Page 61 of Landlord Wars
“Maybe,” she said, but I could hear the doubt in her voice. “I crashed at a study partner’s last night because the rat flat is not okay. Mom was taking tentative steps around the house when I came by to grab clothes, so she’s not comfortable with the situation either.”
We chatted a little longer about the unwanted rodent guests, and then I said, “Well, when you decide to come over, shoot me a text.”
* * *
Max showedup the next night wearing jeans and a crew T-shirt and looking hot as hell.
I cleared my throat. “You clean up nicely.”
He tilted his head curiously. “You typically see me in a suit. Jeans aren’t usually considered an upgrade.”
“I’m admiring the dressed-down version,” I said.
He stepped closer, closing the front door behind him, and the heat from his body filled the space. “If this is what it takes to make you happy, I’ll show up less dressed every time.”
Visions of abs and muscles and all the things I’d felt the other night but hadn’t checked out in the flesh flashed before my eyes, and my face heated.
He leaned in and kissed my burning cheek. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, grinning as I stumbled for words.
“You’re terrible.” Max knew his effect on the female population, and he was using it against me.
He moved into the kitchen, and a waft of Chinese food hit me as he passed. It was hard to think straight with him around, but my lusty thoughts were replaced temporarily with images of food.
“Did you get enough?” I hadn’t eaten in hours, and now that I smelled delicious food, I was about to ravage the paper bag to get to it.
He set the bag on the counter. “I ordered three entrees and rice. That enough?” he said, no hint of sarcasm in his tone.
He’d just earned bonus points, because there was nothing worse than a man nitpicking how much a woman ate.
My mouth twisted as I considered. I was probably too hungry to be rational. “That should be enough. Did you order extra rice?”
His expression was pure cockiness. “I’m not an amateur, Sophia.”
Shit. No, he was not. “Good, good—just making sure.” I hurried into the kitchen for plates and utensils.
We sat at the counter and dug into the food, casual style, like we had at his place, and a wave of comfort washed over me. Max wasn’t as uptight as I’d originally thought, and I was giddy as I watched him eat. Giddy for the food, and giddy to be spending time with him. “Everything go okay at work today?”
He frowned slightly. “Work was all right, but…”
“But?”
He looked up and wiped the side of his mouth with a napkin. “My parents are going through something right now, and I’m not sure how to support them.”
“Is it something you can talk about?”
“It’s not something that’s known by people on the outside. If it were known, it would be a big deal.”
I held up my hands. “I don’t want to intrude.”
He smiled softly. “I want to share it with you. I want to share everything with you.”
Oh, wow. This was not Max the uptight landlord. This was the Max he didn’t show to everyone. And it made me feel special.
He set his fork on the side of his plate and then looked at me directly. “My parents lost quite a bit of money in a poor investment, and they’re looking for ways to make it up.”
“When you say ‘quite a bit of money,’ that equals destitute to me. But I somehow don’t think that’s what you meant.”
He smiled sardonically. “They lost a large fortune, but they have enough left to live out their lives in comfort. This loss won’t affect their lifestyle so much, but it will affect their standing in society if it comes out.”
