out early. It only seems as if I haven’t been there.”
“How long do you intend to keep this up?”
“As long as I have to.”
Hailey ran out of questions about the same time as Jane, their usual waitress, set a glass in front of Rachel then smiled expectantly at Max.
“I’ll have what she’s having.” He indicated Rachel’s drink.
“A black and tan it is,” Jane said.
Hailey pushed a menu at him. “I already know what I’m having.”
While Max glanced at the menu, Rachel exchanged a nonverbal warning with Hailey, who merely grinned.
Decision made, Max closed the menu and leaned his forearms on the table. Hailey received the brunt of his attention as he said, “Your sister tells me you’re a CPA.”
“For almost three years now.”
“Is that how long you’ve been in Houston?”
“We came here a year before that. From Biloxi.” Hailey leaned back and framed her glass in a circle made by thumbs and forefingers. “How about you, are you from Houston?”
“Born and raised. Except for the years I spent away at school.”
“And what business are you in?”
“My family owns Case Consolidated Holdings. My brothers and I run it.”
“I’m familiar with the company.” Hailey nodded in approval and nudged her knee against Rachel’s. “And what do you do there?”
“I’m the chief operating officer.”
“Are you two done giving each other the third degree?” Rachel interrupted.
“Not quite,” Max said, his gaze never leaving Hailey. “Your sister has been agitated for the last couple days. Is she in some sort of trouble?”
“Max! That’s none of your concern.”
Hailey’s gaze clung to Max as if he was a knight on a white horse come to save the day. Rachel clamped her fingers around her sister’s arm to keep her from spilling about Brody and his demands for money.
“I think your sister wants to tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s not a big deal. I’ve simply had to postpone moving my offices into a better location.” She kept her voice and expression as bland as white rice.
“Why is that?”
“I had a little financial setback. Nothing disastrous. It’s something that comes with being an entrepreneur. You should know that. Aren’t you having a little difficulty of your own since Nathan showed up? I’ve been hearing stories of arguments that almost came to blows.”
Max blew out a disparaging breath. “It sounds worse than it was.”
“Who’s Nathan?” Hailey asked.
“My half brother. He came to work for the company a year ago and he’s been a pain in my ass ever since.” Max sipped at his drink, appearing as if he’d said everything he intended to on the subject.
Hailey rested her elbows on the table and her chin on her clasped hands. “Why is that?”
While Max explained about an acquisition they’d decided not to make, Rachel watched him unnoticed. Max’s animation and the multilayered nuances of his tone and facial expressions were vastly different from his older brother’s stoicism. His passion had captivated her from the start, stirring her enthusiasm for whatever he was interested in. Like some smitten female, she could sit in silence and let him go on and on just to enjoy the way his eyes glowed with excitement and the way he punctuated his words with hand gestures.
“But enough about me,” Max declared abruptly. “Let’s talk about your sister. Is she dating anyone?”
Rachel came out of the clouds with a thump. “That’s none of your concern.”
Max’s eyes swung in her direction. “It is my concern.” His tone had gone deadly serious. “I’d like a clear field this time.”
His intensity roused goose bumps on Rachel’s arms. She sat on her hands to avoid rubbing the telltale reaction away and gritted her teeth against the shiver tickling her spine.
“What do you mean a clear field this time?” Hailey asked, leaning forward. “How long have you two known each other?”
“We met five years ago,” Max admitted.
“In Biloxi?”
“Gulf Shores.”
Rachel squirmed as Hailey went completely still. She should have told her sister something about meeting Max in Gulf Shores. At the time, she didn’t want Hailey to know how miserable she’d been with Brody.
Her marriage had been anything but a love match. Brody had offered her security and a way to get her sister through college, not his undying devotion. In exchange, she’d agreed to work as his executive assistant and turn her paycheck over to him. Since he took care of her needs, she had little use for the money she earned working for him.
It wasn’t until she signed her first tax return that she got a glimpse of how much money she was making working for Brody’s family business. She was earning almost three times what an executive assistant should. Way more than he was paying out for Hailey’s room and board. And when she asked him where the money was going, she discovered the sort of situation she’d gotten herself into.
She wasn’t in a marriage. She was nothing more than a pawn in Brody’s desperate attempt to keep his father from finding out how his gambling addiction had taken over his life. When Rachel found out the truth, she was told in no uncertain terms that she’d better keep her mouth shut or her happy little world would vanish. She and her sister would be back out on the street. Rachel knew that keeping her husband’s secret was a small price to pay to keep Hailey in college.
But then, things started to get worse.
Brody grew more erratic. He would disappear for days at a time and when he was home, he seemed hunted. He missed family events and Rachel covered for him, but his parents were relentless in their questions. He came home from one weekend with bruises and admitted that he owed a lot of money to a casino. Money grew tight. They were behind on their mortgage. Her credit cards were declined.
The summer before Hailey’s senior year, Rachel had enough. She took off, determined to divorce Brody and figure out another way to pay for Hailey’s last year of college. Without cash or a plan, she wasn’t likely to get very far. Heading to Gulf Shores had made sense. She’d grown up there. It was home. For two days, she’d hung out and contemplated what a mess she’d made of her life.
Then, she’d met Max. Those four days with him gave her a taste of how love was meant to be. Supportive, deeply connected, full of endless possibilities. She’d been a fool to marry Brody. She’d taken the easy way out of her problems and instead, made things worse.
