Page 105 of Maximum
CHAPTER 25
Control
Maximum
I was singing along to the music in my car and sending one or two side glances toward the bag that lay on the passenger seat. Inside it were three pregnancy tests, and I couldn’t wait to get back to Fleur and find out if my suspicion from this morning was right.
When I parked my car in front of the farm, I noticed a black sedan that I hadn’t seen before, but it didn’t worry me since this place always had people coming and going.
With a bounce in my steps I walked from my car to the main house where Fleur and I lived. It was also where the kitchen and living room served as common areas for everyone living here.
With a hand on the door handle, I burst into the kitchen calling out for Fleur with an expectant grin on my face.
My smile evaporated the moment I saw Pierre sitting at the round dining table with Kate.
“You.” It was all the sound my mouth could produce as my brain went into meltdown. Pierre was the last person I expected to find in our kitchen and my first instinct was to protect Fleur from him.
An almost empty plate stood in front of him and he was holding a glass of water.
“Hi, Maximum,” Kate said but I didn’t move my eyes from Pierre.
“Where’s Fleur?” My voice sounded deeper than normal.
“She walked over to the goats about twenty minutes ago. She left me to talk to Pierre because she says they can’t communicate without getting into a fight.”
“I’m aware.” I scowled at the man. “Why did you come?”
Holding his head high, he leaned back on the bench and lifted an arm, placing it casually on the top of the back like he fucking belonged here. “You know why I came.”
“You want her back.”
He shrugged. “I was hoping to tempt her with an adventure.”
“What adventure?” Kate asked. Of all the workers here, she was my favorite person because she reminded me of Liv. Kate was forty-three and had lost her husband a few years back. With a son at university and a teenage daughter living in the US as an au pair, she was following her long-time dream of working with animals.
“I wanted Fleur to come with me to the northern part of Norway,” Pierre said with his annoying French accent that grated on my nerves. “In three to four weeks, the reindeer will start migrating from the coast and inward. I’ve been commissioned to do a photo series of the shepherds and the ancient tradition of their work. It will be breathtaking, with thousands of reindeer. Fleur and I used to talk about going there. She loves the Northern Lights, you see.”
My blood vessels felt like they were about to pop from the resentment I felt toward this man for coming into my home and trying to take my woman away. Keeping my voice as level as possible, I asked, “What did Fleur say?”
“Her first answer was no,” Pierre said. “But I told her to think about it.”
Focusing on my breathing I gave a single nod in Kate’s direction before I walked out of the kitchen and to the area behind the barn where the goats were.
Fleur sat with Buck in her lap but looked up when I approached.
“I’m impressed. I haven’t heard his car leave and yet I don’t see any blood on your knuckles.”
Jumping over the fence, I walked over to sit next to her on the large log. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. Pierre just brings out the worst in me. Why is it I can be friendly to everyone but him?”
“He’s your ex. It’s natural.”
“Lots of people have good relationships with their exes. Part of me wishes I could too.”
“He told me why he’s come. He still wants you back.”
“Yes, he begged me not to marry you.”
