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“Oh,Max,”shesaid,unabletostop herself fromreaching outand taking his hand. All of this certainlymadehisattitudeand behaviorwhenthey’dfirstmetmakesense.
“Thatwasthe momentmylifechanged forever.Mydreamsof playing proball weresliding down thedrain and Iwasleftwith a decision Iknewcould only endoneway.”
“Youmarried her,”shemurmured.
Hesighed. “Imarried her.”
“But…”Gigi wasdoing themaths.“Erin’stoo young to bethe babyshewastalking about.”
Maxsmiled ather,butitwashumorless,and angerbled fromtheedges. “Daysaftergraduation,I marriedChelseaatcity hall. Soonafter,shetoldmeshewasn’teverpregnant. She’d onlytoldme thatsoI’d takeherbackand shewould haveeverything sheeverwanted—tobemarried tothe high school starquarterback.”
“Neitherofyou werein high school anymore.”
“Trytelling Chelseathat. Therealworldwasa smackin thefacefor her. Shewasnolongerthe queen bee. She nolongerhad theothercheerleaderskissing herassand telling herhowperfectshe was. I thoughtmoving toLA wouldhelpher torealizethatlifewasn’tjusthigh school for grown-ups. Shenever did getitthough.”
“Why didn’tyou just get divorced?”
“I had plannedon being married only once.I’ma stubborn sonofabitch,and although Chelsea made mylifehell,I stayedwith her. Iwasn’tin lovewith her anymore,though—howcould I beafter shedid thatto me? Sheknewit,too. Shewanted tohaveachild. Shethoughtitcould ‘fix’things between us,butI’d swornneverto havechildrenwithher. Iteven gottothe point whereI refused tosleep inthesame bed asher.”
Gigi glanced down atErin,whohad her chubbyfingerswrapped around a bunny’s ear.“Youmust havesleptwith heratleastonce.”
Hefollowed her gaze.“Imeetupwithmy bestfriendeveryThursdayata localbar. Onetime,we both dranktoomuch and Istumbled home,collapsingon thecouch. When I woke up,Chelseahad my pantsdown around myanklesand…”hegrimaced.“Let’sjustsayitwastheleastsatisfying orgasmI’veever had. I feltviolated,buttoChelsea,shesawwhatshe’d doneasawayof getting whatshewanted…again. Almosttenmonthslater,Erinarrived.”
“Butshedidn’tfixthemarriage.”
“No,shedidn’t.Don’tgetmewrong; I love mydaughter. I wouldn’tchangeanything that’s happened exceptformarrying Chelsea and believing all her bullshit.”Leaning down, Maxpicked up thelittlegirl and satheronhisknee.“Sothat’sit.”
“WhataboutChelsea?Hasshegone home?”
“I told hernevertocomearound totalktomeagain. I’vebeen in contactwithmylawyer,and when I getbacktoLA,I’mgoing tohaveameetingwith himtodiscussmyoptions.”
“You’restill going back,then?”sheasked,herstomach clenching intoa tightknotatthereminder. Hestudied herfacecarefully. “I haveto,Gigi.Mylifeisthere—mymom,myfriends, myjob. My bosswill needmeback,too. She onlyaskedmetocomeoverheretemporarilyuntil her newclub wassetup properlyand running likesheneeded itto be.”
“I justrealized I have noidea what yourotherjob is.”
Hegave her a small grin. “It’sexactlywhatI’mdoing herein NewYork,butjustinLA. Imanage Temptation sixdaysaweek.”
Shelooked down.“Sowheredoesthatleaveus?”
“I’d like ustostill havea relationship. Whateverthisisbetween us,itworks.Being in thesame cityasyou and notbeing abletotouch youwould betorture.”
Shebither lip,thinking. Therewereso manyreasonswhysheshould just end itnow:Maxwas still married,hewasstill leaving and hewould still breakher heart. Hiswarmpalmcupped her chin, forcing hereyestohisface.
“Don’t overthinkthis.”
“I’m not,”shewhispered.“I wouldn’tbeabletostandthetortureeither.”
