Page 5 of Maximum
“You know what I think?” I asked when she gave me back my phone. “I think you and I are going to be great friends.”
“That’s nice.” Fleur’s smile was polite, but not once had I felt her flirting with me, and maybe that was part of why I felt so enticed by her. Fleur came across as mature, calm, wise, confident and independent which were all qualities I found sexy in a woman. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem tempted by my charm and looks, like so many other women.
When it was time to say goodbye that night, we stood outside the cozy pub where we’d eaten dinner. I had an almost three-hour-long drive back to Dublin with my adoptive parents and little sister while Fleur was going back to her farm with River and Noah.
“It was very nice to meet you,” Fleur told me.
“Same to you. I’m serious about South Africa, though. I really want to come with you.”
“Do you even like elephants and lions?”
“I don’t know any, but I’m always open to making new friends.” I winked.
Fleur had her head leaned back and was looking into my eyes with a direct glance that made everything tingle on the inside of my ribs. “Maximum, are you single?”
I think my freaking dimples came out. “Very single!”
“Hmm… then maybe it could work.”
Her asking if I was single had to be a good sign, so I pressed a little further. “Not only would it work, we would be great together. I’m sure of it.”
Her brow creased. “You misunderstand me. I’m not interested in a relationship with you, but I’m not bringing you along if you have a girlfriend who would feel upset about it.”
“There’s no girlfriend. I promise.”
Raising her arms up, Fleur hugged me. “As I said, I’ll think about it.”
I was momentarily mesmerized by the feeling of her body against mine and her perfume, which had to come straight out of a bottle of pheromones with the way it messed with my brain. When she pulled back, my instinct was to hold on to her, but I didn’t want to scare Fleur, so I remembered my manners and released her.
On the drive back to Dublin, Saffron quickly fell asleep. With her hand in mine, I sat for hours contemplating my reaction to Fleur. I couldn’t remember meeting a woman that fascinated me the way she did. It was both frightening and unnerving, especially because Fleur had told me straight up that she wasn’t interested in a relationship with me.
All I knew was that I wanted to spend more time with her, and going to South Africa with her would be a brilliant opportunity. I still had three months to convince her and I would need to apply every piece of information I’d learned today. River had told me that Fleur had been married before and that the split from her ex had been so bad it made her move all the way to Ireland. According to River, Fleur had dedicated herself to her work with animals and given up on love.
I didn’t believe that for one second, but as I ruminated over my options, I concluded that coming on to Fleur would be sabotaging myself. If she was healing after a heartbreak, I would take things slow and earn her trust before I made my intentions clear. My first step was to convince her that I was coming to South Africa with her. Fishing out my phone, I wrote a text message.
Maximum: It was lovely to meet you. I’m determined to go to South Africa with you and I’ll be happy to compensate you for showing me around. How does five thousand Euros sound?
I read it twice with my thumb hovering over send, but something made me delete it. I didn’t want Fleur to tolerate me because I paid her. I wanted her to bring me along as a friend, so I changed the wording.
Maximum: It was lovely to meet you. I’m determined to go to South Africa with you. I’ll even carry your bag if you let me.
I inserted a winking smiley in the end and stared at my phone for the next five minutes but no answer came.
