Beyond the Breaking Point (25 page)

Max ought to be grateful. He’d tried warning him she was no good. True, he’d never expected her to make a play for him, under Max’s nose no less, but that just showed what a slut she was. Better Max see her for the whore she really was before he did something stupid like marrying her.

But to drag Cassidy into it? That was going too far. His wife didn’t drink. Hell, she barely enjoyed sex. She was reserved almost to the point of being cold, if you didn’t know how to loosen her up. No way in hell she welcomed Max with open arms. That’s why he got her drunk. Max had heard him complain enough about their sex life to know exactly what to do.

He pulled up with a screech in front of Max’s. He hopped out, took his coat jacket off and tossed it into the car along with his tie. Then he undid the cufflinks and rolled up his sleeves to just below his elbow. All the while he studied Max’s house.

He didn’t appear to be home, but Max was strange. He didn’t leave a lot of lights on, even when he was home. His car was probably in the garage and Max in the basement den where the lights didn’t show from the front.

Phillip glanced at the houses up and down the block. It was early yet, only about nine-thirty. There were still plenty of lights on in many of the houses. While he’d like to grab Max by his collar, drag him outside and beat the hell out of him, they’d attract too much attention. Some nosy neighbor would probably call the cops and they’d get arrested for disturbing the peace. No, he needed to get inside the house where they’d have privacy for the ass-whooping he was about to dish.

He stepped out, slammed the car door shut and stalked up to the front door. Then he leaned on the bell. After a few minutes with no response, he did it again. Eventually, he accepted that Max wasn’t home. Phillip retreated from the porch down to the street, got in his car and settled down to wait.

Cassidy drove away from the restaurant, unable to believe the turn tonight had taken. She’d been braced for fury, verbal abuse and possibly violence, though she’d hoped to avoid the latter. Instead she’d received…absolution?

What the hell kind of game was Phillip playing? What man, after being told the baby he had every right to assume was his might not be, didn’t get angry? Didn’t blame the wife? As for that last one, he’d have had one hell of a nerve getting angry with her after what he did. But men weren’t known for being logical, not when it comes to things like this, and Phillip had never fully accepted blame for his actions. So why had he been so willing to absolve her of guilt?

It didn’t make any sense. Stressed out and wrung out from the emotional rollercoaster ride she’d been on for the last twenty-four hours, Cassidy was grateful not to have to fight Phillip off at the door but at the same time worried. What was he up to? And what had he meant by he’d deal with Max?

Her stomach churned and she cursed under her breath. She couldn’t afford to get agitated. Any hint of emotional upset revealed itself in the contents of her stomach being forcibly ejected. Cassidy breathed deeply and forced herself to calm.

It didn’t matter what Phillip planned. Max was a grown man, well able to defend himself.  Phillip wasn’t stupid. He wouldn’t risk his career, his freedom, on some misdirected revenge, and if he did? Well, imprisonment was one of the qualifications for divorce, she thought coldly.

But still she wondered. Why hadn’t he responded as expected?

Worried and trying very hard not to be, she parked in the garage, grabbed her things and headed up in the elevator to her apartment. She exited the lift, turned left to reach her apartment and pulled up short at the sight of Max resting casually against the door, waiting for her.

Chapter Fourteen

“Max, what are you doing here?”

He glanced behind her before returning her gaze. “Waiting for you. I was concerned. Where’s Phillip?”

Continuing forward slowly, she said, “You expected him to follow me and you came here anyway?”

He moved from in front of the door as she neared so she could slide her key in the lock. “I told you I was concerned. Phillip doesn’t scare me.”

“Men,” she muttered and jabbed her key in the door.

He slid his hand under her hair and caught her by the nape. When she glanced up at him, he said, “I’m not running or hiding my interest in you from Phillip. Did you think I would?”

She twisted the key in the last lock and used her hip to push open the door. “No one is acting the way I expected tonight. Why should you be any different?”

Max followed her inside and locked the door behind them. When he finished, she was already in the kitchen, filling the kettle to heat water. He came and leaned against the counter, studying her closely. “You seem…agitated.”

“You shouldn’t be here,” she said as she placed the kettle on the burner.

“But I am. What’s wrong?”

She glanced at him, her gaze full of worry. “It’s Phillip. Something’s not right. None of his reactions were what I expected. He smiled when I told him I filed for divorce—
smiled
. He was ecstatic to discover I was pregnant and when I told him about you…” She frowned.

He straightened. “What happened?”

Cassidy shook her head. “You won’t believe this, but he forgave me.”

“He…what?” That didn’t sound like the man he knew.

“He said that he didn’t blame me for what happened. Then he said ‘I’ll handle Max.’ Just like that. ‘I’ll handle Max,’ but when I asked him what he meant, he changed the subject. Max, his reactions were all wrong. Be careful, will you?”

He tugged her closer. “Don’t worry about me.”

Max knew exactly what Phillip meant by his statement. Phillip must have decided Max was to blame for what happened between him and Cassidy. It was just like Phillip to absolve himself of all guilt. However, like Phillip, Max didn’t see the need in worrying Cassidy by explaining.

She surprised him by turning into him. He responded by wrapping his arms around her. “I’ll be so glad when all this is over. He’s still saying he won’t sign the papers. Even knowing the baby might not be his didn’t change his mind.”

The kettle rumbled, the precursor to the whistle and Max removed the kettle from the heat. “What are you drinking? You go sit down. I’ll fix it for you.”

“I changed my mind. I’m too tired for coffee and right now, tea feels like too much work. I just want to lie down.”

“I’ll leave so you can rest,” he told her, kissing the top of her head.

“No, don’t leave yet. Sit with me for a while. I’m tired, but my mind’s too busy to allow me to sleep. Distract me. Tell me what you were like as a child.”

Max thought of all the ways he could distract Cassidy and ease her body into sleep, but he obediently led her to the couch. “Here, let me hold you,” he said, lying on the couch and extending a hand to her. Braced for her rejection, Max was pleased when she stretched out beside him.

Once they were settled with him lying on his back and her in his arms, he began talking. He spoke of him and his siblings, the trouble they used to get into and how they stood up for each other against outsiders. He talked about working in the restaurants as a child and later as a teenager, and how his parents had instilled a good work ethic in him and his siblings.

As the minutes passed, Cassidy’s body grew heavy on his and her breath deepened into what he recognized as sleep. Max continued stroking her hair soothingly, speaking nonsense, knowing it was the sound of his voice relaxing her. Before long, his eyelids grew heavy. He closed them, intending to rest his eyes for a few minutes. Then he’d wake Cassidy so she could lock the door behind him and go to bed.

It was fortunate Cassidy had chosen a restaurant he owned for her discussion with Phillip. He’d financed the place for his friends, Sam and his wife, Gina, who were great cooks, but had little-to-no capital. Once he knew what time she’d be arriving, it had been a simple matter to show up and request that Phillip and Cassidy receive a little more attention than the norm. He’d stayed in the kitchen, getting updates from the staff, ready to intervene if necessary. When they’d asked for the check, he’d left ahead of them to beat Cassidy home.

Cassidy was one gutsy lady. A gutsy lady who’d placed herself in a potentially dangerous situation. He wondered how she’d explained their infidelity. What words had she used? Whatever she’d said, it had Phillip’s wrath turning away from her and centering dead on Max as a target.

Things between him and Phillip were going to get nasty. It might be time for him to start checking into a new position at another firm. He’d had several offers over the years, but had rejected them because he liked the firm he was with and was up for partner. Now might be the time to see if any of those firms were still interested. He couldn’t see him and Phillip being able to work cordially together, not when Phillip realized it was Cassidy Max wanted.

Some folks might consider him a home wrecker. Let them. He knew, better than Cassidy even, what an ass Phillip could be. He hadn’t talked her into divorcing Phillip. She’d done that all on her own, but he did plan to make Phillip’s loss his gain. Some would say it was heartless of him, but he knew a good woman when he saw one and if Phillip wasn’t man enough to keep Cassidy, he didn’t deserve her.

He’d have to take her home and introduce her to his family so they’d know he was serious about her. His mother would be difficult. She had a strict code of right and wrong and this whole situation was sure to put her back up. She’d be angry and because she was, his father would be reserved. His sisters would follow mother’s lead, if for no other reason than to stay in her good graces, but his brothers would take one look at Cassidy and understand.

However, Max didn’t care what his family thought.

He shifted into a more comfortable position and rearranged Cassidy’s sprawl on top of him so he held her more securely. Just a few more minutes and he’d leave. A few more…