WRAPPED: The Manhattan Bound Series, Book Two

by Juliet Braddock

  Once she’d dressed, she opened the door to find Drew once again on the couch, just sitting back and taking in the view. This show meant so much to him. He was never so proud and fearful of his accomplishments in his entire life. This role could plunge him to the sidelines or catapult him to the next level. With so much weighing on his shoulders, he was so happy to have the next few days off while Celeste polished her blocking before previews officially began. He was also thrilled to have some solid alone time with Maxine.

  “Gorgeous,” he said as he stood up and kissed her on the forehead, “as always.”

  Even in his usual uniform of jeans and a polo shirt, Drew enthralled her. Just standing beside him sent her pulse racing, and she fluttered her lashes as she looked up into those true blue eyes that always seemed to have something brewing behind his intense stare.

  “How about that tour, Handsome?” she linked her arm through his as he grabbed their coats.

  “Follow me, little one.”

  After turning out the lights and leading her carefully down the steps, he greeted the security with a warm smile. “I’m sorry if we kept you here, Trevor…”

  “I’ve still got an hour. They’re still down in the basement in the prop shop,” the guard explained. “No worries. You two take your time, Mr. McKenzie…”

  “Call me Mack, please,” he insisted. “And thank you.”

  There were all sorts of hallways and tunnels that Maxine never imagined existed backstage. In fact, she wasn’t quite sure of what she might see that night. The halls were lined with racks of quick change costumes, carts of wigs and various other items required to keep the show up and running. The mere thought of just what it took to put on a show of this size dizzied her. However, on stage, eight times a week, cast and crew made things appear so flawless. The average theatergoer had no real idea what actually went on in the wings—or in the dressing rooms for that matter.

  “Catch!” Drew said suddenly. He tossed something into Maxine’s hands, and she jumped, screaming all the while.

  “What the—”

  Nearly doubling over with his own laughter, he finally managed, “It’s the monkey!”

  Squinting in the darkness, she discovered that it was indeed the furry figure used to portray Norma Desmond’s deceased pet in the first act of the show. While primates were one of Maxine’s favorites of the animal kingdom, this facsimile—with closed eyes and a wrinkled face—frightened her a bit. Even though it was clearly just a stuffed animal, the fur still felt a bit gritty with mange. Just holding the damn thing left her feeling as if she hadn’t showered in days.

  “A selfie for our holiday cards this year,” Drew grinned and stepped up beside her with his arm extended, phone in hand. “Oh, come on. It’s not that bad.”

  “He’s ugly…” she winced as he took another photo, her eyes blinded by the flash.

  “One more for Facebook…”

  “And dead…he’s dead, Drew…”

  “It’s a stuffed animal! And a last and final shot—smile, little one!” With a quick look at her soured face, he said, “The money shot! Or should I say, the monkey shot? Can’t wait to text this to your dad!”

  “Yeah, and how is he?” Maxine challenged. “You seem to talk to him more than I do these days.”

  “He’s great, Maxine,” Drew said lightly. “Sends his love to you….”

  “Take this thing,” she tossed the monkey back to Drew, who returned it to its precise position on the prop shelves. You just didn’t fuck around with the order of the props on a show.

  “Alright now, Maxine,” he said, his voice brimming with caution. “I’m taking you out to the stage, and there’s only the ghost light. The wings are very dark right now. Hold on to me. Things aren’t all in place yet, and you could seriously injure yourself.”

  Suddenly, her heart just swelled again, and she stretched out to kiss him quickly on the lips. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For being you.”

  “Maxine…” he breathed. “Oh, my little one…”

  The mechanisms of technology tucked off stage left her truly fascinated as Drew led them through by the flashlight on his phone. Somehow the sets were all stacked and folded and compacted into the rather small area on the sidelines while additional pieces of scenery hung from overhead.

  “That doesn’t account for everything in the basement that’s pulled up through the stage,” he reminded her, but his words fell upon deaf ears as Maxine followed his lead.

  There was something so empowering about stepping out on those floorboards for the first time. Of course, she’d been on a stage before, but never on the likes of Broadway. Standing there was a dream fulfilled in itself. The seats were empty but for the forgotten souls that might have never left that grand old house. Every theater was haunted, or so Judy always told her. However, Maxine envisioned a full audience, waiting impatiently for the latest hit to begin. She could hear the rumblings from the orchestra pit as the musicians warmed up.

  And for one moment, she closed her eyes just to absorb what it must have felt like for the actors as they faced a new group of people every evening…the soft sounds of the first few bars of the overture…that rush as the opening number kicked into full swing.

  No, she couldn’t sing or dance or act like Drew, but the theater was their shared passion. For it, they both lived and worked so diligently to promote and preserve. Although they had been born in two drastically different words, their common love for the performing arts brought them together.

  “You look awe-struck, little one,” he mused.

  “I am,” she giggled. “So this is your home for the next year or so…”

  “If the Times doesn’t close us after a week,” Drew said rather somberly.

  “But things are going better now,” she encouraged him. “You’ll pull it all together…”

  “Maxine, with you on my arm, I really do believe that I can accomplish anything,” he said, reaching out to take her hands in his and to pull her near. “You make me feel invincible.”

  “You’ve done the same for me, Drew,” she whispered. “Slowly, I feel like I’m conquering every last one of my problems—putting them to bed, and locking them away for good. That…well…I couldn’t have managed without you these last couple of months.”

  “So I guess…” In his hesitation, Drew squeezed Maxine’s hands tight, as if to assure himself, and clung to them for what seemed like his own dear life. “I guess you’re thinking of sticking around for a while then?”

  “Honestly, Drew…” She stopped. Took a breath. And then spoke the truth straight from her heart. “I can’t imagine this world—my little world—without you in it.”

  “Maxine, I—”

  “Yes?”

  “I love you, Maxine…I love you…”

  Beneath the ghost light, they stood in its center, clutching each other as they spun within the current of their emotions. They were both crying now, and Maxine allowed the tears to flow before she collected her thoughts and reached up to brush the trickles from his cheek.

  “Drew, I love you, too. You’re all my everything—no one could ever complete me like you do…”

  Her words merely rang in his ears. He wanted to tell her for so long how he truly felt about her, but he was so terrified that it was too soon—afraid she’d run away. He’d held back on his emotions, containing that rush of affections that he’d felt for no other woman.

  At one point, Drew even attempted to convince himself that he wasn’t ready for this. He couldn’t possibly have fallen so quickly for anyone, so careful had he been to guard and protect his heart from breaking. However, with Maxine, all rules, idiosyncrasies and norms disappeared. There was no point in fighting or denying his emotions. He loved her.

  And she loved him back.

  “You are the most exquisite woman in the world, Maxine,” he whispered, his lips inching closer, “inside and out.”

  His mouth caught hers, and Drew
kissed Maxine as if it were the first time all over again, whirling her into his life with the sweetness of his lips and tongue. Neither one could catch their collective breaths as they discovered their passion anew, seeking that wholeness that they only found within each other.

  “Tell me again…” she whispered against his lips. “Tell me…”

  “I love you, Maxine,” he said, daring to pull back just to meet her eye-to-eye. “I love you.”

  “And I love you, Drew.”

  Their lips met again, melting together in delicious swirls filled with both tease and promise. Dizzied, Maxine faltered on her feet as she clung to him, her fingers tearing at his curls as she struggled to stand. She could have kissed him right there, under that spotlight, for all of eternity. He loved her. Drew McKenzie was in love with her!

  “So much to say…so many plans to make…” he murmured against her. “Maxine…you’ve brought me so much joy…”

  “More to come,” she vowed.

  “I’m closing on an apartment in my building. Just a studio. And I want you to see it tomorrow,” he muttered senselessly.

  “What?” she gasped. “You just told me you loved me and now you’re babbling about apartments? You have a place to live…”

  “Ah, but not a proper place to play, little one,” he explained. “I want to have our own private dungeon. And I want you to design it.”

  “Whoa! Drew…that’s…that’s beautiful. But my head is spinning. Let’s talk dungeons tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow,” he whispered back. They had every day from therein, as far as he was concerned.

  “One more kiss?”

  “Many more.” Their lips met again, so delicately at play—his lips and tongue placating her again to elicit a gentle coo. “But I need to get you home. And I need to make love to you.”

  “Sounds like the perfect plan,” she whispered, “my love…”

  To avoid any further tempts with fate, he lifted her up and carried her on his back through the dark corridors, as she giggled all the while. Hell, she even managed to put a smile on Trevor’s somewhat stony face as he bid them both a good night.

  Lou was waiting right where he’d left Maxine off earlier, and as Drew helped her into the car and buckled them both up, he cleared his throat. Not even the declaration of their love could override her punishment.

  “Something to say?” he prompted Maxine.

  “Lou…” her soft voice carried from the backseat to the front. “I am extremely apologetic for my abysmal behavior today—and most of the time—with you. I shall never again bug you about our whereabouts or inquire of Mack’s plans for us. And I shall make every effort to be kind.”

  “Til tomorrow…” Lou said, and then asked without missing a beat, “Where are we going?”

  However, Lou didn’t need to turn around or even look in the rearview mirror to realize that they were already steaming up the windows.

  “Uh, Mack…?”

  Those two kids were going home—to Mack’s place—whether they liked it or not!

  Chapter Eighteen

  Never had Maxine ever fallen into a sweeter, sated slumber as she had that night when her head finally touched the pillow in Drew’s bedroom.

  After kissing the entire way up to the top floor in the elevator, they never made it past the couch before making fast and feverish love with each other. Such an intensity existed between them that evening as they joined together, eyes wide open, mindful of every move the other made. There weren’t enough kisses or caresses. This tenderness that consumed them, overflowing into their collective souls, left them both thrilling in the aftershocks of their afterglow.

  With the bright lights of the skyline flickering over them in the darkness of the living room, Drew held her tighter than ever before. He didn’t want to let Maxine—or that moment—go. He needed to remember each word and every tear they shed together that night. And he simply had to hear those beautiful words from Maxine’s lips again.

  Clothes strewn about the living room, Maxine and Drew abandoned the mess and retreated upstairs. He hoped Nanny Fi would just ignore it if she arrived early the next morning.

  As Maxine snuggled against his chest beneath the warm down comforter, she understood that there was no greater comfort—no greater fulfillment in her life—than surrendering to Drew’s embrace. He was her harbor, anchoring her to a love she’d never imagined possible and filling her with the hope that their future together would be solid. Hardships were a given in life, but in her heart, she knew that they would weather all storms hand-in-hand.

  Once, she had been terrified that she’d never find a relationship like her parents shared together. Their love conquered everything but her mother’s death. However, even in Judy’s passing, Tom’s adoration endured. Now that she’d met Drew, Maxine discovered a new faith in modern romance.

  As she coasted into a dream state that night, she reveled in that sense of renewal and relaxed against him, knowing now that at last…she had finally come home.

  # # #

  Off in the distance, Maxine thought she’d heard Drew’s phone ring from its spot on the nightstand, but she was so cozy that she fell readily back to sleep and into a bittersweet dream.

  Everyone had gathered in the dining room at the townhouse. Drinks and plates cluttered the old table. Lots of noise and too much laughter filled the room. And in slumber, Maxine could feel herself smiling. As she looked to the left, she found her dad sitting in between Ben and Declan, making jokes at her expense. To her right, Drew sat in the middle of Maggie and Judy with all of them comparing notes on their favorite musicals.

  Maxine dared to reach out to clutch her mother’s hand, so familiar to her touch. Her fingers brushed over the small diamond engagement ring that Tom had given her almost twenty-three years ago, and Maxine caught her breath. For one single moment, Judy was there—tangible to her daughter’s touch. The scent of her perfume, Euphoria, tickled Maxine’s nose as she giggled sang showtunes along with them.

  In fact, she was her happy, healthy self—not the shadow of the woman Maxine last saw in her hospital bed, struggling to breathe until she took her last. This Judy—this vibrant woman who loved living—brought her own happiness to the table. Just as in life, her exuberant personality was infectious.

  It wasn’t until her mother turned to her with a suddenness that startled Maxine that she noticed the sadness in Judy’s green eyes.

  “I have to go back, Maxine,” Judy said and squeezed her hand tight. “I’m only here for the day—to make sure that you and Ben are alright. But Drew loves you. Remember that. Always, Maxine. He loves you…”

  However, when Maxine opened her mouth to speak, no words came forth.

  She wanted to talk to her mother— tell her that she loved her, question her, ask her for her advice, beg her to tell her everything she adored and disliked about Drew. In a panic, she tried to form a sentence, only to feel a raw dryness in her throat.

  I love you, Mom…I love you…

  And as she awakened with a thundering heart, Maxine could hear herself muttering those words repeatedly…and she reached out for Drew, only to find his side of the bed empty.

  “Drew…?” She sat up and swung her head from side to side in search of him. “Drew…are you…are you in the bathroom?”

  Dammit, she’d left her clothes and bag downstairs. After a quick look into the dark and empty master bath, she dug through his dresser to find an old t-shirt and a pair of shorts with a drawstring, then scrambled toward the spare bedrooms with hopes that her hunt would lead her to him.

  Again…he was nowhere to be found.

  Now, before moving onward, she had to stop herself for a moment to collect her thoughts. That dream—albeit a pleasant one—rattled Maxine to the core, and her mind began to race uncontrollably with irrational possibilities.

  Drew had to be here somewhere in that damn penthouse. He likely just woke up in the middle of the night and wanted a snack. Neither one of them had dinner.
She would just head down the steps and find him in the kitchen. They’d share some leftovers. She’d tell him all about her dream. Then they’d climb right back up the stairs and crawl back into bed, tucked under the covers in each other’s arms.

  As she rushed down the staircase in the darkness, she began to shiver. There was a decisive breeze in the room, and as she hugged herself for warmth, she looked around. The air conditioning certainly wouldn’t be running in the middle of November.

  At last, she discovered the culprit. The terrace door was left open! No one could possibly have climbed inside, and they would have heard the alarm had someone tried. She’d guessed Drew might have stepped out for some air and had forgotten to close it.

  Yet when she looked through the open frame, she halted in her tracks. Off in the shadowy distance, she could see Drew, sitting stoically at the outdoor dining table with his head propped on his hands and staring out into the cold city night.

  “Drew! Oh, it’s winter out here! Are you crazy, Kind Sir?”

  Feet freezing against the concrete, Maxine scuttled along, her nervous laughter ringing out between them. As she stepped closer, she slowed, almost to a stop. Suddenly, she felt so lost and alone in the darkness.

  Eyes locked upon him, Maxine shuddered. Even from behind, she could sense that his mood had shifted. His demeanor frightened her, and she treaded gently so as not to frighten him. All the while, she was quick to take note that he hadn’t moved a muscle.

  “Drew...” she repeated, stepping as if she were walking on broken glass with her bare feet.

  He nodded but didn't turn around. His eyes just continued to stare blindly past the terrace and into the unknown.

  Folding her hands over his shoulders, Maxine gave him a delicate squeeze. He was so cold that he seemed numb to the chill. She wondered how long he’d been sitting there. Something was so very wrong, and Maxine needed to dig to the bottom to find his pain so that she could eliminate whatever terrors he faced inside his head at that moment.