Page 62 of Crush

Blinking to clear my vision, I swiped the screen of my phone to see it was almost eleven. I had overslept for the first time in years. The fact that I was alone in bed didn’toverlyupset me. Waking up next to Max would have been awkward after what we had done.

My entire body still hummed and there was a tenderness between my legs.

I’d had sex with Max Hunter. Wild,incrediblesex that would probably leave its mark on my memory for some time. And yes, I was sore, but it was a nice sore.

Did I regret it? At that point, I wasn’t sure but I didn’t have time to think about it. I could hear engines revving outside and general noise. The clean-up of the party was in full flow and I was still in bed. I wondered why Mia hadn’t woken me. The hangover from hell probably. I needed to check on her. I sure hoped she wasn’t face down in a pool of vomit.

Pulling back the sheets, I stared down at the puddle of blue silk I had worn the night before and my lace thong sitting next to it, like a guilty secret.

Shit. What had I done? My heart started racing as I recalled how being with Max had felt; worshipped and special.

Something had shifted.

I fought the feeling, telling myself to stop being ridiculous, sex was sex. So why was I trying to read into it?

Because he made you feel alive again.

As quickly as possible I showered and pulled on fresh underwear; jogging bottoms, and a hoodie. I tugged my wet hair into a ponytail and left my roomwithout bothering with make-up to search for Mia. I had to tell her what I’d done, confess. Then maybe that strange feeling would lift from my chest.

As I got to her room I glanced fleetingly at Max’s door. It was closed but that didn’t suggest he was in there. Would he be feeling hung over and regret what we did? My head told me I had been drinking, but it wasn’t that overpowering. What if he had been drunk and didn’t remember what we’d done? Would that be better or worse? Shit.

Pulling open her door, I walked inside. Crikey, the smell of booze almost floored me and I went and cracked the window open. Mia was still asleep.

It took ages to wake her and she was as groggy as hell. In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have; saying Mia wasworse for wearwould be ahugeunderstatement.

We chatted in the ensuite bathroom as she brushed her teeth with me sitting on the toilet lid and she listened as I replayed that night’s events.

It turned out that she and Lucadidn’thave sex in the bathroom but they did kiss. Mia wasn’t as animated as I’d expected when I explained that Max and I had sex. She didn’t even ‘go girl’ me but I imagined her sore head had something to do with that.

It took her around half an hour to get ready and we both went downstairs to oversee the clean-up.

When we got to the kitchen, the smell of smoky bacon wasin the air. Marcel, my father’s chef, had cooked breakfast. There were a handful of workmen propped against the kitchen counters stuffing their faces with bacon butties. Strangers were walking in and out of the house, carrying boxes, all looking flustered but determined. Through the bi-folding doors, I could see the marquee had been partly taken down and was being carried out down the side of the house towards the lorry it had arrived on.

Mia couldn’t stomach any food and I just thanked Marcel and went for a bowl of fruit.

He congratulated me on the party and then Hannah appeared. Marcel hadn’t been involved in the cooking for my father’s do. He was a retired professional Chef that Daddy had hired a couple of years ago. He enjoyed working at the house but steered clear of anything overly stressful. The party would have been too much for him, hence me appointing a catering firm.

We all stood in the kitchen chatting and as I glanced out of the window. I saw him.

Max.

Max and Luca were dressed casually in jeans and button-down tops and were standing with my father and his brother Richard. They had their backs to us. I glanced at Mia and motioned to where the boys stood. I felt elated that he hadn’t left without saying anything. That wouldn’t have made me feel good about myself at all.

Mia moved away, talking to Marcel about the spread at the party and I ran my eyes over Max’s broad shoulders. His arse looked well tasty in the jeans he wore. Odd really, I had never been a bum girl. As I was having a sneaky perv, Max turned and looked up towards the house.

The other three also turned and then started to make their way up the garden.

The lawn was still a mess and the staff who had acted as waiters the previous night were dressed casually and were collecting rubbish and putting it into the bin bags they held.

Seeing Daddy smile at something Max said made my heart squeeze. I liked the fact that they got on, gone was the past jealousy I’d felt.

Mia came beside me with a glass of water in her hand.

“Shit, they’re coming. What do I say to him, how do I act?” I said as she chugged the water and placed the glass in the sink.

“Just act casual, but not cold. That ice is well and truly broken and so go with it.” Mia suggested.

“The ice?”

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