Lovers at Heart(5)

“Dude’s out of control,” Dane said, taking a step back. “I don’t think I’ve seen you this jealous since Mary Jane.”

“Dane! Rex, get him out of here,” Savannah ordered.

Treat lowered his fist. “Sorry, Dane. I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into me,” he said as Rex and Dane left the room. He straightened his shirt and calmed his breathing. “Sorry, Savannah.”

“Are you all right? Why was he bringing up Mary Jane?” she asked.

Mary Jane had been Treat’s girlfriend his second year of college. Dane had come up for a weekend, and Treat had found them in bed together. She had tried to reconcile, but he’d known there was no way he’d ever measure up after she’d been with his brother—nor would he want to. Any girlfriend who would sleep with his brother was not a girlfriend he needed. He’d gone out and slept with the most beautiful girl on campus the next night—right after sending Dane back home.

It had taken months for Dane and Treat to get back on sure footing after the incident with Mary Jane. The frightened look in Savannah’s eyes pulled Treat from his jealous rage. Savannah was particularly sensitive to her brothers being at odds, and even though it had been years since they’d fought over a woman, he knew she worried about him and Dane falling right back into that uncomfortable pattern. He bit back his anger and reassured her.

“I’m fine. He was just being an ass,” Treat answered.

“Yeah, well, you all can be one at some time or another,” Savannah said, fixing his collar.

Dane and Rex came back in carrying more dishes.

“Is it safe?” Rex asked.

Treat locked eyes with Dane in a silent warning not to talk about Max and Justin in the same breath again. Ever.

“Treat, you have to go out with me and Hugh tonight,” Savannah said. “There’s an event.”

“What are we, dog shit?” Rex asked.

Savannah put her hand on his and Dane’s shoulders. “You’re anything but dog shit. That’s the problem. I don’t want to spend the evening beating women away with a stick.” She turned back to Treat. “Besides, it’s the festival after-party. Hugh has a date and two extra tickets, and Max might be there.”

Treat shook his head. The mention of Justin and Max had made his blood boil, and he wasn’t sure he could even look at Max without feeling it rip right through him again. “I’m beat,” he said.

“Yeah, well, wake up. You’re going.”





Chapter Five


WHY THE HELL had she given him her number? Why hadn’t he called? She’d taken out her battery and rebooted the phone—twice—and had been checking her messages like she was obsessive compulsive. As she walked through the gates with Chaz, she kept waiting for him to say something to her about Treat.

“Max?” Chaz lifted his lips into a crooked smile. “You’ve done it again.”

She and Chaz had reviewed the finances from the morning before leaving, and it was obvious that Chaz was still thinking about their overwhelming success. They’d already almost matched the previous year’s total festival revenue.

She shook her head. “Not me, boss. We did it. At least the first day went off without a hitch.”

“Don’t forget, you said you’d do the after-party swing tonight. I can’t wait to go home and see Trevor and Lexi. It’s been a long day.” Chaz and Kaylie had been married for only six months, but their twins were almost three years old.

The after-parties were one of the highlights of the film festival. Intimate gatherings with celebs, where locals and fans could dance the night away and take home expensive swag, to boot. Crap. She’d forgotten about the parties. Maybe she could get out of it. “Aren’t the kids asleep by now?”

“Yeah, but I like to see them. Besides, they’re asleep.” He raised his eyebrows. “We’re still newlyweds, after all.”



HER CLOSET LOOKED more like a teenager’s than that of an almost-thirty-year-old woman, with too many T-shirts and jeans to count and not nearly enough grown-up clothes. Max inspected the few dresses she owned. She selected two and hung them on the closet door so that she could visualize herself in them. They were both black and short, standard party attire. One was tight fitting with a plunging neckline, leaving very little to the imagination, while the other was more conservative with a ring neck and slit pockets at the hips.

Her cell phone rang and Max froze. The incoming phone number was restricted. Treat? What would she say? What would he say? What if he asked her out? It rang two more times. She stared at it as if she were trying to decide whether or not to touch a land mine; her heart pounded against her rib cage, her body trembled, and her brain was unable to form a coherent thought. When the phone stopped ringing, she dove onto the bed and pushed the green button.

“Hello? Hello?”

Silence.

Max pushed the End button and banged her head against the mattress. She waited for her message light to blink on. When it didn’t, she pushed herself to her feet with disgust.

“You’re such a fool,” she said to her reflection in the mirror. She stripped off her clothes and stepped angrily into the shower. “An idiot, a chicken.” She scrubbed her scalp so hard she was sure she was leaving a trail of cuts. “Maybe it’s better this way.” She rinsed the suds from her hair, soaped and scrubbed her body, and then dried herself off and stood in front of the mirror.

“You’re better off without him,” she tried to convince herself. She flipped her head upside down and turned on the hair dryer. Her wavy brown hair fluffed into a sultry style that hung almost below her shoulders. “You can do better,” she said with a wicked grin.

Max hadn’t been on a date since she’d left Nassau. She’d been denying her sexual urges for years—literally—because of a frightening scenario that had unfolded in the bedroom years earlier. Maybe it was time she broke that wretched streak and forgot Treat altogether. It wasn’t in her nature to pick up a man, and even the thought of it petrified her. But on another level, maybe having a one-night stand was just what she needed to get over him.

“Maybe that is what I need. A distraction.” She hadn’t even had a reason to dress like a woman since Nassau, much less feel like one.

She went heavy on the makeup. Swinging her hips to the music on the radio, she stepped into one of the few lace thongs she owned, and then slipped into the skintight dress with the plunging neckline. She spun around as the tunes escalated and slipped her bare feet into her efficient black heels. She stood before the mirror, surveying herself from top to bottom. Her dark eyeliner said, Take Me, her body screamed, Touch me, and her crimson lips whispered, Now, but the total package, including the efficient heels, shouted, Faker!

She kicked off her heels and stared at her other footwear options with a frown. Efficient, efficient, efficient. No matter which dress she chose, she’d feel like a fake. How on earth did I make it this far? She snagged her phone from the bed and texted Kaylie, who had become one of her closest friends since she and Chaz married.

Can I borrow your high black heels?

Her phone vibrated. High black heels lol. U mean the fuck-me heels? Lol.

Max rolled her eyes and texted back. I guess.

Kaylie’s text came through seconds later. Who’s the guy?

She texted, Festival after-party. Yes or no?

A minute later her phone vibrated. Yup. Babies R sleeping. Will leave on porch.

Max spritzed on her sexiest perfume, put on her flip-flops, grabbed her purse and keys, and headed for Kaylie’s.

Twenty minutes later she was walking up Kaylie’s front steps. As promised, the black stilettos were on the front porch.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about Treat!”

Max started. “Kaylie, you scared the crap out of me.”

Kaylie came out of the dark garage and into the light of the porch. She wore a nighty that barely covered her underwear—at least Max hoped she was wearing underwear—and fuzzy slippers beneath one of Chaz’s winter coats, which hung open and dwarfed her thin frame.

“I’m not seeing Treat. I’m going to the after-party because your husband wanted to spend time with you,” Max snapped, trying to get her pulse to settle.

“Chaz said Treat showed up today.” Kaylie brushed her blond hair away from her face. “Did he call you? I knew there was something going on at the wedding.”

Max heard a faint ringing. “There was nothing going on at the wedding, and he didn’t come to see me. He’s in Weston to see his dad, and it was just a coincidence that he was at the festival.” I wish he’d been there to see me.

“There are no coincidences in life. Hey, is that your phone?” Kaylie asked.

“I thought it was the house phone,” Max answered.

Kaylie shook her head. “We turn off the ringers when the kids go to bed.”

Max ran for her car and tugged the door open. Her phone had already stopped ringing. She checked the missed call log and saw the restricted number had popped up again. She let out a breath and felt the confidence she’d bolstered begin to deflate.

“Sorry, Max. Were you expecting that he might call?” Kaylie asked.