Max turned his focus to the present. To Lucy. “You’re better off without him, you know. No guy should speak to you that way.” Lucas Kellan had been fortunate to get away with his pretty face intact.
Lucy shook her head, her dark blue eyes full of anger and frustration. “Go away, Max.”
“Can’t do that, princess.”
She sighed. “Then do me the supreme favor of getting lost for a little while.”
Now that the jerk was gone and there was nobody around but family and friends to worry about, Max could give her the space she needed. “I won’t be far. And when you’ve calmed down, we will have a long talk about us.”
She shot him a withering glare, and without a word, she stormed back toward the house.
He shoved his hands into his pants pockets and watched her go. Her long hair swung back and forth as she moved. The woman had a killer body, and her cream-colored pants suit accented her curves. He was an ass man, and Lucy’s did it for him. It was round and perfect enough to fit in his hands, and he couldn’t wait to grip her naked cheeks. But he was getting ahead of himself.
Way ahead.
Because he wanted a hell of a lot more from Lucy Dare than her body. That kiss had cemented her fate, just as it had shaken him to the very depths of his being. The minute his lips had hit hers, a jolt of awareness had struck him, more meaningful than lust. A sense of rightness had filled him, and every reason he shouldn’t have tried to build a life with a good woman who, in Max’s eyes, was nothing more than a pale imitation of the real thing had hit him hard.
Their four-year age difference didn’t deter him either. Lucy had recently turned twenty-eight, but she was an old soul, forced to face life’s harsh realities too young, as Max had been around to witness.
Max had been close to his parents when he was younger. They’d lived in a two-bedroom apartment, and his parents had worked hard at their restaurant business. When one of the restaurants had succeeded, they’d moved into the Dares’ upper-middle-class neighborhood. His father had no longer needed his mother at work, and she’d turned her attention to her original love, social work. She’d gone on to make them an oddity in town by bringing in troubled foster kids—on whom they lavished love and caring, because these children need it, Maximillian. You already have everything.
Except the kind of attention they’d denied him. Not many of his foster siblings had wanted to hang out with the rich kid, as they’d called him, so Max had latched on to the Dare family. Back then he’d considered Lucy a pain in the ass who trailed after her brothers and him.
And then Lucy’s parents had passed away, and Max had come home from college to find a sad, quiet girl had replaced the vibrant one who’d loved to drive them all crazy. He’d become more protective of her then. And when she’d graduated from college, Max had taken one look at the curvy, adult, gorgeous woman she’d become… and he’d been transfixed.
At that point, the age difference would have driven the Dare brothers insane. He’d seen Decklan and Gabe chase away too many men interested in their sister to think otherwise. They wanted her to have the chance to live a full, exciting life. And at twenty-six, Max had already closed his heart to the idea of any emotional connection with a woman. Had he wanted a wife? Kids? Sure. But someone he loved with his whole heart, who could turn their backs on him the way his parents had? No, thank you.
Then he’d met Cindy, and they’d suited well enough, so he’d continued to date her seriously. As if on cue, Lucy had then moved to California. When she hadn’t come to Max’s wedding, he’d known then he’d destroyed the bond they’d once shared. He’d told himself it was for the best. But he’d never put her out of his mind completely.
Still, Max’s marriage had floundered, while Lucy, he knew from her brothers, had grown into an independent woman, and they were damned proud.
In the time since Cindy’s passing, Max had grieved, suffered through self-imposed guilt for not being what she’d deserved. And he’d satisfied himself with one-night stands and weekends at Paradis, in order to forget his mistakes and regrets. He’d grown up. And learned his parents’ failings and the fact that he’d nearly made similar mistakes couldn’t define the rest of his life. He was ready for Lucy.
She was the one woman who could fit into his life and complete him in every way. Unlike her asshole ex-boyfriend, Max would never try to harness her vibrancy. She was a dynamo, and he wanted to feed off her energy and help her burn brighter. But to do that, he needed her closer to home. Closer to him. She just needed a reason… and Max had the perfect one to present to her.
But first she had to return to the party.
“How’d it go, hotshot?” Decklan asked, approaching him with his fiancée, Amanda, by his side.
“Hey, gorgeous,” Max said to the curvy blonde, who was positively beaming. “If this guy ever blows it, you give me a call.” He winked at her and stepped back before Decklan could haul off and punch him.
“Ignoring my question?” Decklan asked.
“Leave Max alone,” Amanda chided, curling herself around her fiancé as she spoke.
“Listen to your better half,” Max said with an easy grin. But inside he wasn’t smiling, and he turned to his best friend. “Listen up. From this moment on, whatever happens or doesn’t happen between your sister and me is off limits. As in none of your business.”
Amanda sucked in a surprised breath. “You and Lucy?” she asked. “But I thought she was here with someone.”
“He’s gone,” Max told her before glancing back at his best friend. “Understand?”
“Hell no. My sister, my business.”
“My love life, my business,” Max said, then mentally reassessed that statement. “My woman, my business.”
“What do you mean, her boyfriend is gone?” Amanda asked, concerned.
Before any of them could continue, Max caught sight of Lucy finally making her way across the lawn. Her hair was still down, long and flowing, causing his fingers to itch with the need to slide through those thick strands again. Next time he’d tug a bit harder and see how she responded to a bite of pain and command. His cock twitched in agreement.