Catering to the Italian Playboy (19 page)

She set the icing on the counter. “I’m going to deliver this cake then I’m taking off the rest of the day. Alex has his program tonight and I want to get there in time to get a good seat.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Felicity grinned. “Do I get to take off early too? After all he is my god-child.”

“Of course.” Sophie laughed. “Alex wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“What about McSexy? Is he coming?”

“Yes. He had to go into the office today, but he’s going to meet us there.”

Felicity nodded in approval. “Good. You know, I really do like McSexy.”

Sophie laughed. “Me too. Now, I’m off. The program starts at six.”

“Six. Got it. I’ll be there. Save me a seat.”

Sophie picked up the cake and headed for the door. “Will do.”

* * *

Sophie stood in the parking lot of Ridgeway Elementary School with an umbrella and her purse in one hand and her camcorder in the other. She checked her watch.

Five thirty-three.

Her heart twisted. Max was late.

Relax, girl, it’s only three minutes. He’ll be here.

A clap of thunder rumbled in the distance followed by a sharp flash of lightning. The wind picked up, whipping Sophie’s hair against her face. She gripped her umbrella to keep it from being jerked out of her hand. Dark clouds rolled in making the dusk sky seem later than it really was.

Sophie lifted her wrist.

Five forty.

Where was Max? If he didn’t hurry up they wouldn’t get a decent seat, and she wanted to be close enough to record the program.

A long rumble of thunder vibrated through the air. Closer this time. Lightning lit up the sky like a laser show at a rock concert.

Sophie shivered. The storm was moving in fast.

The shrill of her cell phone startled her. Balancing the umbrella and her camcorder, she fumbled through her purse until she found the phone. She pulled it out of her handbag and checked the caller ID.

Max.

Her heart tanked. “Hello?”

“Sophie! I’m glad I caught you.” Max’s voice sounded strained. “I’m afraid I can’t make it to the program. Something has … come up and I have to deal with it right now. Tell Alex I’m sorry and to break a leg.”

“You’re not coming?” She couldn’t believe it. He was already bailing on them. Unbelievable.

“I’m sorry. There’s a problem with a business deal and I have to straighten it out right away. I wouldn’t do this if it weren’t important.”

“But you promised him.” Sophie said dully. “You promised your son you’d be here.”

“I know and I would if … Look, I’ll be out of town for a few days. I’ll call you when I get back. I’ll make it up to him, I promise.”

“No, Max. You’ll never be able to make this up to him. This moment in your son’s life will be gone forever and you will have missed it. I thought I made myself clear when I said if you made a promise to him, you’d better keep it. I won’t have him growing up like I did. I may have accepted the fact you would never make a real commitment to us, but I won’t stand by and allow you to put us last.”

“I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not like that. If there was any other way, I’d be there. You have to believe that.” Impatience roughened his tone. “I don’t like this any more than you do.”

“Maybe not, but you’re not the one who has to explain to a five-year-old that his father isn’t coming after all.” A sob clogged her throat. Alex had been so excited. How could Max do this to him? “I can’t believe I was stupid enough to think you’d be any different. Of course you are going to put business over us. You’re just like my father.”

She heard the sharp intake of his breath before his deadly quiet reply, “I’m not your father, Sophie.”

“No? Then why am I left to pick up the pieces once again?” Sophie struggled to keep her voice from cracking. ”Goodbye, Max. Enjoy your trip.” She clicked the off button before he could answer and looked at her watch one last time.

Time of death: five forty-eight. Their relationship was dead before it had a chance to even get started. Then again, had she really expected anything any different?

Large drops of rain pelted her umbrella as the tears began to fall down her cheeks. It was her childhood all over again. Only this time, her little boy was on the receiving end of the disappointment and rejection. The mama bear in her stirred to life. She would protect her son at all cost. Even if that meant severing all ties with Max, save the visitation he would surely be allotted by the courts.

Sophie wiped her tears with the sleeve of her shirt, pasted on a smile and hurried inside the auditorium to watch her son perform in his first play. He’d be the best little elf on the stage and she’d be his biggest cheerleader. Just like she’d always been. They didn’t need anyone else.

* * *

Dio!

Max flipped his cell phone closed. He hated breaking his promises even if it couldn’t be helped.

Missing his son’s school program had definitely not been on his agenda for the day, but neither had the kink he’d encountered in his land deal. If he didn’t act now, he’d lose it for sure and he couldn’t let that happen. It was too important.

Max frowned into his cup of coffee. He knew Sophie would be upset and he certainly didn’t blame her, but her “good-by, Max” seemed a bit too final. A chill settled over him. What if he’d just lost her for good?

“We’d better get to the airport.” Tom Moore stuck his head in the doorway of his office. “You don’t want to be late.”

Max nodded to his lawyer. “You’re right, Tom. I’m on my way.” Max shoved a manila folder into his briefcase and snapped it shut. He’d have to deal with Sophie later. Right now he had to stop a demolition before the only home he’d ever known was destroyed in the name of progress and several orphaned children lost the only security they might ever have.

Max stood, picked up his briefcase and headed for the door. He would find some way to make Sophie understand. No matter what he had to do. He couldn’t lose her.

He loved her too much to let that happen.

Max froze in mid-step.
Love
? Did he really love her?
Could
he love her?

As the realization slammed into him like a tsunami, he stood in the middle of his office filled with wonder.
Christo!
He
did
love her! He had no idea how or when it had happened. All he knew was that he did.

His heart quickened. He
really
did.

A slow grin spread across his face. Damn! He sure hadn’t seen that one coming, but for the first time in his life he felt complete.

** THIRTEEN **

Sophie ignored the incessant ringing on her cell phone just as she had for the past four days. She didn’t have to look to know it was Max. Again. He’d called at least three times a day since the night he’d bailed on them.

The shrill continued to fill her apartment with its pitiful sound, begging her to respond. Sophie refused to answer it. Quite frankly, she didn’t have anything to say to him and there was nothing he could say to make it all right. He’d let them down. Just as she’d known he would.

Alex had been disappointed, of course, when she’d told him Max had to go out of town on business and hadn’t made it to his program, but he’d bounced back rather quickly. Just like she had the first few times her father had bailed on her.

Sophie shoved down the emotional lump in her throat. One day Alex wouldn’t be able to bounce back. One day he’d begin to resent Max, just as she had resented Miles Westbrook.

The phone finally went silent and Sophie breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he’d get the point eventually.

She reached down to pick up the toy fire engine and action figures Alex had left on the living room floor. She tossed them into the toy basket in the corner of the room. Cleaning had never been her favorite pastime, but at least it kept her busy. She certainly didn’t want to spend her down time thinking about McSexy.

She spied another action figure peeking out from underneath the coffee table. When she reached down to pick it up, her hand brushed up against thick paper. Sophie pulled it out and her breath hitched. It was the envelope her father had given her. She’d forgotten all about it, and somehow it must have fallen off the table and gotten pushed underneath.

Sophie opened the envelope, pulled out the contents and began to read.

A strangled sob escaped her lips. “Oh ... my … God!”

* * *

Max pounded on Sophie’s apartment door. He’d tried calling her from the airport several times, but she’d ignored all of his calls. No big surprise there. She hadn’t spoken to him since he’d left for Italy and hadn’t answered any of the calls he’d made while abroad either. Not that he blamed her; he knew leaving the way he did had hurt her deeply and he’d hated every minute of it, but he was ready to clear the air, so she’d better answer the damn door or he’d break it down. She was going to hear him out whether she wanted to or not.

Max rubbed his five o’clock shadow ruefully. He probably should have gone to his penthouse to clean up first, but when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want that life to start immediately. Still, a shave might have been in order.

He balled his fist and banged on the door again. “Sophie, open the door. We need to talk.”

No answer.

Dio!
She wasn’t going to make this easy for him.

Max turned the knob. Surprisingly, it opened. He frowned. She should know better than to leave her door unlocked. Especially in New York.

He pushed open the door and stepped inside.

His heart stilled.

She sat on the ugly orange couch, clutching a handful of papers with tears streaming down her pale cheeks. She lifted her eyes to his. Raw, unbridled pain glittered in their mossy depths.

Max dropped his luggage and briefcase on the floor with a thud. He was beside her in two quick strides. He prayed something hadn’t happened to Alex. He’d never forgive himself if it had. “Sophie, baby. What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t know.” She blinked back the tears. “I honestly didn’t know.”

“What are you talking about? Did something happen to Alex?” Fear trailed an icy path down his spine.

“N–no” she hiccupped. “He’s fine. He’s at school.”

Relief washed over him. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Sophie’s bottom lip trembled. “I was horrible to him. Blamed my father for everything … but it wasn’t his fault. Not really … Oh … God!” The soft guttural sob sliced through Max like a Samurai sword. He knelt down in front of her and pulled her against him, wishing he could take away whatever demon she’d encountered. She clung to him, sobbing uncontrollably before whispering, “My mom was ... was bi-polar.”

“Bi-polar?”

Sophie nodded against his shirt. “It’s all in here.” She waved the yellow legal-sized envelope in the air. “The medical reports, the psychiatric evaluations, the journal my father kept to try to chart the triggers. All of it. They never told me. I didn’t know. Why didn’t they tell me?”

“Baby, I’m so sorry.” Max stroked her hair. “I’m sure they just wanted to protect you.”

“I know,” she mumbled. “This is why my father missed so many of my activities. If mom was having one of her manic days, he didn’t want to set her off so he stayed away. She’d even gotten to where she wouldn’t take her meds. That’s why she killed herself. She wasn’t taking her medicine.”

“There wasn’t anything you could have done even if you had known. I’m sure your father did everything he could to help her.”

Sophie pulled away from him and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hands. “I realize that now. And all I did was accuse him of being selfish and cruel, but he wasn’t. Some of his business trips were to medical facilities across the country to try to find alternative treatments for her. He really did try everything he could to help her, but in the last few years she’d just gotten worse. I don’t see how he dealt with that day after day. The manic episodes. The mania highs. It must have been awful for him. I still don’t like the fact he cheated on her, but at least now I understand why.” She sniffled. “And I was horrid to him. Even when he tried to explain.”

“It’s not too late, Sophie. You can still have a relationship with your father and Alex can still have a grandfather. Call him.”

“What if I hurt him too bad? What if we can’t fix this?”

“Everyone deserves a second chance, Sophie. Your father. You.” Max drew a ragged breath. “Even me.”

Sophie blinked. “You?”

Max brought her fingers to his lips. “Please forgive me, Sophie. I hated letting you down more than anything in this world. If there had been any other way, I wouldn’t have. The business deal I had to take care wasn’t just business. It was personal.”

“What do you mean?”

“I found out several months ago the orphanage I grew up in was going to be demolished so they could use the land for high-rise apartment buildings. You saw all the construction projects going on in the little town.” After she nodded he continued. “I can’t really explain it, but I knew I couldn’t let that happen. I wasn’t happy growing up in an orphanage, but it was the only home I’d ever known. If it was destroyed then a part of me would have been destroyed too. Not to mention the children still living there would have the only secure thing in their life yanked out from under them. I couldn’t let that happen. I tried to buy them out several times and each time someone would bid higher. This last time was supposed to be a sure-deal, but something went wrong. If I hadn’t acted when I did, I would have lost the property and the only home I’d ever really known for good.”

“Did you manage to secure it?” Sophie’s eyes widened. Max was relieved to see a flash of empathy in them. Maybe there was a chance she’d forgive him after all.

“Yes. Finally. After four days of negotiations and a much larger chunk of my savings than I’d anticipated.” He smiled wryly. “But at least the orphanage is safe and the apartments will be built somewhere else.”

“Good.” Sophie nodded, then asked very quietly, “Do you think my father will ever forgive me?”