Indiscretion: Volume One (7 page)

I slouched down into my chair. Just for embarrassing me, I was going to make this as painful as possible for him. “‘Hit Me One More Time’ by Britney Spears,” I said with the most innocent-looking smile I could plaster on my face.

Max laughed and began strumming the guitar. And not pretending to strum, he was actually strumming. I shook my head and crossed my arms over my chest with a playful smile on my face. So he could play. And well. Of course he could—why wouldn’t this hot, fabulously rich, sexy-as-hell guy be able to play the guitar? He could probably do everything well.

I sat back to enjoy the show and, although he could play guitar and had found some chords that would work with my song selection, he couldn’t sing, which made the entire spectacle so much more endearing. I didn’t want to find him endearing…but that would’ve been like saying you didn’t want to love chocolate. Some things just weren’t possible.

Despite wanting to be pissed off that I had clearly lost, I giggled throughout his solo. As he climbed an octave to sing out “hit me baby, one more time” his voice cracked and the audience laughed. Max had a huge smile on his face the entire time.

As soon as he finished with the Britney song he launched right into Sam Smith’s ‘Stay With Me’. And his voice was good. Really good. Apparently he’d been totally playing at not being able to sing worth a damn during the first song. Max locked eyes with me and when the lyrics ‘one-night stand’ came out of his mouth mortification swept over me. I glanced quickly to the other side of the table, but Jackie was the only one with a knowing smirk.

He continued singing and his gaze didn’t stray from my own. It was impossible to look away. As the words continued to tumble from his lips, I considered the lyrics even more and knew that I wanted this. It went against everything my head told me was right, but a no strings, no love connection attachment was all I could handle right now. Was that what he was telling me, too? Singing to me?

Resounding applause from the audience shook me from my trance. Checking my watch, I saw that my break was about over. I made my way back up onto the stage to take over, trying to keep my face stoic.

Max handed off my guitar and leaned in to whisper in my ear. “I warned you I wouldn’t lose, gorgeous. We’ll have a late dinner in my hotel suite tomorrow night. Be there at nine.”

His warm breath on my neck sent a tingle of anticipation down my spine. I prayed to God I hadn’t just made a deal with the devil.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Chloe

Jackie and I spent most of Saturday afternoon going through my closet. She was the only person I’d told about my encounter with Max back in New York, declaring it an act of fate that he’d turned up in Bar Harbor. But at this point, I was tossing it up to Murphy’s Law. My outfit had changed ten different times, but I finally settled on a fuscia silk dress that reached mid-thigh. It flowed away from my body at all the right places and to give myself some shape, I added a thin brown leather belt at my waist.

I couldn’t deny my attraction to Max. All day, I’d been fluctuating between excited anticipation and a knot in my stomach. I almost called him to cancel, but a deal was a deal. I wanted to see him again, had been thinking about it non-stop since he’d made his appearance in town. And a little fun never hurt anyone, I kept telling myself. It was just one date. And that was all this would be—a little fun, not a storybook romance. If I kept my perspective, all would be well.

Standing near my front door, I balanced with one hand on the wall while the other fought to get on my cream strappy heels. Taking a final survey of myself in the hallway mirror, I was mildly satisfied with what I saw. It would have to do. It was too late to change now.

I walked out into the warm summer night as twilight was settling over the harbor. This was my favorite time of the evening. The cusp between day and night was always so peaceful and full of promise. I walked for five minutes until the Harborside Marina Hotel came into view.

I wasn’t surprised this was where Max was staying, it was the premiere hotel in Bar Harbor. They even had the local country club next door for out-of-town guests. Over the years, I’d been to a few events there but never had the luxury of actually enjoying any of the amenities.

Taking a deep breath to settle my nerves, I stepped through the entrance and into the lobby. I made my way past the dark brown leather furniture and traditional wood coffee tables, catching the scent of the fresh flowers on the table. I hadn’t thought to ask which room he was in, and was suddenly feeling a little stupid.

At the front counter, I recognized the young man behind the lobby desk as a classmate of my sister Jess’ and felt a stab of pain at the thought of my sister across the country. The freedom to live my own life was a welcome change, but I missed her company. She always read those tabloid magazines that focused on celebrity’s love lives and she’d give me the rundown of who was dating who that week, and all the reasons it would never last. Almost every weekend we’d watch whatever romantic comedy was playing on cable and swoon over the male lead.

Pushing the feeling of loneliness back so that it wouldn’t put a damper on my night, I got the guy’s attention. “Hi, Kurt. I didn’t know you got a job here.”

He smiled warmly at me. “Yeah, just until the summer’s over and I head off to college.”

“Good for you. Where will you be going in the fall?”

“I got into Husson in Bangor.” His chest puffed with pride. “I’ll be taking accounting up there.”

“Congratulations. Your parents must be very proud.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. My mom’s already on me to make sure I keep my mind on my grades and not on the girls.” He laughed. “I heard Jess is already in California.”

I nodded, swallowing down the large lump in my throat. “She got a really great part-time job opportunity in one of the studios, but it started right away so she needed to be out there a couple months before school. She left last weekend.”

“That’s awesome. She’s gonna kill it out there. I’ll be able to say ‘I knew her when’.” His smile was sincere, and a surge of pride for my sister filled my chest. With all she’d been dealt, I was so impressed with everything she’d managed to accomplish. Kurt cleared his throat. “Be sure to tell her I said hi when you talk to her.”

“Will do.”

“Anyway, what are you doing here? Hot date?” He gave me the once-over, and I suddenly wished the V on my dress had been an inch or so higher.

“Um, I’m here to see Mr. Richfield.”

“Oh, sure. He’s in the oceanfront suite. Third floor, room three-twelve.”

“Thanks, Kurt. Good luck at school if I don’t see you before you leave.” I gave him an awkward smile and turned and headed for the elevators.

The butterflies in my stomach started working overtime once I made it to Max’s suite. I knocked and waited. A moment later, a pretty blonde with shoulder-length hair opened the door. Oookay, must be the wrong room. I glanced to side of the door at the suite number again.

“Ms. Griffins?” the attractive girl said and then gave me a thousand-watt smile with a set of pretty pearly whites.

Not the wrong room then. I frowned. “Um, Yes. I’m here to see…”

“Of course you are.” She waved me in. “Come on in. Can I offer you something to drink?”

“No, thank you. I’m fine.” I clutched my purse hard to try and disburse some of the tension coursing through my body.

I walked into the suite and glanced around. It was spacious and traditionally decorated. Not at all how I imagined Max would choose to decorate, had it been his own place. There was a comfortable-looking living room with a gas fireplace in front of a set of glass doors that led to a balcony. The dining room could easily seat eight, and there appeared to be a kitchen through the door on the other side.

“It’s a lovely suite,” I said, following behind.

“Isn’t it?”

I turned as Max entered the room from a hallway on the right. Of course he looked sexy as hell in a pair of light grey pants, white shirt open at the collar, and a pale blue sports coat over top. We both stood statue still for a moment while our gazes raked over each other.

Eventually the attractive woman cleared her throat, breaking the spell.

“I see you’ve met Nancy.” He nodded in the woman’s direction. “She works for Richfield Developments. She’s in town for the next week to go over some legalese with the city’s lawyers.”

“How wonderful,” I said with as much sincerity as I could muster.

So Nancy was a brainiac lawyer who looked like she’d walked out of a Victoria’s Secret catalogue. Fantastic. Fate had really stacked her deck, hadn’t it?

“Okay, well, thanks for everything. I’ll see you next week.” He smiled at her and she grinned back, a knowing look passing between the two of them.

“No problem, Max. You two have a good evening.” She turned her smile in my direction then left the room, closing the door softly behind her.

Nancy’s familiarity with Max’s first name was like a fist to the gut. Wasn’t there some kind of corporate protocol about that sort of thing? “So, does Nancy make legal house calls often?” I asked, trying to keep the jealous tone from my voice. I didn’t want to examine why I might feel that way in the first place, so I pushed it to the back of my mind.

Luckily, he either didn’t notice or let it slide. In fact, he looked a little sheepish. “I just had to run a couple of things by her. Can I get you a drink?”

With the confidence he always seemed to possess, he sauntered over to an iPhone dock that sat underneath the flat screen TV and turned it on. The soothing sounds of Michael Buble’s crooning filled the suite.

My breath caught in my throat. God, he was sexy. Just the way he carried himself through a room was a turn on. “I’d love a drink,” I said. “Maybe some white wine if you have it?”

“One white wine coming right up. It’s such a warm night, I thought we’d eat on the balcony.” He gestured to the French doors behind me. “Why don’t you go on out and make yourself at home.”

I’d sold some high-end real estate in my day so I was accustomed to being around wealth, but it wasn’t likely that I’d ever feel at home in a place like this. More like an imposter. All this opulence wasn’t me. Still, I smiled and headed toward the French doors leading out to the balcony. When I passed the dining room table, I noticed the architects’ rendering of the building Richfield Developments was in the process of erecting. Curiosity and my love of architecture took hold, and I stopped to take a look.

Leaning over the table, I took in the drawings. It really was going to be a stunning development. My hands were braced in front of me when another set appeared on either side of mine. I stilled instantly.

“Like what you see?” Max whispered in my ear. His body enveloped my own, making me feel small and feminine. We were millimeters apart, but he could’ve been a mile away with how my body was screaming out for him to touch me.

It was official—I had zero self-control around this man.

My nipples hardened underneath my lace bra and warmth spread from my groin up through my belly. There was something so erotic about how we were standing. We weren’t touching, but the heat radiating off his body poured over mine. I was sure if I moved back even the slightest amount more, I’d come up against a rock-hard erection.

I took a deep, cleansing breath. I needed to keep my thoughts PG and not delve into NC17 territory. At least until we’d made it through the first course. Otherwise, Max would think I was a recovering nympho or something.

“I like what I see,” he continued, his warm breath caressing the side of my neck.

I had been so wrapped up in my own thoughts that it hadn’t dawned on me that I’d never responded to his question. “It’s a beautiful building,” I said, a little breathless.

“I’m not sure the word ‘beautiful’ does it justice.”

I felt Max’s eyes boring into the side of my head and not the architectural drawings lying in front of us. I was pretty sure he wasn’t talking about the building, and I turned my head slightly so that our lips were only inches apart. His gaze dropped from my eyes down to my mouth. Thoughts of him kissing me swirled in my head and I wet my lips with my tongue. Max bit down on his bottom lip and a small groan escaped.

A knock on the door startled us both, and Max immediately straightened himself and moved to answer it.

I used the opportunity to make my way out to the balcony. I closed my eyes for a brief moment, enjoying the fresh air in my lungs, and hoping it would help to clear my lust-filled brain. His suite overlooked the ocean, the view absolutely stunning as the light reflected from various hotels and homes along the shore onto the black water. A full moon hung low over the sea, casting an ethereal glow over the night. There was only a whisper of a breeze, and waves lapped gently at the shore. In all, it was the perfect romantic vista for a dinner date.

But I had to remind myself that tonight was not about romance.

A minute or two later, Max joined me, pushing a dinner cart. “I hope you don’t mind, but I ordered for you. Do you like seafood? I figured it was a safe bet, being that you were born and raised on the eastern seaboard.” He smiled and placed a plate with a silver cover onto the table, putting my wine glass beside my dinner. We each took a seat, and Max removed the lid with a flourish. “Dinner is served.”