silent on the cool tile. His agent, Bruce Carmichael, was standing on the other side, dressed in a ridiculous Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts. “You look hot,” Max said, stepping aside to let him in. “And I don’t mean that in a sexual way.”
“I love you, too, Max, but I hate where you live. You know, it’s exactly the same temperature here as it is in L.A. And yet this feels so much more like hell.”
“It’s the humidity,” Max said walking back into the airy living room. “Sit. Do you want something to drink?”
“Ice water. Lots of ice,” he said.
In the kitchen, Max filled a huge glass at the sink and then grabbed a beer for himself before returning to the living room. He sat down and took a long swallow of his beer.
“What’s up?” Bruce said. “Why did you make me fly all the way out here?”
“I’ve got some plans and I need you to make them happen,” he said.
“Plans? What kind of plans?”
“I want to play in Chicago next season.”
“What? No, I don’t think that’s going to happen. You’re a marquee player and the Rays-”
“I’m a marquee player with a bad shoulder,” Max reminded him. “I might not come back.”
“Still, if they trade you, they’re going to expect a draft pick and some major money. There isn’t a team out there who’ll bite unless you finish the season strong.”
“But if I tell them I’m going to retire if they don’t trade me, they might think differently.”
Bruce leaned forward, concern etched deeply into his expression. “You’re thinking about retiring?”
“It’s an option. I might not have a choice if the shoulder doesn’t come back. This can work,” Max said. “We have the advantage. We just have to play it right.”
“If you recover completely, you could play another five or six years. I thought you liked playing for the Rays.”
“I do. They’re a great team. But I have other reasons for wanting to play for Chicago. You do what it takes to get me there, all right?”
“You have to at least consider other offers,” Bruce said. “If the Rays give you the best offer, then you have to take it.”
“No, I don’t. I’d retire. I’m looking at the end of my career, Bruce. And for once, I want to make a decision that doesn’t involve money. I want to make a decision because my heart tells me it’s right.”
Bruce frowned. “Is this about a girl?”
“No!” Max replied. “Well, yeah, I guess it is. But what’s wrong with that? I’ve made enough money to keep both of us comfortable for the rest of our lives. I’ve invested well. Now, I want to do something that would make me happy.”
Bruce sighed. “I suppose I can put out some feelers and see what they’d be willing to do,” he said. “But you’re tying my hands. I’m supposed to get you the best deal and this won’t be it.”
“Do your magic. If I’m playing next year, I want to play in Chicago.” Max got to his feet. “Now that we have the rest of my life settled, do you want to do some fishing? I haven’t had the boat out in months. And it’s much cooler on the water.”
Bruce nodded. “Sure. What are we going to fish for?”
“We’ll figure that out when we get there,” Max said with a shrug.
His agent chuckled. “What is wrong with you? Where is the Max Morgan I know and love? I’m not used to seeing you so…relaxed.”
“I’m getting ready to live the rest of my life,” Max said. “I’ve got new priorities.” He pulled the door open and Bruce walked through. “I’m thinking I might even get married. Maybe start a family.”
“I don’t know,” Bruce said. “With this kind of attitude, how are you ever going to find someone to marry? You’re not going to have a job and you’ll be hanging around the house all day. Once you stop working out, you’re going to put on some weight. And if you stop with the women, you’re going to lose all your charm. Who would marry that?”
“I have someone in mind,” Max said. “I just need some time to convince her. But I can’t do that if I’m living in Florida.”
“What are you going to do with this house?”
“I don’t know. Maybe keep it as a vacation home. I need to have somewhere to escape to during those Chicago winters. And this place has a pool with a very high privacy fence.”
Bruce frowned. “What the hell does that have to do with anything?”
“Nothing,” Max said with a chuckle. At least nothing he wanted to discuss with his agent. His mind wandered back to the night he and Angela had spent skinny-dipping in the lake. Really, it didn’t matter where they lived.
He could be happy in her little one-bedroom flat in Wicker Park. As long as she crawled into bed with him at night and woke up in his arms in the morning, Max would be content. “One more thing. I need you to keep this quiet,” Max said. “No press speculation, no interviews about why I’m thinking of moving. When it’s done, we can talk, but not until then.”
“I don’t know. Everyone is already wondering what’s going to happen with you. It’ll be difficult to keep the press out of it.”
Max chuckled, clapping Bruce on the shoulder. His life was falling into place. He was only missing one thing-the girl. “I know you can handle it. That’s why I pay you the big bucks, right?”
9
“WHAT IS THIS?” Ceci stared at the manila envelope Angela was holding out to her across the table.
They’d had a leisurely lunch, sitting at an outdoor cafe, but Angela had been anxious to get back to business. “It’s an early wedding present,” she said with a smile.
Ceci laughed, then rolled her eyes. “Will and I are not getting married tomorrow. We haven’t even set a date yet. Or agreed on a concept. Will wants to elope to Vegas. And I’m beginning to think I look really fat in white, so I’m pushing for the beach in September. Kind of a hippie-retro wedding.”
“Open it,” Angela said.
Ceci pulled the legal papers out and frowned. “Are we being sued?”
“I’m turning the Web site over to you,” Angela said. “It’s all yours.”
“What?”
“You can have it all, Ceci. I can’t do this anymore. I want to believe I can fall in love. I did fall in love for a little while. But this Web site is just a reminder of how wrong I was.”
“That doesn’t mean you have to give up every thing we’ve worked for.” Ceci stared at the papers in disbelief.
“I need to move on,” Angela said. “I have a couple of job prospects. The neighborhood business association is looking for a director and I applied for the job.
I’ve also got a freelance offer to write a relationship column for a women’s magazine.”
“But you could do those things and still work here.
I can’t do this on my own, Angie. I don’t want to. I love coming to work with you. It’s fun. Who am I going to walk with in the morning? Who am I going to have coffee with? And all our lunches and late dinners.”
“Whom,” Angela said.
“Stop! I’m serious.”
“None of that will change,” Angela said. “I’m not going anywhere. If I work for the neighborhood association, their office is in our building, just up the stairs.”
“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you,” Ceci said.
“You’re thinking you might leave Chicago and move to Florida. That’s it, isn’t it? We can’t have coffee if you’re in Florida!”
Angela took a quick sip of her lemonade. “I’m not going to Florida. Max and I aren’t going to work this out. He’ll soon forget all about me. I’m here to stay and I’ll always be your best friend.”
“What about the book?”
