel radiating from his soul, a sense of loneliness so profound that it was nearly tangible.
“Where are your parents, family?” she asked, trying to decipher why this man seemed so solitary.
“I was an only child. And my parents died in a car accident ten years ago,” he answered quietly.
He’s alone. Completely alone. A kindred soul. Maddie knew exactly how that felt, and her heart bled for him. She almost wished she hadn’t asked.
He smiled at her, a warm smile that made his handsome face even more attractive. “I had great parents. I was lucky, even though I lost them way too soon.”
She finished her dessert as she listened to him reminisce about memories of his parents, funny stories in happier times. Obviously, he had dealt with that loss. It had to be the more recent loss of his wife that really haunted him.
“You know Sam doesn’t really sleep around, don’t you?” Max asked her after he had paused in his family stories to down the rest of his Scotch.
Maddie nearly choked on her wine. “Excuse me?” she queried, not sure if she had understood what Max was asking.
Max shrugged. “I’m just saying…the stories about Sam for the most part aren’t true. He might take some of his female friends to parties, but he doesn’t sleep with them like people think he does. He’s gotten a bad reputation that he really doesn’t deserve,” he finished casually, but his eyes were intense.
“And how would you know that it isn’t true?” she questioned, wondering where this whole conversation was headed.
“Sam and I have known each other a long time. We go to a lot of the same functions, socialize in the same circles. Most of the time we go together. When my wife was alive, we would go with Sam and his female date for the evening. We’d all go out for drinks together usually, but we dropped Sam’s date off first, and then Sam. At home. Alone.” He heaved a deep breath before continuing, “Now that my wife is gone, Sam and I drop his date first and then go hang out together. But we both leave alone.” His brows drew together as he stared at her. “Understand?”