Maximum Dare

by Fewings, Vanessa

  I stood transfixed, unable to drag my gaze away from her angelic presence. Even in a situation like this, her enduring sweetness was revealed. It was the way she smiled at her new friends to comfort them. The way she seemed to rally her courage to go through with the dare.

  Holy fuck!

  They were going to be dangled over the edge of a ninety-five story skyscraper.

  Ted’s team was attaching people to an overhead wire safety system.

  The first volunteer stepped forward, a young man who looked as nervous as hell, understandably. After a slight hesitation, he placed his feet on the edge of the building and leaned precariously forward, the rope loosening behind him until he was horizontal with the ground.

  Insanity.

  Daisy, too, was secured to the wire. Slowly and with trepidation, she stepped toward the chrome edge as Ted guided her forward.

  Sidling up to share the same view, I looked over the edge and sucked in a breath of panic.

  Shit.

  Feeling an attack of vertigo coming on, I spun around so I wouldn’t have to look.

  Snapping my gaze back to Daisy, I realized she’d seen me. She stared at me with an inquisitive expression and surprise in her eyes.

  Straightening my back, I tried not to look fazed, as though being this high up wasn’t an issue—as though this latest dare wasn’t anything to be worried about.

  I glared at Ted as he strolled by me.

  “Oh, look, it’s the hot Brazilian.” He was obviously peeved I was here, which proved that he planned to hit on Daisy at some point.

  “I’m checking on Daisy.” I made it sound matter-of-fact, like if he wanted to get to her he had to go through me first.

  “You’re her ex-boyfriend’s brother, right?”

  “I’m her friend.”

  “Want to join her?”

  “That’s not why I’m here.”

  “Scared?”

  “Hardly. I’ve faced riskier situations.”

  “Great, we’ll get you set up.” Ted called over to Daisy. “Your friend wants to join you. You okay with that?”

  Daisy beamed with happiness. “I’d love it!”

  I turned my head to stare at the security rail. “Is that even safe?” I asked in a low voice only Ted could hear.

  “We’ve had the fire department give us their stamp of approval. Shall I tell Daisy you’re reluctant to join her?”

  My jaw flexed at his arrogance. “Are you going over?”

  “Already have. I never ask members to do anything I’m not up for.” Ted slanted a sly eye at me.

  Within minutes, I’d signed a waiver I would usually spend a great deal more time examining. Then I slipped on a red jumpsuit, relieved that no one could hear my inside voice screaming like a little girl.

  Questioning my life choices, I soon found myself strapped to a wire connected to a harness secured around my torso. In my muddled mind, I couldn’t figure out if I was trying to impress Daisy or not lose face in front of Ted and his staff. Both, I suppose.

  Those emails waiting for me on my laptop back in that cozy hotel room now seemed particularly inviting. That unfinished beer was calling my name.

  This was the most ludicrous idea I’d ever agreed to in my life.

  If I went ahead with this, I’d be suspended over a thousand feet in the air and facing off with death. I only had myself to blame.

  Even more alarming was the way Daisy stood on the edge, staring at me as though I was her hero.

  I couldn’t let her down.

  I let out a shaky breath, pretending this was business as usual, and took my place beside Daisy. She flashed me a questioning look.

  “Not staying in this hotel, too, are you?” she asked cheekily.

  “No. Couldn’t let you have all the fun.”

  She broke into a grin and her eyes lit up. For a split second I almost forgot I was about to flirt with death.

  Daisy reached out and threaded her fingers through mine. “We’ll go together.”

  “Go? We’re only leaning forward.”

  “That’s what I meant.”

  “It’s good to be specific.” I squeezed her hand tightly.

  I felt the loosening of the winch behind my back as I leaned forward, the jaw-dropping view made the people on the street below us look like swarming ants.

  Fucking hell.

  “I’m actually doing it,” said Daisy breathlessly.

  Sweat snaked down my back. I winced when it reached my butt crack. “What are we meant to be achieving again?”

  “It’s meant to make us braver for those important life decisions.”

  The winch loosened again.

  “Jesus e todos os anjos, por favor me ajudem!”

  “What did you say?” she asked.

  “This is fun.”

  “Somehow, I don’t think that’s what you said.” Her voice sounded shaky.

  I wondered if she had her eyes closed.

  My thighs trembled and my feet had gone numb. A bird flew by my face, its wings too close to my nose. “Jesus Christ!”

  Daisy giggled.

  I glared at her. “It wasn’t funny.”

  I took a deep breath and settled into the moment as my adrenaline rush peaked. My heart was pounding against my chest as though it was trying to escape, reminding me what mortality felt like. It was quite stimulating, if you didn’t mind an internal organ beating you up from the inside.

  “I need to pee,” whispered Daisy.

  “Don’t put that thought in my head.”

  “It would be very bad for those people below.”

  She smiled at me.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” I snapped.

  “You’re already spontaneous. I want to be that way, too.”

  We are reckless. This is irrational and idiotic.

  I could only imagine the headline in the Folha de São Paulo Newspaper: “Crazy Lawyer Takes Last Dare of His Life.”

  “I won’t let you fall,” Daisy whispered.

  “How do you propose to stop me?” I blurted out.

  “I won’t let go.”

  My gaze met hers, and I studied her trusting blue eyes, suddenly entering a dream-like sense of Zen.

  My brain struggled to process the stress I was putting myself through. Every worry now seeming insignificant, all that counted was surviving.

  My mind grew still.

  Everything became clear. What was most important to me was connected to the woman squeezing my hand and showing me comfort.

  I drew on her bravery.

  Everything else paled—my work, the effort to succeed and grow wealthier. Now, here, being with someone who was so real felt like everything I needed. All the superficialities were stripped away.

  My life was being wasted…

  No, that wasn’t right. Fear was doing crazy things to me. I had a good life. A great job. A happy existence that didn’t need to be analyzed or questioned. I didn’t need to change what was working fine.

  Just get through this and get on with things…

  We were finally winched back up to the ledge and unhooked. I stood in the middle of the roof and fought an urge to kiss the ground, adrenaline still pumping though my veins. I was no longer chilled. Instead, my body was heated like a furnace, an after-effect of this terror-drenched mistake.

  Trying to look unfazed, I strolled toward Daisy, wanting to see if she was coping with the shock.

  She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me. “We did it!”

  Conflicting emotions caused me to shudder against her. Hugging Daisy, I surrendered to her warmth, leaning low and burying my face in her silky brown locks, inhaling her delicate scent, a soft, flowery fragrance that brought with it the kind of comfort I couldn’t remember having experienced before.

  Tying to compartmentalize, I reassured myself that showing her kindness, since she’d been starved of it for so long, was a good thing.

  Who am I kidding? I needed this hug as much
as she seemed to, which was a bit mortifying. Because I had never needed anyone. My body went rigid with this realization.

  She pulled back and studied me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

  “Never.”

  “Was it really Nick that gave you the envelope? You can tell me.”

  Rising out of a trance, I reached out to stroke her cheek, ready to open up about its origin…

  Ted interrupted us. “I took photos, Daisy.”

  She looked at him and blinked as though trying to process what he was saying.

  “Your Instagram page is going to light up. You’ll break the Internet.” He threw in a wink.

  My gut tightened in annoyance.

  Ted looked at me with a triumphant smile, knowing he’d interrupted something special between us.

  I gave a nod. “I think posting a photo of this is a great idea.”

  “Max, you were going to tell me something?” she said.

  Somewhere in the middle of all of this madness, I had started to fall for the girl with the broken heart.

  “I should go,” I whispered.

  “You came here to check on me?”

  “Of course not. I was in the area.”

  Her smile broadened, the brightness reaching her eyes, sending out a wave of loving energy that hit me with unexpected force.

  I wanted to taste her lips, get to know her completely. I wanted to have her in every conceivable way. Fall back into that embrace…the one that made me feel whole.

  All of this was impossible.

  She would always hold Nick in her heart. The only way to undo this spell I was under would be to do the unthinkable.

  Walk away.

  Otherwise, these moments that had thrust us together would lead to more heartbreak. We could never be. I didn’t belong in this city—could never live here. London was her home. She’d never want to leave.

  What I had hated about the way Nick had treated her, I now saw in my own actions.

  We were both bad for Daisy.

  “Be careful.” I threw that in as a warning to Ted as much as to her.

  He rolled his eyes as he walked away to begin a conversation with the others. As he threw looks of contempt at me over his shoulder, I kept thinking of other ways I could piss him off.

  I hadn’t been quite this immature since college—another good reason not to see Daisy again.

  I tried to let her down gently. “Maybe being part of this club isn’t such a good idea. I don’t like you being placed in this kind of danger.” I shook my head. “It’s a mistake.”

  Daisy tugged on my sleeve. “It really is helping, though.”

  “Promise me you’ll stop this debacle.”

  “Didn’t facing your fear of heights help?”

  “I don’t need this.” I blinked at her with an attitude. “I don’t need any of this idiocy. And, quite frankly, neither do you.”

  “Of course you don’t.” Her eyes narrowed with a cute expression.

  “Not sure we can trust Ted.”

  “He’s fine.” She leaned forward. “You know he’s gay, right?”

  “He is?” I sounded more relieved than I should have. “I mean, he is.” I gave a nod as though I knew this. “Promise me you’ll not do anything like this again?” I said forcefully. “It’s reckless. Not to mention it messes with your head.”

  She gave a nod to acknowledge she wouldn’t, which meant I’d no longer have to worry about her…or even think about her after this. Now leaving her here didn’t feel quite so wrong.

  I let out a deep breath.

  Stay.

  There’s something unique about her and that’s what’s scaring you.

  “Daisy, I’m flying back to São Paulo soon. So this is goodbye.” She didn’t need to know the details.

  “Oh?”

  “Let me drive you home.”

  “We’re all going for drinks afterwards,” she said. “But thank you.”

  I gave her a kind smile. “You’ll be okay, right? With everything?”

  “Of course.” She stepped forward. “Do you feel it?”

  “Um…not sure what you mean?”

  She whispered, “I feel changed…somehow braver.”

  “Braver?”

  “Yes, facing off with—” She glanced toward the edge of the roof.

  No, it wasn’t the same experience for me. I wasn’t questioning the status of my relationships. I wasn’t questioning my career choice. Or doubting my father’s wishes. Or being the good son. Wasn’t going to see my life going any other way.

  This was how it had always been…

  Second guessing myself had never been an issue for me. Though with Daisy, that trait felt threatened.

  If I stayed and we became more than friends, she became mine, what kind of life would she have? Married to a man like my father, Daisy would be as miserable as my mother had been. At some point, she’d see no reason to stay. The pattern would be repeated. I’d be left as heartbroken and alone as my father had been.

  She seemed to sense my reticence. “I’m not going to see you ever again, am I?”

  “No, Daisy, I’m afraid not.”

  “Max…”

  I was already walking away, trying to suppress feelings of regret for leaving her. Whatever this was, staying and marking out a future with her would be as reckless as stepping off that ledge.

  I wasn’t that kind of man.

  I was a third generation Marquis.

  Now and again, a talent comes along who astounds a nation. A person who has the potential to excel beyond the ordinary. Nick was that man. Football was in his DNA. His father had him playing as soon as he could walk. Major league coaches had kept him in their sights.

  He was not only my brother, he was my hero, too. I loved this sport as only a Brazilian could—it ran through my blood.

  During my visits, there was nothing I liked better than sitting in the stadium seats and watching Nick train.

  Leaning forward with my elbows on my knees, I was riveted by his ability to run in different directions with the ball in full control. His balance and coordination were enviable. This would always be the highlight of our time together…the hours dissolving as we talked football, forgetting all too easily everything else in life.

  After practice, Nick joined me up in the first row. We sat side by side watching a little league team playing on the field while we spent quality time together. The referee shouted instructions to the young players and they fell into line.

  Ten minutes ago, Nick had been surrounded by those kids while he signed autographs. To them, he’d already made it. He was a poster on their walls and a player they could aspire to be like. The fact he was watching them play would leave an indelible mark. This side of Nick made up for his foibles.

  “Manchester United will be lucky to have you,” I told him. “You’re not only a good player, you’ll be kind to your fans.”

  Nick wiped sweat from his brow with a towel. “I just need to focus on the game.”

  I gave him a nudge. “You remind me of your dad.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “I wish.”

  “You focus on what’s important.”

  He sat up. “You always did see me.”

  “I’m your brother.”

  “You know what Dad was like. The bar was set so fucking high.”

  “That’s what made him an icon.” I shook my head. “But don’t let all of that go to your head.”

  “Like he did?”

  “He came from humble beginnings. Your background is different.”

  “You mean privileged?”

  “Privilege only gets you so far. You’re proving you deserve to be here.”

  “What do you think Mum saw in him?”

  “Your dad? I’m guessing his thighs.”

  “Shut up. I mean, he was obsessed with football.”

  “She’s independent. Always has been.”

  “Like you, Max. Even down to
the killer good looks.” He flashed me a devilish grin.

  Nick always made me smile. “Football is a sexy sport.”

  “You don’t hate him for stealing your mum away from your dad?”

  “I was very young.” Seven, but I remember everything.

  Enough years had gone by for me to see it from Mum’s perspective. My dad had been a hard man to love. Our family had placed second to his passion for winning cases most lawyers wouldn’t take on. Mum had looked for love, and she’d found it in Nick’s dad—along with adventure, too, apparently.

  A visit to England with her sister twenty-six years ago had changed our lives irrevocably. During a game at Wembley Stadium, Nick’s father had spotted her in the crowd. At half-time, he’d given her his number. The fact she was married hadn’t put him off. Then again, she’d been named one of Brazil’s most beautiful women. Most men had a hard time looking away from her beauty.

  I changed the subject. “Everything okay at home?”

  “Yeah, seems that way. Though I’ve not kept up with the family saga.”

  “What saga?”

  “You know what Mum’s like. Continues her social climbing. She’s joined some elite group that donates to the Royal Heritage. They meet once a week. I think she’s checking out the families to find you a potential wife.”

  I leaned back, trying not to think of her scheming. “She just wants us to be happy.”

  “Define happy.”

  “Well, you are, aren’t you?”

  He scraped his fingers through his hair. “Trying to be.”

  “You moved in with Morgan?”

  “Yeah, she has a penthouse. It’ll do until I sell my house and we buy something together. You should come stay with us. No more booking into hotels, okay?”

  “I don’t mind it, but why the change of heart? You never had me over to your house when Daisy was there.”

  He shrugged. “I should have. The place is just so small.”

  “London is expensive.”

  “I’m twenty-five. And you know what that means.”

  “Access to your trust fund.” He’d never been short of money, though.

  “I love the house in Bermondsey, but there are too many memories there. With Dad… you know. And Daisy and I living there.”