Page 20 of Her Greatest Mistake

I surprised myself by agreeing to help, but in that moment, all I could think about was that this could be my chance to make amends. To clear my conscience. I’ve been on the receiving end of Maddox’s anger more than a handful of times over the course of my life, and I’m not about to back down from it now.

Of course, that’s easier said than done when he’s brooding beside me as we watch Dougie and Bentley take off in a Corvette whose price tag could rival that of my entire clinic.

“You don’t have to stay,” I mutter.

Sure, Dougie said he should stay back and spend some time with me, figuring out how exactly we’re going to do this, but he’s never been much of a rule follower. That combined with his distaste for being anywhere near me, I assumed he would have left.

“Where do you want to do this?” he grunts, not sparing me a glance.

I kick a rock with my foot and fight back an eye roll. “Don’t sound so excited. We don’t want you to burst.”

He turns his head and looks at me at the same time I glance up at him. Our eyes meet, his deep and dark and brimming with annoyance. It almost makes me smile to see him so riled up.

“This isn’t fun for me, Braxton. Honestly, this is the last thing I want to do today.”

Ouch. “I don’t want to do this any more than you do.”

“Really? You sure didn’t hesitate to hop at the chance.”

“A nice person would have said thank you instead of harping at me for volunteering to help. I have to go against my family for this. You know that, right?”

His eyes narrow and crinkle at the corners. “Maybe you’re not going against them at all.”

“I signed your NDA.”

“And I wouldn’t put it past your family not to care about that.”

He looks away, his jaw tight as I pull a long breath through my nose and blow it out. The tension in the air is thick, making it that much harder to stand here with him. Uncomfortable and uneasy are the two emotions I would use to explain this entire situation. Hurtful too, but I shove that one as far down as I can.

“If you’re going to be a jackass, please just leave. We don’t have to do this today,” I grind out.

“My place,” he says after a heavy pause.

“Your place?”

“We’ll talk at my place. Not in a parking lot or back inside where I have a dog staring at me like an angry fucking bull.”

I stifle a laugh. “Are you sure you want the enemy in your house? What if I were to take pictures of your underwear drawer and post them online?”

My attempt at a joke fails when he grumbles, “Wouldn’t be the first time a woman has tried to sell my underwear for cash.”

I open my mouth, then close it tight. What is the appropriate response to something like that? I’m sorry? Yeah, I don’t think he would appreciate that right now.

Luckily, he doesn’t wait for a reply. Instead, he pulls a set of keys from the pocket of his designer jeans and clicks the fob to unlock the doors to a tinted black truck I knew was his the moment we stepped outside.

Maddox’s father had a truck just like it when we were growing up, and Maddox told me several times how he wanted one to match one day.

“Let me lock up, and we can go.” I don’t wait for his reply before turning around and doing just that, making sure to double-check the locks to appease my worry. When I finish, he’s already leaning against the passenger door, scowling down at the tire and the fancy silver rim tucked inside.

I straighten my shoulders and lift my chin before I stride toward him, refusing to let him see how nervous I am. Of course, when he pulls open my door and grunts at me to get in, it becomes harder to hide the effect he has on me.

With one foot on the step bar, I pull myself into the truck and collapse in the seat with a huff.

A moment later and he’s beside me, starting the engine and filling the cab with the familiar sound of “Livin’ On A Prayer” by Bon Jovi. It’s one of my favourite songs, and hearing it in this space has me fidgeting in my seat.

Besides the music—all of which seemed to be old rock—the ride is silent, and by the time we pull into an underground garage, I’m ready to be more than an arm’s distance away from Maddox.

Being in his presence is far more intimidating than I remember, and it’s more than just his anger and a mangled past. It’s him—all of him.

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