“He can have manners and still be a creep.”
“Will you just give him a chance? Don’t always be looking for faults. He might not be perfect for those other women, but he might be perfect for you.” Ceci sighed. “Now, come over here and help me eat some of this food. We can’t just leave it here. Do you think they have take-out containers?”
Angela got out of her seat and joined Ceci in front of the table. “I’m starving. I didn’t want to act like I was too impressed by all this, so I didn’t eat much.” She paused, then groaned. “Ceci, what am I doing here? I want to hate him. I should hate him. But I can’t. I feel like I’m drowning here.”
Ceci nodded. “Yeah. I can see how you’d have a hard time resisting him.” She popped an eclair in her mouth and considered her next words as she chewed. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe he is the exception to the rule. And maybe he’s been waiting for you his whole life.”
Angela rubbed her forehead. “I can’t think about this now. I need chocolate. Are those eclairs?” She reached out and grabbed one, then took a bite of the custard-filled pastry. “Oh, my God. This is so good. We have to take these home. Find something to wrap them in, Ceci. I can put them in my bag.”
For the next fifteen minutes, Angela and Ceci worked their way through the buffet, tasting every item at least twice. They kept an eye on the door, ready to scamper back to their seats if the boys came back. The cream puffs and eclairs and a few brownies were safely hidden in Angela’s bag, carefully wrapped in a linen napkin, and the sushi rolls were nearly gone when Max and Will walked back in.
Will looked like a kid who’d just spent the day in a candy store. He showed them the baseball he’d gotten autographed and was telling Ceci about everyone he’d met, while Max stepped behind Angela and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Are you ready to go?” he asked.
“Sure.” She turned around and faced him, then dropped a kiss on his lips. “Thank you for today. They both had a great time.”
“How about you?”
“Me, too,” she said.
“Good. Then I guess our first date has been a success. I’m batting.200 so far.” He rested his hands on her hips. “I thought we could get some dinner. What about you two? Are you hungry?” he called, looking over her shoulder.
“Sure,” Will said. “I could eat.”
“No,” Ceci said. “We have a previous commitment. We’re going to have to take a rain check on dinner.”
“Rain check?” Will frowned. “We don’t have anything going on.”
“Yes, we do,” Ceci insisted. “We have that thing at that place. You know. I told you about it last week.”
“You told me we didn’t have anything going on today and-” He stopped short, realizing what Ceci was trying to do. “Oh, right. That thing. Now I remember.” Will gave Max an apologetic shrug. “Yeah, we can’t miss that thing.”
“I thought you were going to tell me you had to take your mother-or was it your brother-shopping,” Max said. “There’s no reason for excuses. We’d love to have you come to dinner with us, right Angela?” He turned to look at her and for a second she couldn’t speak. This was another moment! She was looking at Max, watching him treat her friends with such warmth and kindness and she was having a moment.
She swallowed hard. “We’d love to have you come with us,” she said softly, trying to keep the emotion from tightening her throat. “I know you’re not doing anything, Ceci, so don’t bother making a fuss.”
“No,” Will said. “We’ll do dinner another time. Our treat. Besides, I should check in at work. Unlike the rest of you, I have a boss who doesn’t take kindly to afternoons off.”
They walked out to the parking lot, chatting about the game and laughing together like they’d known each other for years. Angela was amazed at how easily Max fit in. She’d always felt like a third wheel when she spent time with Will and Ceci, but now the wagon was perfectly balanced.
They dropped Will and Ceci at their flat and after saying their goodbyes, they got back in the car. “Dinner,” Max said. “What are you thinking?”
She drew a deep breath. After everything she’d eaten that afternoon, she wasn’t really hungry. And it was so hot and sticky outside, she really didn’t want to get dressed up. “We could send out for a pizza,” she suggested.
“I could eat pizza,” Max said with a grin. “Besides, it’s too hot to get dressed up and go out. Why don’t we swing by your place, grab your suit and we’ll take a swim?”
“The lake is really cold,” Angela said.
“I’ve got a pool on the roof of my building. They don’t allow kids, so no one ever uses it. Especially at night.”
Max continued to amaze her. He knew exactly what she wanted and he’d offered it to her. She couldn’t think of anything more refreshing than a swim on a summer evening like this. And pizza would be the perfect meal. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?” he asked.
“Know exactly the right thing to say. Did you take a class when you were younger? Or is there some secret handbook that they pass out to you guys?”
“I like pizza,” he said. “And swimming seemed like a good idea. Would you rather do something else? Just tell me what.”
“See, there you go again,” Angela said. “You make it so easy for me to like you.”
“Isn’t that the point?” Max asked. “If I did stuff you didn’t like, then you wouldn’t want to go out with me.”
“No, no,” Angela said, shaking her head. “It’s the way you do it. You make it sound like eating pizza with me is the only thing in the world you want to do.”
“It is,” Max said. “But if you don’t want pizza, we can order Thai or Chinese. There’s a really good-”
“No!” Angela cried. “It’s not about what we eat.”
“What is it about then?”
“If one of your buddies called you right now and told you there were some hot Swedish swimsuit models waiting for you at some bar and they were a sure thing, you’d go, right? You blow me off to hang out with them, right?”
“No,” Max said, frowning.
“You’re lying,” Angela accused. “You would so go.”
He twisted around in his seat to face her. “I would not. I’m spending time with you, because I choose to, Angie. I don’t want to be with anyone else. Besides, I don’t think there are many Swedish swimsuit models out there. They’re too pale to tan.” He turned the car on. “Now, let’s go get your swimsuit and then we’ll decide about dinner. What do you like on your pizza?”
This was exactly what she expected of him. With absolute ease, he could make her believe she was the most important woman in his life. That his entire world revolved around her. And that eating pizza next to a pool with her was better than dining at a gourmet restaurant with a movie star.
She knew the sexy devil was charming. But she’d never realized just how insidious that charm could be. With every moment they spent together, she was more convinced Max wasn’t the man with the profile on her site.
She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him until her lips were sore. She wanted to run her fingers through his hair and smooth her palms over his chest and discover the body beneath the clothes.
Was it so wrong to want him? Why not admit she’d been taken in, just like all those other girls? Why not enjoy it while it lasted? Angela knew the risks of surrender, but right now, looking into his gorgeous eyes, the rewards far outweighed any risk to her heart.
THE UNDERWATER LIGHTS cast wavering shadows on the pool deck. Max sank below the surface then swam underwater to the opposite end, popping up in front of Angela. Bracing his hands on either side of her legs, he boosted himself up and kissed her before dropping back down into the water. “Are you going to come in?” he asked. “It’s really nice.”
“I’m having more fun watching you,” Angela re plied with a wicked grin. She swirled her feet around in the water in front of him and he grabbed her foot, kissing the arch. “It would be much more fun if you didn’t have those shorts on.”
Max glanced up at her, his lips pressed against her ankle. “What would be the point if you won’t get in the water. I won’t let you drown. I promise.”
“I’m not worried about that,” she said.
