Page 30 of Driven By Desire
Laughter fading, he let go of her hair. “No, I didn’t.”
The quiet agreement had a trickle of fear snaking its way down her spine. Keeping her voice even, she said, “You wanted to explain why there could never be an ‘us.’ I didn’t listen then. I’m listening now.”
“I have another meeting in half an hour.”
“Your explanation is going to take longer than that?” The incredulous question dragged a reluctant smile from him.
“I took Pooja to have her ears pierced yesterday.” Shifting restlessly, he went to lean against his desk. The more distance between the two of them the better. “I figured it would take an hour tops. After that, I’d have the rest of the day to myself.” The look he flashed her left her in no doubt as to how he’d intended to spend the day.
“We were done with the actual piercing in less than an hour. Even with all the squealing and screeching. Then we got home. By four in the evening, her ears were fire engine red and she was sobbing like the world was going to come to an end.”
“Infected?” Max guessed.
“And how. I tried to get the earrings off.” Max’s involuntary wince at that statement had him smiling wryly. “You can imagine how that went down. By the time we went to the hospital, saw a doctor and came home, she had a fever. I’ve been up all night with her.”
Shoving back from the desk, he came to sit on the low center table in front of her. Taking her hands in his, he clasped them gently. “This is why there can’t be an ‘us,’ Max. Relationships need time, energy and focus to flourish. Between family, work and home, I barely manage to watch some TV at the end of the day.”
“Have you tried vitamin supplements?”
Helpless laughter bubbled up and had him resting his forehead weakly against hers. “God, you’re something else.”
Catching his breath, he said, “Max, I couldn’t squeeze in two minutes out of the day to message you.”
The gentle reminder only had her twining her fingers around his. “So, it was a bad day. We all have them.”
“It wasn’t a bad day. Just a regular one.” Frustrated that he couldn’t make her understand, he tried again. “I have responsibilities that govern my life, that rule my decisions, my actions. Every move I make has consequences that spill into three other lives.”
Exhaling hard, he brought her hands to his lips. The gentle press of his lips against her skin couldn’t completely mask his desperation. “You know what I think of when I see you?”
Trapped by the dark intensity of his gaze, Max shook her head.
“Rainbows. The wild, vibrant colour in them that streams out of sunlight watered down by rain.” His fingers tightened around hers keeping her from reaching out to him. “Don’t let the weight of my life rob the colour from yours, Max. You deserve better.”
“What ifyouare my better?” The gentle passion in the declaration had an unbearable longing take root in him. Shemoved to rest her cheek against his stubbled jaw in a quiet gesture of faith that shook him to the core.
A brisk knock had them both springing back from each other. Stepping away her, Krish called out, “Yes?”
Mrs. Sharma’s voice filtered through the door. “My apologies for interrupting, Mr. Mehra. Your next appointment is here. Should I show him to the office or a conference room?”
“A conference room. I’ll be there in five minutes.”
“Okay.” Footsteps retreated leaving them standing in awkward silence. His gaze tracked her every movement as she tucked her shirt in again and gathered her hair into a neat ponytail. Slipping her feet into her boots, she zipped them up and straightened to face him. The unprecedented depth of what she was feeling had Max burying her pride.
“Give it a month. Let’s explore this thing between us for one month. If at the end of that it doesn’t work out, if you find it shifts your focus from your family and work or even if we realize that maybe this isn’t all we thought it would be, we’ll call it quits. No hard feelings.”
Keeping her eyes on his inscrutable ones was the hardest thing she’d ever done.
“Give me a month. Giveusa month.”
The silence that filled the room had her nerves jangling until finally, accepting defeat, she turned away.
“Okay.” The hoarse reply had relief and disbelief streaming through her. Hand going slack on the doorknob, she turned back towards him.
“Okay.” Fighting the urge to throw herself back into his arms, she kept her hand on the door.
“I hope that doesn’t mean you’re going to stop courting me?”
A loud, exuberant laugh escaped her as she slowly turned the doorknob. “Want a little bonus?”
