Page 64 of Maximum
“Oh God,” Fleur breathed and held a hand to her mouth.
My shoulders fell with a sigh. “Yeah, I know. I’m not proud of it either.”
It took Fleur a minute to process what I’d just told her, and then she asked, “Is that the only time you’ve been vindictive?”
“I wish, but no. The last time I had a real relationship I was twenty-three and it was so toxic that I had to get out or kill myself.”
“You’ve been single for four years?”
“More than four years.”
“Wow, that’s the same as me.”
Taking her hand, I hoped she wasn’t turned off by my admission. “I’d like to think I’m a different person today. I’ve done a lot of soul-searching and personal growth over the last years.”
We sat like that for a while, just looking into each other’s eyes and exchanging meaning without words. I got the sense that she was using her telepathic abilities, and although, I couldn’t pick up actual words, I felt complete acceptance radiating from her.
“I’m so proud that you’re my girlfriend,” I whispered before kissing her softly.
When we finally arrived in Dublin it was ten at night and I took her to my apartment.
“Did you just move in?” Fleur asked when she stepped into my living room and scanned the place.
“No. It used to be Nathan’s apartment. I’ve had it for over a year.”
“Then why don’t you have any pictures on the walls or plants? And what are those boxes doing here?”
Dropping the key on my kitchen counter, I turned on some more lights and took a seat on my couch. “I’ve just never gotten around to make it a home, I guess.”
“You’ve had the place for more than a year.”
“I travel a lot,” I said with a shrug.
Fleur picked up a few small items as if looking for clues about my personality she might have missed. “This gives me visual proof that you were right when you said planting roots is hard for you.”
I let her investigate while going over the mail that Lumi had left on my kitchen table.
With her back to me, she stood by the window with a Buddha figurine in her hand that I’d bought on one of my many trips to Asia. “You told me that you want to plant roots, but are you certain? I mean, some people are happiest wandering around.” She turned her head, giving me a speculative glance that I met with complete calmness.
“As long as it’s with you, I’m ready.”
Setting down the figurine, she turned. “Where would we live?”
“You have a farm, don’t you?”
Fleur had kicked off her shoes when we entered and for some reason seeing her walking around my apartment wearing socks made me smile.
“Come here.” I walked over to take her hand and led her to my couch where I sat down with her in my lap. “I don’t want a long-distance relationship. With the things we’ve discussed about shared goals, I say we jump into the deep end. We don’t need to find all our answers tonight, but I’m happy to live anywhere you live. How about I stay with you at your farm and then we’ll take one step at a time?”
“But what about your philanthropic work? How would it work with you traveling for months each summer?”
“I haven’t made any commitments this summer, so I’m taking the time to focus on us instead.”
She yawned and rested her head against the crook of my neck. “I don’t want you to give up on what matters to you.”
“You worry too much, Fleur. The work I do… it’s… ehm…” I tried to find the right words. “My father had a foundation to help children around the world. He was a master at raising money and got celebrities and members of his group to donate. I remember pictures of him in front of schools that he’d built in Africa, but it turned out that less than ten percent of the money he collected went to the children. The other ninety percent my father kept for himself. When Atlas and I received our inheritance, Atlas used it to finance an institute to find answers to how people like my father are able to use mind control on otherwise intelligent people. I, on the other hand, was determined to let the money help the children it was meant to help in the first place. I inherited a little over thirteen million Euros and I’m careful with every Euro I spend. It has to make sense and benefit children. I don’t like people knowing I’m a millionaire because I don’t think of myself that way. I’m more like a manager of the money and my mission is to distribute it in the most sensible way. When I volunteer abroad, I blend in as much as possible because I don’t want them to try and scam me or rip me off. So far, I’ve spent about one point five million Euros and it’s made a tremendous difference for a lot of children.”
“That’s amazing, Max.”
