Chapter Five

There was something surreal about walking into her kitchen and finding Max Dewitt standing at her sink with his shirtsleeves rolled up doing dishes. Parvati paused on the threshold, watching him. He’d taken his jacket off and left it neatly folded on the pristine counter behind him as he scrubbed clean the mugs and teapot they’d used.

She’d slipped away to shut off the computer in the back office—reminded again that she had no idea what she was going to do about the Blue Mountain shipment because there was simply no money left—and when she returned he was making himself useful, erasing any work she might have had to do. Taking care of her.

The sight tugged at something inside her and she had to remind herself that this was just Max. He was protective. He took care of people. It was in his DNA. But he didn’t get attached. Not to things and certainly not to people.

She’d seen him go through girlfriends at a rate that would have made some of his celebrity clients blink. She knew he wasn’t Mister Forever. But that didn’t stop a weak part inside her from wishing that he could have been.

He looked up as he set the dishes on the drying rack, finding her watching him. His eyes crinkled as he gave her a little half-smile of welcome and Parv’s ovaries lurched. He’d always been her fantasy—

And she’d had to go and tell him that.

Brilliant.

She couldn’t even blame the vodka because she hadn’t had that much. Just a tiny splash. Her only excuse was that the pressure of the day had built up on her and she’d needed the release valve of spilling all her deepest darkest secrets to Max Dewitt.

Including the fact that she’d been secretly in love with him for over a decade.

At least he hadn’t run screaming into the night. Though neither had he jumped her bones—so there was one fantasy crushed.

She’d known he wouldn’t gasp, “But I’ve always loved you too!” and make mad passionate love to her right there on the floor of Common Grounds, but it had been a nice little daydream while it lasted.

No, there was no passionate obsession in his eyes. Only friendship. Concern. And if she was honest with herself, she needed that more than she needed a mad, passionate embrace from a man who’d never been able to take a relationship past the three week mark.

He collected his coat. “Shall we?”

She nodded and he held the door for her while she flipped off the lights, leaving the kitchen in that lovely, peaceful quiet of the middle of the night that she’d always loved.

Sadly, lovely peaceful quiet didn’t pay the bills.

He shrugged into his coat on the sidewalk while she locked up. “I didn’t see your car.”

“I walked.”

He nodded and moved to the passenger door of his Tesla, opening it for her. She wondered if the move was bodyguard training or gentlemanly courtesy as she slid into the plush grey leather interior. He closed the door and she watched him round the hood—he would be so many women’s fantasy. Right up until they realized that he wouldn’t stay. Parv was lucky that she already knew that little fact. Lucky that they were just friends—or at least that’s what she told herself as he climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car.

“When did you buy this one?” she asked, petting the leather, making conversation so she wouldn’t have to think about how amazing he smelled. “Last I saw you were driving…a Corvette?” He’d gone through a series of muscle cars in the last few years—clearly a man who enjoyed power—and she’d always had trouble keeping up.

“Eco-friendly is in,” he commented, taking the turn up the hill. “My clients like this. The image it projects. And Candy was looking to sell, so I took it off her hands.”

“Your tech wizard?” A little flare of jealousy kicked up at the name. She’d met all of Max’s employees over the years at Christmas parties and Labor Day picnics and she’d never seen any sort of sparks flying between Max and Candy, but she knew firsthand that the woman was brilliant. And beautiful.

“Yeah.”

She listened carefully, but couldn’t hear any trace of unrequited love in the one syllable answer. “It’s nice,” she commented in a gross understatement. She didn’t know much about cars, but she knew this one screamed wealth and luxury.

“Thanks,” Max said, already pulling into her driveway since the two mile walk took less than five minutes to drive. He parked his shiny new car behind her dilapidated Jetta and cut the engine.

“Do you want to come in?” She unfastened her seat belt. “The owners are out of town so we won’t disturb anyone.”

The house was a typical Eden estate—a gorgeous, sprawling Mediterranean style mansion with exquisite views. Parvati had an apartment over the three car garage—a converted in-law suite with private access—and could only afford the rent because the Marquez family gave her a break on the rent in exchange for her keeping an eye on the main house and watering their plants whenever they were on their yacht in the Mediterranean, which tended to be more than half the year.

“I should get home,” Max said in reply to her invitation, but neither of them moved to get out of the car.

There was something different about tonight—all the usual barriers of cheerful, distant friendliness were down. She could be honest with him in this moment, but she knew as soon as she went inside it would be over. They would revert back to who they’d been to one another before—Sidney’s brother and Sidney’s friend. And she wasn’t ready for that yet. She liked the unexpected closeness too much.

“You knew, didn’t you?” she asked softly. “That we’re going under.”

“I had a hunch.”

She twisted to face him. “Please don’t tell anyone.”

She just needed to keep this secret a little while longer. Until she could feel like she knew what she was doing. Until she had a plan and could brace herself for the fallout.

“Hey.” He put his hand over hers where she’d placed it on the center console when she turned. “You’re gonna be okay. It’s just business.”

“No,” she whispered, feeling those awful tears building again. “It isn’t.”

It was easy for him to say that, but it wasn’t just business. It was every corner of her life. It was Katie and her family. Their expectations. All of it.

Maybe she lacked perspective. Maybe it was a case of first-world problems and she needed to be grateful for the amazing family she had. The roof over her head—even if she was going to have to go live with her parents when she couldn’t pay her rent anymore. Maybe none of her problems mattered in the long run, but they were her problems and right now, in the middle of the night, closed in the front seat of Max’s car with him and her honesty, they didn’t feel like nothing.

She looked up at the house again—someone else’s beautiful house. It had been supposed to be a temporary measure. She’d thought, when she moved in after grad school, that it would be a short-term situation. She’d intentionally picked something that wasn’t designed to be permanent because she’d thought she would meet her Mister Right any day and she wouldn’t want a long-term lease keeping her from starting a life with him.

Now…

“I’m so tired of dating.” Max didn’t even blink at the sudden change of topic. “I think that’s part of why I loved the idea of going on Marrying Mister Perfect so much. Sidney didn’t even want to audition. I talked her into it—and then watched her get picked to fall in love on national television while I stayed home.”

It would have been crazy—she knew that—but it could also have been it for her. The love story that made her years of singleness and struggle worth it. And the exposure of the show could only have been good for the shop. It had certainly catapulted Sidney’s career into the stratosphere.

She’d had to fight her jealousy the entire time Sidney was on the show. Had to fight to be happy for her friend and not let anyone see how badly she’d wanted it for herself.

Devi would doubtless have told her that she didn’t get it because they’d already picked out a token ethnic girl in Elena Suarez—if Devi had known about the audition. Parv had never admitted to her family that she’d tried out.

Sidney hadn’t liked the idea of being on camera. Parv and Tori had to talk her into doing it, convincing her it would be good for the wedding planning business she and Tori ran together.

Then, of course, she’d gone on the show and fallen in love not with the man she was supposed to love, but with the host—whom Parv had always shamelessly crushed on when they watched MMP on their Girls’ Nights.

So Sidney got her happily ever after and Parv was happy for her. Really really really happy. So happy her friend was happy…even as she tried to squash the little voice inside her screaming that she was supposed to get a happily ever after too.

She’d wanted it, when Sidney wasn’t sure. She’d dated enough men to populate the casts of a dozen dating shows. She’d tried to find love, damn it. She wasn’t supposed to be the charity case that everyone else was trying to fix up with the single guys who were left over.

Maybe she was too picky—her sisters certainly thought so. Maybe she’d been comparing everyone to Max, hoping to feel that awed, swept away feeling she’d felt when he’d slow danced with her at Sidney’s sweet sixteen. A pity dance.

The only relationship she would ever have with Max Dewitt would be a pity one and she knew that, knew she needed to put aside the fantasy of him and look at real men, but she wanted that magic. She wanted it so badly.

“You would have hated being on Marrying Mister Perfect,” he said, interrupting her longing.

She frowned at him. “No, I wouldn’t.”

“I watched a few seasons when Sidney was picked to go on it. They pick party girls.”

“I can be a party girl.”

His eyebrows lifted skeptically. “Day drinking and cat fights? That’s your new thing?”

“Not everyone they pick is a party girl. Sidney isn’t like that.”

“Sidney’s an exception.”

Because she was so gorgeous the producers hadn’t cared. The California blond with legs for days and a cute little wedding planning business.

“You’re an introvert,” Max reminded her. “Tell me you aren’t happiest when you’re hiding in the kitchen by yourself.”

“I’m not hiding. I just like to bake. And plenty of introverts go on the show. Look at Caitlyn. She won.”

“Yeah, but they can only have so many sane girls on a show like that or it falls apart. They need big drama. Big personalities. Crazies.”

“I am dramatic!”

“Tonight you are. But how many years have you repressed this? And tomorrow you’ll be back to keeping it together.”

He thought she was repressed. Brilliant. This day just kept getting better.

She reached for the door handle. “Good night, Max.”

“Parv.” He stopped her with a hand on her arm, the touch so light she barely felt it. “You’re too good for that show.”

“Yeah.” She opened the door. “That must be why they rejected me.”