I missed him.
I’d been wearing my favorite gown when Max had left me back at Hampstead after the party. Funny how I’d thought that glamorous gown would bring me happiness.
Nothing would…not really.
That night, I’d had to face off with the “dragon” and then wrangle with Nick afterward, trying to avoid any physical contact. My loyalty to Max would never waver.
For the thirtieth time today, I hid away in a changing stall, burying my face in my hands, lost in my despair, trying not to let anyone see me like this.
I couldn’t wait to get home, even though my bedroom was small, the walls too close. But even that place held loving memories of Max.
Nick and I had no love left between us. I’d stood in the same room with him and felt nothing. We’d been together for all the wrong reasons.
A voice rose from the adjacent cubicle. “Where’s that shop slave when you need her?”
I heard hysterical giggling from the two girls.
Pushing to my feet, I left my cubicle and knocked on theirs. “Can I help you?”
I heard sheepish laughter and then the door opened.
A pretty twenty-something handed me a dress on a hanger. “I need this in a ten.”
“Got it,” I said with a fake smile, hoping it looked real.
Within a few minutes, I returned with the dress in the requested size and gave the cubicle door another knock. “Here you go.”
A hand appeared from inside and snatched the hanger like a Golem grabbing the golden ring. The door slammed shut.
“You’re welcome,” I whispered.
I leaned back against the wall, waiting for them to come out and prance in front of the mirror.
Don’t think about the dress you fell in love with. Or Max carrying you out of this store in his arms with you wearing it.
The two women emerged from the cubicle, one of them wearing the dress I’d found her. She spun around, looking at her reflection in the long mirror.
“You look beautiful,” I said, and meant it. “Let me know if I can help in any way.”
“Don’t rush me,” she snapped.
She needed help with a personality upgrade, that was for sure.
“I shop here so much…” She turned to look at her butt in the mirror. “I should get a discount.”
I stepped back a little.
She pivoted to look at me. “You can’t make that decision?”
“No, sorry,” I said flatly.
She turned to her friend. “You don’t think it looks too…?”
“I kind of like it,” her friend admitted.
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know…”
“The dress is from Mimi Trent’s Magic Unleashed Collection,” I told her. “Mimi’s husband left her after her daughter Lilly was born. Mimi was a single mum living in a counsel flat in Brixton. You can only imagine the stress she endured having to care for a child alone. She persisted, though, and her daughter grew to love fashion, too, eventually joining Mimi’s empire. They’re the most respected designers in the world. That dress you’re wearing has a piece of Mimi’s soul stitched into every seam. Look closer, you’ll see how she honors the feminine curves of a woman. She gets it. She gets life.”
They both stared at me, dumfounded.
She turned back to her friend. “I think it’s pretty.”
Her friend agreed. “It does fit nice.”
My eyebrows rose and my lips quivered with amusement.
Their eyes widened at something they had seen at the end of the hallway.
Gillian’s reflection appeared in the mirror.
She stood there looking as pristine and elegant as she always did, her handbag resting on her arm with the sophistication of the Queen. Her expression was hard to read as she fixed her intense gaze on me.
I gave her a nod. “Mrs. Banham.”
“Max told me that you work here.” She glanced at the two girls standing before the mirror.
They scurried back into the cubicle like vampires looking for shade.
Gillian’s focus returned to me. “Hope this isn’t a bad time?”
It was never a good time to be chewed out by a dragon in front of other humans.
“We can talk in here.” I gestured for Gillian to join me in a private area down from the changing rooms.
“I do love Harvey Nichols,” she said.
My heart hammered at the bollocking I was about to receive. She’d obviously heard about me and Nick and that awful evening we’d recently shared at the Waldorf’s bar.
“How long have you worked here?” she asked.
“A year.”
“I had a job in a shop once. A cake shop in Copacabana. It’s where I was discovered. A year later, I was strolling down catwalks in Milan and wearing Givenchy.”
She was still beautiful in her blue Chanel suit and Tiffany jewelry. Her eyes shone brightly, hinting at the girl she’d once been.
“How can I help you, Mrs. Banham?”
“What you see—” She opened her arms, her Gucci bag hanging from her wrist—“is a woman who grew up running barefoot on the streets of Rio. A girl who dragged herself out of a slum to become one of Europe’s most beloved fashion icons.”
“You’re still perfect,” I said, my tone sincere.
Her expression softened. “I’m flawed.” She gave me a sad smile. “Don’t look so surprised.”
“You’re always so…”
“Well put together?” She gave a nod. “I’ve always leaned on Max. He was always the strong one, too good for this world.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” I stepped toward her. “He’s like no one I’ve ever met.”
“I only want the best for him.”
“Of course you do.”
“It’s a revelation, isn’t it?” she said. “How you have affected both my boys so deeply.”
“I never meant to,” I said, letting out a shaky breath. “It all happened so fast. It was unexpected, me and Max…”
“Hmmm.” She looked at me with a curious expression on her face. “Do you ever eat here, in the Fifth Floor Café?”
I hesitated, surprised by the abrupt change of subject. “Um…I usually bring a sandwich.”
“Right. Well, I’ve heard they serve a nice Spotted Dick.” She winked.
My eyes widened. He’d told her.
“Apparently you baked one for him?”
It made me smile, remembering how he’d reacted.
“When he was little, I used to bake for him back in São Paulo, before I left him there…”
I felt a stab of pain in my heart for Max—even for her, too.
I realized that small thing I’d done for him had meant so very much.
“I’ve never seen Max like this,” she continued with a sparkle in her eyes. “When I saw you together at the hospital while we visited Nick, the way Max looked at you revealed how he felt.”
He was far away now. Too far.
Talking about him brought everything back. The laughs, the tender moments filled with smiles, our indescribable passion…a romance that would never be forgotten.
“Nick was foolish.” She shook her head. “He’s like his father. Someone who goes after what they want with that basic instinct to win. That’s why he’s a successful sportsman, I suppose.”
“I didn’t mean for it to end the way it did between us.”
“Nick walked out on you.” She tilted her head. “I know that hurt you.”
“Still, I messed everything up.”
“You humiliated yourself in front of our guests. You almost drowned in my swimming pool. That was what you were willing to do to save my youngest. Though it was what you did afterwards that is more compelling. You and Max walked away from each other, so Nick didn’t get hurt.”
The walls seemed to close in and I found it hard to breathe.
The voice on the overhead speaker announced that the store would be closing soon. It said something else, something I
didn’t catch.
Gillian raised a hand. “You can only imagine how I feel knowing that Max has spent years in a profession only to keep the memory of my late husband alive, never once thinking of himself. He did it for me and for his father, too.”
I took a deep breath to steady my voice. “He’ll make a wonderful civil rights attorney.”
“He will.” She looked thoughtful. “Do you have a passport?”
“I never use it. I don’t fly.”
“That’s easy to fix.”
“How do you mean?”
“I’ve requested a private plane be made ready at Heathrow.”
My flesh tingled at the thought of flying. “To where?”
“Brazil, of course.”
The room started to spin.
“Mrs. Banham, we’ve been cleared for takeoff.” The middle-aged pilot had addressed Gillian, but he was staring at me with a concerned look on his face.
I was sitting on the metal steps, not moving, trying to remember how to breathe. “I just need a second.” It was a lie.
I wasn’t getting on that plane.
Not now.
Not ever.
The pilot went back inside the jet.
We’d arrived at Heathrow half an hour ago and I’d gotten a taste of how the other half traveled. There were no long lines for customs, no sitting in crowded waiting rooms. I’d been directed right to my flight after a five-minute check-in—all the while trying not to throw up on Mrs. Banham’s Louboutin pumps.
I couldn’t bring myself to walk through the door of that plane—which meant seeing Max wasn’t going to happen. My heart squeezed with the agony of knowing I wouldn’t be able to leap into his arms.
Carl had driven me to my place in Richmond. We’d stopped off just long enough for me to pack a small suitcase and find my passport—a futile half-hour that had been a waste of time, because I was too petrified to move.
Gillian walked down a few steps and sat beside me. “This is because of what happened to your brother, isn’t it?”
Hives scorched my neck, burning my skin.
She wrapped her arm around me. “What can I do?”
“I’m sorry you went to so much trouble.” I rested my palm over my rapidly beating heart, willing it to slow to a normal pace.
“It’s all right,” she said. “I feel the same way about spiders.”
Okay, that was not really the same, but I didn’t say so, as she was clearly trying to comfort me.
A sports car zoomed around a hangar. It came to a stop thirty feet away from the plane, and I saw Nick open the passenger door. I recognized Carl, who’d driven him here.
After a brief struggle to get out of the low-slung automobile, Nick had his crutches beneath both arms and was hopping toward us at a dangerous pace.
He stood at the bottom of the stairs. “Can I have a minute with Daisy, Mum, please?”
She stood up and gave me a reassuring nod before ambling off toward the car, presumably to speak with Carl.
“Mind if I sit a minute?” Nick hobbled up the steps.
I helped him by grabbing his crutches and holding them for him.
He let out a frustrated sigh. “This is getting old. I mean the crutches. I’m going to lose my mind if I can’t kick a ball soon.”
“Maybe you can bounce it off your head?”
He burst out laughing. “I do miss you.”
“Sorry about last night,” I said.
“You have nothing to apologize for. I shouldn’t have walked off like that. It was your special evening, Daisy. You achieved something amazing and I should have stayed to help you celebrate.”
“I never meant to hurt you, Nick.”
He rested his face in his hands. “I’ve been such an ass.”
“I couldn’t find the right time to tell you about…”
“I wondered why Max wanted to talk about you so much.” He gave me a wry smile. “He kept bringing your name up in conversation. I think he was feeling me out, seeing if I’d be okay with you two being a couple.” Nick nudged against me. “He’s kind of goofy when he’s happy.”
“He’s fun to be around.”
“You both are.”
I couldn’t look at Nick. God only knew what he thought about me getting on a plane for Brazil to see Max.
“You two started spending time together,” he said. “You grew to really like each other.” Nick reached for my hand. “Then I went and injured myself and you both felt sorry for me.”
“We didn’t want you to have anything more to worry about.”
“And here we are.”
I sighed. “Yeah, but I can’t get on that plane.”
“It’s better than first class.”
I stared at him. “Why did you hide your family from me? Why hide all this?”
“It was something I’d always done. Dad insisted we go to a regular school, a regular college. No private education for us. He didn’t want us to be snobs. There was a part of me that feared that any girl that got to know me would like me for all the wrong reasons.” He cringed. “And Mum was always on my case about…”
“I saw her do that to Max, too. She only wants the best for you both.”
“The thing is, Daisy, you are the best. You proved that time and time again. I proved I’m an idiot.”
“It’s going to be okay, Nick,” I said softly. “You’ll bounce back from this. I know it.”
“I’ll give it my best try.”
“I’ll cheer you on as I’ve always done…as a good friend.”
“Daisy, I can’t believe I’m saying this,” he paused for a beat. “But you should fly to São Paulo to see Max. It’s the best way for you to prove how much you really love him.”
“Nick, I don’t think I can bring myself to board this plane.”
He sat up straight. “What can I do to make it easier?”
“I keep thinking of Liam.” I bit my lip to suppress the panic I was feeling. “What he went through. How scared he must have been.”
“It happened fast, Daisy.”
“I want to believe that.” I turned to face him. “You were there for me. When I needed you, Nick. I’ll always be grateful. I couldn’t have made it through without you.”
“You were there for me, too, when Dad died. I don’t know how I would have coped without you. I pushed everyone else away. But you, you knew what I was going through. You got me.”
I squeezed his hand.
“When I was injured you were there for me, too.” He shook his head. “You came to the hospital. Maybe you should have told me about Max then.”
“I know. We wanted to protect you.”
“Can I do the same for you now, and give you some advice?” He turned to look at me. “Liam would want you to go after the man you love. He’d never want to think that what happened to him had stopped you from finding happiness.” Nick wrapped his arm around me. “Max is as good as it gets, Daisy. We have to get you on this plane.”
Tears stung my eyes. “Tell him…tell Max…”
Gillian headed back towards us. Nick gave a shake of his head to let her know it wasn’t happening.
She gripped the handrail and looked at Nick. “Dear, will you let me talk with Daisy alone?”
He gave a resigned nod, pushing himself up and navigating down the steps with his crutches like a pro.
Gillian sat beside me again. “Max is the practical one. The methodical one. He is changing careers because he wants his life to be different. I believe that he was ready to have a serious relationship and give it the time it deserves.” She reached into her handbag. “It seemed like a small thing—” She held something in her palm. “Maybe with some afterthought, it’s a big thing.”
“What is it?”
“Max left his tuxedo jacket behind when he rushed off the night of the party. I know he’ll regret leaving you like that for the rest of his life. He believed he was doing the right thing. He always does—to his own detriment.”
; She opened her hand. Resting in the center of her palm lay my tiny ladybug button—the one that had popped off my blouse the night I’d slid down the glass chute and landed on Max.
He’d kept it.
Minutes later, in the elevator, he’d tugged at my blouse telling me I’d lost that button. All the while knowing he had it in his pocket.
Max had fallen for me that night…
Just as I’d fallen for him.
Gillian dropped the ladybug button onto my palm. “He was carrying this with him.”
All those times he’d turned up at the same events with some excuse or other, he’d been feeling the pull toward me, too.
“He was willing to walk away for you, too, Daisy,” she said softly. “He thought you may still have a fondness for Nick.”
I shook my head, denying it.
“I know that now. And you need to let Max know. What are you willing to do for him?”
I hugged my knees, resting my head on them.
“You’ve proven yourself very brave over the last few weeks.” She rubbed my back with the affection of a mother. “Go to him.”
Ahead of me lay an endless stack of paperwork and an infinite number of tension-filled hours spent in chilled courtrooms.
São Paulo, my favorite city, had opened her arms to me upon my return two days ago, as though I’d never left. I’d craved the climate, the people, the remarkable landscapes, and the warm ocean.
Home.
I’d been craving coconut truffles, or more specifically, the woman I’d once fed them to. I missed Daisy so much.
This was the most I’d ever exposed my heart to anyone. And it had felt so good. I’d willingly let myself fall for her, daring to think love was a good idea.
My office walls now made me feel claustrophobic, the clean lines of the classic décor had grown stale, the air conditioning bitterly cold.
Daisy had changed me irrevocably. I was never going to be that man who sat behind this desk going through the motions of court dates, client appointments, and tackling endless paperwork.
All of it to grace my ego.
Even knowing Daisy for such a short while, I grew to care deeply for the woman who could make me laugh like no other person on earth. I had finally experienced London through a romantic’s eyes. Our time together was a memory I’d always cherish.
Maximum Dare Page 21
