Alya was right. Was Wayne really the better option? The kitchen was silent, and Alya’s gaze was still fixed on her.
Finally, her sister sighed. “Max wants you exactly as you are. I think we both know that. What could be more important than that?”
Natasha swallowed. “In our larger-than-life family I’m just the ordinary daughter with a minor obsession with fish.”
“Nat—”
Her sister tried to interrupt, probably to refute that statement, but Natasha held up her hand.
“The novelty will wear off at some point. I don’t want to be just another woman he blows through.”
It was hard to speak those words aloud. Was this her real fear—that she’d give all of herself to him, and he’d decide that she was nothing special? That she wasn’t enough?
“You don’t know what will happen. Isn’t that the risk of every relationship?” Alya reached across the table and squeezed Natasha’s hand. “You just have to decide if Max is worth the risk.”
Max leaned back in the leather office chair and scrubbed his hands over his eyes. Goddamn, this was a mess, and in the three days since they’d returned from Green Island he still hadn’t figured out how to fix it.
Now that they were back in Sydney, the fling with Natasha was supposed to be over. Natasha was supposed to be enjoying her holiday, and Max was supposed to return to work and whatever the fuck he wanted to do.
Except what he wanted to do was to talk to Natasha, be with her, naked or clothed. Yeah, naked was preferable, and Max was almost sure that she’d be more than happy with that choice, too. That wasn’t the problem. Once they were alone, all the problems faded, and all that mattered were the good things. Very, very good things.
And, once again, he was thinking with his dick. Not in front of anyone this time, but doing it in his office when he had a shit-ton of work to do wasn’t much better.
No matter what he did or what Natasha wanted, everything had changed the moment they left Green Island. Because as they’d walked along the jetty for the last time, it was clear that Max could no longer work with Alya, and it had nothing to do with his new role as president of the Jensen Family Foundation. It had been a challenge to keep his attention off Natasha in the past, but now it was impossible. Thank fuck the risks level had been low—he’d gotten the Petrova sisters through the trip without incident.
But if he no longer worked with Alya, his path wouldn’t cross with Natasha unless she wanted them to. Now it all came down to Saturday.
Max propped his feet on his desk, on top of the reports he was supposed to finish this morning. But all he had thought about since he woke up was Natasha. He was so caught up over this woman. All his accomplishments were earned through his ability to block out every distraction and methodically go after exactly what he wanted. He had chosen each of his goals because they were objective measures, unable to be bought with the money and privilege he was born into.
Except it was becoming clear that all his experience of pursuing goals was no help when it came to figuring out what to do about Natasha. Years of going after other women for a little fun gave no insight into what to do now, either, when he truly cared about the outcome. In the past, he had given every woman an objective risk assessment and pulled out if the risk was too high. But with Natasha, the risks were exponentially higher, and he still couldn’t let her go.
At the very top of his list of risks was convincing her that a relationship with him wouldn’t hurt her. Because it was a promise he knew he couldn’t keep.
“Max?”
Derek’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. Max looked up and gave him a grunt of acknowledgment.
“You look like shit, mate,” said Derek casually, settling into one of the armchairs in front of Max’s desk.
Max shrugged. “I met with Alya, told her it was best if I handed her security needs over to someone else at Blackmore Inc. She’s determined to be less dependent on security, so the timing is good.”
“Who are you thinking of as a replacement?”
“Henning’s the obvious choice.”
Derek frowned. “Really? He knows every detail of her situation, and his undercover work with the Australian Federal Police speaks for itself. But I thought he refused to do any on-the-ground work now after what happened in that last bust. That’s why he’s in IT.”
“Yeah, that’s what he says,” said Max. “But I have a feeling he wouldn’t turn down an assignment with Alya.”
“Okay.” Derek gave a slow nod. “Did you talk to Natasha?”
Max gave a humorless snort of laughter. “She left the apartment because she found out I was coming over. I don’t know what the fuck kind of planet that’s a good sign on, but I’m certainly not living there.”
“So ask her out,” said Derek. “I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with you, Max. If she were any other woman, you’d just come straight with her.”
Max huffed out a breath. “It’s complicated.”
Derek nodded. “That’s all the more reason to ask her out. Because you’re never complicated when it comes to women.”
