Page 84 of Charity's Redemption

“Let’s get out of here before those girls decide they want more than a piece of eye candy.”

Was I jealous these girls were drooling over Max? No. Okay, maybe a little. But I knew they didn’t stand a chance with him.

Maybe jealous isn’t the right word… possessive seems like a better fit. They didn’t allow anyone to touch me, and I didn’t allow anyone to touch them.

We checked out with the two items I’d come for, but Max threw down the cuffs at the last minute.

I glanced at the black box with the silver metal inside and shook my head before waltzing to my car with him behind me.

“I’ve spent enough time in handcuffs.”

He opened my door, and I slid inside. “Yeah, but not the way I’m going to use them.”

I smirked as he shut it, then rounded the front and got in the driver’s seat.

“Are you hungry?”

“I could eat. That bagel did very little this morning.”

Max pulled away from the parking lot and drove towards La Famiglia.

I pushed what remainedof my pasta around on my plate and eyed Max as he did the same. He didn’t eat at all, aside from a liquid diet of two glasses of scotch and another of red wine.

A woman in a lavish dress with a low cut that stressed her round fake breasts hung down to above mid-thigh sat down the way from us, flirting with the man at least thirty years older. She was beyond overdressed for this hour of dining, but moreover, she reminded me of one pivotal detail I’d forgotten… I needed something to wear.

“When we’re done with this… we have to go dress shopping.”

Max sipped his drink and raised his brows. “Is that right?”

“Yeah, I’m not even sure what to wear, but I figured you could help with the attire, seeing as you’ve been there.”

“Okay,” he said, disinterested in the conversation, his mind clearly elsewhere.

“Okay, I think it’s time for you to spill.”

“Red wine on my Polo would go nicely.”

I rolled my eyes as he downed the last drop.

“I’m serious, Max. I want answers. What’s going on with you.”

He sighed and placed the long-stemmed crystal back on the table, wiped his mouth with the cloth napkin, and then tossed it on his plate.

“What do you want to know?”

He turned his body towards me, pulled his knee up onto the booth bench, and rested his arm along the top. His other arm rested on the table, his forefinger and thumb rubbing the tablecloth together.

How could he look so sexy and sophisticated, even when something was bothering him? Right now, I was that something. He didn’t want to spill his guts, but he didn’t get to keep secrets from me. That’s not how our relationship worked.

“I want to know what made you turn into a daytime alcoholic and why you’ve been so agitated lately?”

He faked a smile and shook his head, avoiding eye contact. “I’m not.”

“You are.” I reached forward and placed my hand on his. “What’s wrong?”

He flipped his hand up in my palm and caressed the soft space next to my thumb with his. “House hunting.”

“What about it?”

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