His End Game (MMG #1) (32 page)

“Do you believe him?”

“I want to. I really, really want to.”

“What about Dillon?”

I rolled my eyes. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll decide after I sleep unprotected with him, too.”

He laughed. “Okay sarcastic Sally, point taken. I just don’t want you hurt...or accidentally pregnant.”

“Well, after last night, even if Max and I don’t work out….I wouldn’t turn to Dillon.”

His eyebrows raised and the serious look on his face made me laugh. “Is it strange that we are talking like this?” I asked. “I
mean, I don’t really know exactly how daughters are supposed to talk to their fathers.”

He smiled and touched his chest. “I think we can’t go wrong if we do what feels right, in here. But, I think you owe Dillon the courtesy of telling him you are not interested. Don’t string him along, especially if you already know he is not for you.”

“I won’t. In fact, I already texted him this morning and told him I wanted to talk for a minute after our Thursday shift.”

Joss came over later that afternoon to talk about wedding plans, parties and time frames. I didn’t want her to know about last night. It was mine and I wasn’t ready to share.

We were in the middle of deciding what color the bridesmaids’ dresses should be when I got a text from Max. I opened it up and read while trying to play it casual in front of Joss.

-Gorgeous, can’t stop thinking about you, last night AND this morning. Will get back to you as soon as I can, promise. -Max

I quickly texted him back.
Joss is here going over wedding details. I can text more when she leaves. I have been thinking about last night, too. ~ E

“Who’s texting you?” Joss practically sang.

Hitting vibrate, I dropped it into my lap. “No one.”

“Liar, I bet it is Max.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Hmmm, maybe because he disappeared last night and called Kurt this morning and asked him to keep an eye on you while he is away.”

“Why would he feel the need to do that?” I wondered if I should feel flattered or angry.

“Maybe because he is worried about someone named Dillon?”

Frowning, I shook my head, “No way.”

“Yes way,” she mocked and nodded her head.

This surprised me, especially after last night. “What does he think is going to happen with Dillon?”

“It’s not you he’s worried about Ellie. It’s D.”

“Why, though? What aren’t you telling me?” I asked, hitting her on the shoulder.

“Well, apparently D talked to Kurt and told him that you texted him and wanted to hang out after work on Thursday. Dillon is excited because he plans on finally getting you where he’s wanted you for months. He told Kurt what he was planning and Kurt freaked. Anyway, Max called Kurt on his way to the trial and told Kurt to watch out for you. Kurt told Max about D’s intentions toward you and Max is majorly pissed now, as is Kurt. Kurt wants you to take the week off, Ellie.”

I held up my hand to stop her dissertation. “Hold it blabber butt. Let’s go in order here. First, I told Dillon I wanted to ‘talk’ after work on Thursday, not ‘hang out’. Second, what does Dillon want to do to me? Not that I would go there with him. And third, what trial?”

Innocently batting her lashes, she pretended that she hadn’t slipped and said something that she shouldn’t. “What?”

“You said that Max was on his way to ‘the trial.’ What did you mean by that?”

“Uhhh.” I could see the wheels turning.

“Cut the innocent crap. You’ve already let the cat out. Now explain before I have to threaten you with bodily harm.”

“Max needs to tell you about it, Ellie, not me,” she whined.

“I will let him tell me, but since he’s not here, I want to know what…
trial
….” I stressed.

Sighing dramatically she said, “Okay, I’ll tell you but you have to promise not to tell that I told you first.”

I motioned for her to get on with it. “Yes, yes, whatever.”

“Something happened to Max, Sarah and Malcolm five years ago. That something forced them to leave Charlotte. That something is just now being resolved and Max has to be in court to make sure that it is really over.”

Oh My God
.

“He said that he
had
to go, but I didn’t think he literally meant he
was forced
to go. I didn’t let him tell me what happened. I didn’t even ask about his dad or Sarah.”

Grinning like a loon, she clapped. “So he
was
over here last night!” I must have looked like a deer caught in the headlights because she doubled over laughing. “You are so fucking busted, girlfriend. Spill it! Especially after you made me tell you about the trial!”

“Every bit of this conversation stays between us, yes?”

“Totally,” she agreed, “I don’t want both Kurt and Max mad at me.”

I then shared every last detail about my night and morning with Max. When I was through she asked, “Was it everything you’d hoped for?”

“Yes, but I was so carried away that I still don’t know what happened to him.”

“Explain.”

Letting out a huge sigh of guilt, I explained. “I didn’t know he was leaving again or I wouldn’t have jumped him. I thought we would have time today to talk about everything.”

She pulled me into a hug. “I know you are worried about him not coming back, but Garrett assured us that the chances of Max having to run again are zilch.”

This confused me. “Wait, what does Garrett have to do… with Max?”

She flinched. “Shit.”

“Tell me.”

“You’re the one who was all sassy sexpot last night and here I am trying to do the right thing and not tell you things you should already know. Look, Ellie, can we talk about the wedding please? I’m about to get myself into some serious trouble and I promised someone who I love more than my next breath that I wouldn’t talk to you about it, because it’s
not mine to tell.”

I didn’t want to get her in trouble with Kurt so I let her off the hook. I also agreed to take the week off, but that was it. If Max wasn’t back by next Thursday, then that was too bad.

For the rest of the afternoon, we made plans for the engagement party at the bar and talked about dresses. I was worried about talking to Dillon. Apparently he read something into my text that was not there. As screwed up as he and Dana were, I genuinely liked him as a person and hoped that we could be friends, but first I had to tell him about Max.

After Joss left, I cooked dinner and allowed myself to open up to a feeling I hadn’t felt in a very long time…hope.

My phone rang while I was introducing my dad to season one of ‘Sons of Anarchy.’ “Keep watching, dad. I swear it only takes one show to become an addict. This call will take a while and then I’m going to bed.”

“If that’s Max, tell him I have a bone to pick with him when he gets back.”

“Will do,” I replied.
Not
.

Max and I talked for at least an hour. I wanted to find out about the trial but had promised Joss I wouldn’t say anything. He kept making references to Dillon but, because I wasn’t sure where I stood with him, I tried to avoid that topic. By the end of our conversation I was exhausted. There was so much we should be talking about, but weren’t. We ended the call with a promise to talk and text tomorrow.

A week later and Max still wasn’t back. He had, however, kept his promise about staying in touch. My heart soared every time my phone pinged with his text or rang with his call. He mentioned his businesses in a text and later that night told me about a chain of garages that he had opened all over the south. I was sad that I had missed out on his happiness but proud of his success. We talked about college, my aunt dying, me moving back to Charlotte and reconnecting with my dad. I could tell he was skeptical of my dad and didn’t blame him for being protective. When we were together, my dad was known as that schmuck who had abandoned me and now, he’s…my dad. The only thing that we didn’t talk about was his disappearance and it was starting to wear on me.

Why, why, why didn’t I let him talk to me
?

My frustration about what Max wasn’t telling me and stress about talking to Dillon put me in a bad mood. I managed to avoid thinking about the situation with Dillon for the better part of a week, but knew I would have to finally face him and his expectations when I walked into Dragonfly later that night. I also knew that I would have a protective Kurt lingering around all night.

Maybe I should just call in sick…
.

As if reading my mind, Joss sent me a text asking if I was sure that I didn’t want to take another week off.

Such a great friend…

From the second I walked through the door at Dragonfly, I could sense the tension between Dillon and Kurt.

Pasting a happy smile on my face, I asked, “Hey you two, what’s up?”

“Nothing,” they replied in stereo.

“Ellie B,” Dillon said, pulling me to him and hugging me tightly, “I’ve missed you darlin’.” He kissed my forehead. Then, scanning my face, asked, “How are you doing? I’m sorry you weren’t feeling well last week.”

So that’s what they told him
.

Looking at him I realized that he was still beautiful Dillon and I was still….me. Being with Max hadn’t changed the fact that I liked this guy and could see something special in him. What it did do, however, was to clarify in my mind why he wasn’t right for me. Not only was he
not
Max, he was entirely too wishy-washy. My life with him would be full of indecision and
that
, I could not live with.

Taking a deep breath, I said, “I’m okay but I need to talk to you before you leave tonight.”

He winked and grinned. “When Joss told me you were working tonight, I made plans for the two of us.”

“Dillon,” Kurt warned.

“Kurt,” Dillon growled. I could see the shift was starting off in a bad way.

I cut my eyes over at Kurt, who was apparently waiting on my reply. “Uh, Dillon, I never said we were doing anything
but
talking tonight.”

“Gotcha,” he winked again as if we were sharing a secret.

No, I don’t think you do, but you will when I’m through telling you about Max
.

Kurt looked very unhappy so I decided to go find Joss before the two Neanderthals started pounding on each other. “Where’s Joss?”

“In the office,” Kurt said, pulling me out of Dillon’s clutches and steering me in that direction. “Why don’t you go and see what the girls are doing back there? D and I will take care of the bar prep.”

Glaring back at him, I huffed, “You know, you’re about as subtle as a flying brick.” I then made my way back to the girls.

As I strolled into the office, Polly exclaimed, “You can’t discriminate here Joss! Lena and I should be able to download music too.”

“Okay, okay, keep your panties on,” Joss mumbled. Spotting me in the doorway she asked, “You have a problem with adding Country and whatever Lena likes to the mix tonight?”

Before I could answer, Polly explained. “Being that we’re sick of Dillon ruling the tune thingy with his vomit-rock music. It’s only fair that we level the playing field a bit. You have to admit that he’s rigged it and, I don’t know about you, but I am sick of leaving here with a headache every night.”