Since Wednesday, she’d gone home with him after work and spent the night at his house. They watched TV. They made dinner. They made love. Playing house. Getting to know each other better with each hour that passed. The chemistry wasn’t burning out the way he’d said it would. In fact, it was getting hotter by the day.
Nor was either of them trying to cool things off or slow things down.
Two months, she kept telling herself. That’s how long his relationships usually lasted according to the notes in Andrea’s computer. She wouldn’t think any further into the future than that.
A maid opened the front door as they approached. The grand, two-story foyer Max nudged her into was half the size of her house. She gaped like a girl from a small beach town. Meeting wealthy executives at their offices didn’t prepare her for the reality of what money could buy.
“Did you grow up here?” she asked, trying to imagine three energetic boys roughhousing around the expensive furniture and exquisite antiques.
“No. Mom and Dad downsized after they kicked the chicks out of the nest.”
Her breath rushed out. “Downsized?”
“This house only has four bedrooms.”
“Only.” Apparently, her answers were limited to two syllables.
“Come on. Let’s go congratulate the happy couple.” The mischief vanished from his eyes as he steered her deeper into the house.
With Max’s arm around her waist, Rachel floated through the large, perfectly decorated rooms in a haze of anxiety and awe. Her nervousness was tempered by a couple things. First, the beige silk cocktail dress she’d splurged on might have come off the rack of her favorite consignment store, but it was a designer original and she needed that boost of confidence as they passed by women wearing thousands of dollars worth of gowns and jewelry. Second, most of the furniture had been upholstered in tones of cream, beige and gold. That meant she could sit down and virtually disappear.
“There’s Mom. Let me introduce you.”
She hung back as Max leaned forward and kissed his mother on the cheek. Dressed in a beaded cream gown with diamonds at her ears, wrist and around her neck, Susan Case looked every inch a wealthy socialite, but the smile she beamed at her son looked warm and genuine enough to put Rachel at ease.
“Mom, this is Rachel Lansing. Rachel, my mother, Susan.”
Rachel stretched her lips into a smile, hoping her nerves didn’t show, and shook the soft hand Susan Case offered. “It’s really nice to meet you,” she said. “Max talks about you a lot.”
“Have you two been dating long?”
“Oh, we’re not dating,” Rachel insisted in a rush. “I own an employment placement service. I’m helping him find an assistant to replace Andrea.”
“I see.” But it was obvious she didn’t.
Rachel didn’t miss the curious glance Susan sent winging toward her son. Beside her, Max radiated displeasure. Well, what did he expect? That she was going to explain the complicated arrangement between them when she wasn’t exactly sure how to define it herself?
“How is the hunt for a new assistant going?”
“He’s turning out to be a difficult man to please.” She shot Max a warning look to shut down whatever protest he was about to make.
“Is he, now,” Susan murmured wryly. “Well, I’m sure you’ll figure out how to make him happy.”
Rachel flushed at the subtext of Susan’s remark and wished a sinkhole would develop beneath her feet. Before she mustered a response, a tall man with dove-gray eyes stepped into the trio’s circle and wrapped a possessive arm around Susan.
“Good evening.” Brandon Case extended his free hand to Rachel. “My son is lucky to have such a lovely companion this evening.”
Rachel smiled at Brandon Case as she shook his hand, unable to stop herself from basking in the man’s charm. At her side, Max stiffened slightly.
“Congratulations on your thirty-fifth anniversary,” she said. Max’s tension heightened her own anxiety and the next words that came out of her mouth, she wished back immediately. “What’s your secret?”
Susan dipped her head in acknowledgement. “To a long marriage?” She gazed up at her husband. A gentle smile curved her lips. She was obviously very much in love with the man she’d married. “I think you need to be able to forgive each other and laugh together.”
Such simplicity took Rachel’s breath away. Was that really all there was to it? She thought about her own marriage. She and Brody had failed at both. She couldn’t recall a single time when they’d laughed together. In the beginning, they’d gotten along, but it had never been joyful the way it was with Max.
A slight indent had developed between Max’s brows at his mother’s words. “And that’s it? All the pain just magically melts away? Trust is restored with a chuckle?”
Rachel put her free hand on Max’s arm and squeezed in sympathy. She’d been so busy thinking about herself this week, she hadn’t considered how hard this renewal of vows and anniversary celebration would be on Max. He’d never gotten over his father’s infidelity. And now she saw that he was also angry with his mother for staying with a man who’d betrayed her.
“Of course not,” Brandon retorted, his gray eyes hard as they rested on his son. “What I did to your mother wasn’t forgiven overnight. It took years before she began to trust me again. And now that she does, I would never do anything else to hurt her.”
“Max, this is a party,” his mother said, her voice showing no signs of stress. “My anniversary party. Please behave.”
As the tableau played out before her, Rachel had a hard time swallowing past the lump in her throat. Seeing Max’s expression darken and knowing why he was so upset made her realize she’d been a fool to wonder if the passion they shared might lead to something more.
If twenty years had passed without him forgiving his parents their shortcomings, she’d been a fool to hope he would ever forgive her.
Laughter and forgiveness.
His mother was kidding herself. For years she’d turned a blind eye to her husband’s second life with the woman he couldn’t bring himself to live without. She should have included sacrifice in the mix of ingredients that kept a marriage going. Because, in his opinion, if she hadn’t sacrificed her pride, her self-confidence, and her peace of mind, she would have divorced Brandon a long time ago. Instead, her husband had violated her trust with his infidelity and yet she’d stayed.
She’d stayed because she loved him.
And she’d taught Max a valuable lesson about trust, marriage and love. He wouldn’t make his mother’s mistakes. He wouldn’t trust. He wouldn’t marry. He wouldn’t love.
The first two he could control. It was the last that worried him.
Coming here tonight with Rachel brought home his own weakness. He’d grown preoccupied with
