Smokescreen

“You’ve got to be kidding me! You think Stella’s in danger—enough to hire a trained bodyguard to watch her when you’re not around. Edward is somehow involved and you didn’t think to tell me? That bastard has caused enough strife in my life, I’m going to talk to him.”

Her knowledge of Jake’s occupation tells me she doesn’t know he’s a federal agent.

“No! You’re staying as far away from him as possible. He’s hiding something. Something big. I’m too close to cleaning up his destruction to tip him off now. When he goes down, you won’t be involved!”

“Maxwell McCoy, you don’t tell me what I can and can’t do. My name is also McCoy. I lost my husband because of his fucking greed and corruption. This is my family and my reputation too.” Her voice cracks a little and tears pool in her eyes.

Her outburst hurts me and I walk over and lead her to sit down, holding her hand.

“Sara, Max is right. You have to stay out of this and remain quiet. I’m not sure of all the details either, but I trust him.”

She looks at me hard for a minute and then her facial features soften. “You’re okay with this?”

I laugh and shake my head. “In the end, I’m okay with it, but you should know Max has major communication issues. Everything he just explained to you, I only learned about recently. He’s good at keeping secrets. But we’ve come to an understanding. No more secrets or no more Stella.”

She gasps and her hand squeezes mine tighter. “No, please don’t let this come between you. Max! You can’t be foolish enough—”

“To lose her?” he interrupts. “Never. I’m fully aware of the consequences going forward.”

She nods and stands. “Okay, well, it’s time to eat then we need to get to work. You need to leave by five to make your reservations.”

“What reservations?” I look between them.

“Bella, we’re going away this weekend. Mom helped me with the plans.” He winks and she sighs loudly. When I catch her eye, the same glimmer that I saw at Mason’s birthday party is there.

“I can’t go away this weekend. My house is in shambles, my yard needs attention, my parents and sister are begging me to visit.”

“One weekend, the house and yard are taken care of. Can you tell your parents to come over for dinner next week? I’ll cook. Please, I need this weekend away. On Monday, we start the round-the-clock renovations. For three weeks, maybe four, I’ll be on call twenty-four hours a day. My contractors are on a tight deadline and it’s my job to keep them on task. Not to mention, I’m pretty sure I have to go back to New York soon.”

I look between him and Sara and see different emotions staring back at me. Max’s pleading with me to get away and Sara is worried. She hears the stress in his voice.

“Okay, but can I know where we’re going?”

Both faces light up with pure happiness.

“Mom and I bought a cabin up at Lake Lanier recently. It’s a complete surprise to Mason and Matt. You and I are going to spend the weekend there.”

I squeal like a teenager and lun

ge at him. “I love Lake Lanier! It’s one of my favorite places in the world!”

“Is everything okay in there?” Laci beats on the door, undoubtedly listening from the other side trying to hear our conversation.

I step back from Max and kiss Sara quickly on the cheek before opening the door. “Yep, just found out my completely crazy boyfriend is taking me to Lake Lanier this weekend. Got a little excited.”

“Is there room for one more?” she asks seriously.

“No.” Max answers immediately. “But I promise you, there will be many more weekends in our future for guests.”

“I’m hardly a guest, Max. I’m family.”

He smiles widely and nods, agreeing with her.

“Okay! I ordered enough food for fifteen people. Let’s eat!” Sara claps her hands and walks out, us trailing behind.

Max plants his hands firmly on my hips and leans down to my ear. “Thank you for helping calm Mom down. You’re incredible.”

“I adore her and she’s scared, Max.”