Mac remained silent for a long stretch of time. Long enough for me to get antsy and rise from my bed to go grab water from the fridge. I put away the food I’d gotten out, sad that I hadn’t been able to provide more for Ida Jane.
“Do you think that’s a good idea? I mean, you just met the woman.”
“You only recently met Keelie. What do you feel for her?”
Mac hummed, no doubt lost in thought. “Fair. I’m just worried, my friend. I’ve never even seen you date.”
“That’s because I haven’t wanted to.”
Mac remained quiet. He knew the basics of Nadia’s death; I’d told him and Cruz one night after a particularly brutal loss.
“What’sreallygoing on here?” Cormac asked.
I’d wanted to tell him, I realized. That was why I’d brought up marrying her. So I did. I let him know about Detroit’s fuck-up and my precarious position. I cared about Ida Jane and wanted this marriage to be with her but that I’d messed up by blurting out my desire.
“And now, she seems to think I was teasing her.”
Cormac sighed. “If she likes you, which I’m pretty sure she does, she may think you’re making a play to get her into bed.”
“Idowant her in my bed,” I said. I made sure the back door was locked, and the lights were off.
“Then you should tell her that. Just like you should tell her why you need to get married.”
I stared out my glass patio doors toward the pool in my yard. “Won’t she think I’m weak? Unable to handle my affairs?”
“I guess that’s possible. But I think that’s more likely to be your concern rather than hers. Look, women like a man to be honest. They want to know what you’re thinking and feeling. They love to talk about that shit…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that negatively.”
Keelie must be awake and listening.
“You think my best course of action is to talk more?”
“I think your next course of action is to help us win our game, then hire the best attorney in the country. After that, yeah, I think communicating is your best bet.”
“I need to make this happen soon, Mac. My future could depend on Ida Jane’s answer.”
Mac’s silence informed me of his reservations, but I hadn’t gotten to this level of success without pushing single-mindedly for what I wanted.
Chapter7
Ida Jane
“And now, she seems to think I was teasing her,” Maxim said as I opened the bedroom door, planning to ask for some of his pants or boxers to go along with the shirt he’d given me. I held the handle with one hand, my other resting on the frame as I shamelessly eavesdropped.
Oh my…Maxim wasserious. He actually wanted to marry me.
Me.
Little ole Ida Jane Barlow from Clarendon, Texas.
My jaw dropped so fast and hard, it popped. No. No way. He wanted me in his bed…
I eased the door shut, worried Maxim would hear my panting breath. He wantedme. Not only did he want me in his bed, but hedidalso want to marry me.
That thought swirled through my head all night, and, at first, I jumped up and down, flapping my hands. Giddy.
A sexy-hawtman wanted to marry me. Sweet lord and apple pie—I fanned my face and then fell on the bed with a squeal into the pillow. As I calmed from the initial rush, though, thoughts of why Maxim would want to marry me made sleep near impossible.
It had something to do with his sister; I was sure of that.
