Page 20 of Dirty Secret

"Right. I guess I should be going."

Max sighed and as he dropped his head and bit his lip, I wanted to ravish him all over again. Damn it. Why did I have to answer that phone call?

Max started to turn but stopped. "Look, I am sorry for overcharging you. It was wrong of me, and you have my word, not that it means much considering, that I have never done that before."

"Then why me?"

He didn't come across as the type of man to take advantage of anyone, even someone he thought had money. Especially since my father wasn't involved, which was a surprise because he always had a hand in things. But still, I couldn't understand what made Max do that.

"I, uh, I have a daughter," Max said, and the pieces began to fall into place.

A lonely dad, unhappy marriage, thought he might have fun with the wealthy single lady around the corner.

I held up my hand as my heart tumbled to the ground. "I get it . . . My place is nice right?"

His brow creased. "What?"

"You think I'm rich because I'm single and own my own home in a nice neighborhood in DC. You wanted a little money, maybe a little side action from your wife. I get it. But I'll have you know that I'm not that type of person, Max."

"No, it's not that at all. Well, maybe a little, but—"

"Save it," I said before I walked around him toward the front door. Screw his tools in my basement. At this point, I would just sell them on eBay because Max was an asshole, and he needed to leave.

"Heidi, please. Let me explain."

Max came up behind me before I reached the door, placing his hand on my arm. Damn, my body was tingling at his touch. I wanted to hate him, shy away from his fingers, but I craved it. We barely kissed, and I was already going through withdrawal.

"What, Max? I'll have you know that I don't have that kind of money. I barely had enough money to buy this house. My grandfather left me something in his will, which was the only way I could finally afford to get my own place. It helped me get away from my controlling family." I held up my hands. "Never mind. You don't deserve to know any more about me."

Ugh, his thumb was rubbing circles on my shoulder, weakening the defenses I hastily built up over the last few minutes. He was so strong and powerful, and the muscles in his arms were flexing and . . . I needed to focus on being angry.

Wait, why did I hate him? Oh, right, he's married.

"I'm not married, Heidi. I was. I have a daughter with my ex-wife, but we divorced two years ago. Besides, you shouldn't be talking about cheating since your boyfriend, Felipe, will be here any minute." Max folded his powerful and pantie dissolving arms causing my eyes to linger.

"Felipe isn't my boyfriend. I mean, he's male and my friend, but I'm not his type."

Max snorted, and even that was sexy. "Right. A gorgeous woman who is considerate, adorable, and bakes addictive cookies isn't his type. If you can't tell, I'm being sarcastic."

I could tell and smiled at his delightfulness.

"You left out penis," I added.

His head shot back, eyes wide with surprise. "What?"

Max glanced between my legs and I laughed.

"I don't have a penis, but to be Felipe's type, I would need one."

It took a few seconds before my words sunk in, and then Max's eyes enlarged with understanding.

"Ah, well . . . I feel like an ass."

We both chuckled as we realized that the both of us were jumping to wild conclusions. Then it hit me. "But you kissed me thinking I had a boyfriend? And you still haven't answered about overcharging me."

His lips thinned before he nodded. "Yeah, I forgot about Felipe until he called you. I'm sorry. It was the wonderful smell from your kitchen, and I've fantasized for months about kissing those lips. It all got to me."

My cheeks warmed. "Oh, okay."

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