Page 61 of Reason to Believe (White Lace 2)

With an exasperated sigh, she said, “Ben, you—”

“It’s Saturday?”

We stared each other down and when she finally realized I wasn’t going to give in, she threw herself back on the bed, covering up with the sheet. “Yes.”

I nodded, even though she wasn’t looking at me. “I’ll pick you up at eight.”

I’d never felt this feeling before. This manic need to stand guard and protect someone, like even a tiny mosquito was a threat. I’d slay a thousand of them if it meant she’d never feel an itch.

I wanted to hide her away to keep her safe from anyone and anything.

Even if that meant keeping her away from me.

Chapter 18

Grace

Last night my eyes had been blown wide open. Every aspect of Ben’s personality had been justified once I’d learned the truth about his past—about his absent father and horrifically selfish mother.

It had explained why he didn’t believe in himself. It had explained why he couldn’t commit and was perfectly content with casual relationships. His mother had taught him early in life that promises were in fact made to be broken, so he gave nothing of himself and expected nothing in return.

And it broke my heart.

While I’d been exceptionally content lying beside him in bed this morning, I had left before the rest of the world had risen so that I could get home and shower before work. As soon as I walked into the office, I received a text from Max asking if I would stop by the Concord. He didn’t say what he wanted, and I had no idea what it could be about.

During my lunch hour, and with no sign of Scott yet, I made my way to the hotel and found Max in his office, hunched over his laptop.

He hadn’t done much with the place other than adding a couple of framed photos on his desk—one of his mother and one of him and Everly. I’d taken the picture the day he’d moved into her house. It was one of my favorites because for the first time it captured just how happy my best friend was.

I knocked on the door the same time I said, “Hey, Max.” He looked startled at my intrusion. “Sorry, is this a bad time?”

“No. Of course not. Come in.” He waved me inside and gestured to the chair across from his desk. “I was hoping I could pick your brain about something.”

“Sure.” I sat. Something was different. Max was fidgety. His hand didn’t stop tapping against the desk since I’d walked in.

“You all right?” I had a feeling his response wasn’t going to be the default answer of fine. But instead of a response, he opened the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a light blue box, setting it in front of me.

I sucked in a breath, a surprised gasp. “Is that…what I think it is?” When he nodded, I squealed. “May I?”

I grabbed it off the desk before he even responded. I undid the white ribbon then opened the blue lid to reveal the soft blue velvet box. It opened with a little creak and my mouth dropped to the floor. The ring was one carat, plus another carat of smaller diamonds lining the princess cut.

“Max, it’s breathtaking. She’ll love it.”

“Will she?” He looked unsure of himself. An expression I’d never seen on the devastatingly confident Max Levin.

“You know Everly isn’t much for jewelry, but this…I mean, this is perfect.”

“I wasn’t talking about the design.” He blew out a shaky breath and rubbed his usually perfect hair into a mess on top of his head. “I was talking about the gesture. Do you think she’ll say yes?”

There was a thick vein at the side of his forehead that was pulsing at an abnormally fast pace.

“Whoa, Max?” I put the ring back on the desk and leaned forward, resting my hand on his arm. “You need to cool it, or you’re liable to have embolism.”

I’d never seen him like this. Even with all of the stress of renovating and running the hotel. He’d never been so out of it.

“She still hasn’t decided what she wants to do with her life. I see how much it bothers her and I know she’s hesitant to commit to something, and I get it. I don’t care if she never works another day in her life. I just…I just want her with me. I know this is fast, but I love her, Grace. And I want to lock this down.”

I laughed at his choice of words, but they weren’t so off base.

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