“But what about Sophie?”
“Leave her alone.” Max glared at him. “I will be looking out for her. Stay away from her and my sister. And after you send Frank the messages, I expect you to leave town. For good.”
“Ok.” Nick took out his phone and opened it. He typed. “Max’s fiancée’s name is Sophie. But it’s over. Max is so devastated that he left town. And now Sophie is mine.” He handed the phone to Max and Max handed it back to him silently and nodded. Nick sent the message and they sat on the park bench and waited until he got a response, it came about twenty minutes later. “Great news. Enjoy Sophie, she’s a vixen for sure. If I weren’t married I’d screw her myself. I’ll be in contact if I need anything else.” Nick showed him the message and Max threw the phone to the ground before standing up.
“I have someone I need to go and see now but I expect to hear you’ve left town.”
“Take care of her, Max.” Nick looked at her with pleading eyes and Max could tell that Nick had had genuine feelings for Sophie.
“I always will. She’s my life.” Max leaned into Nick and right hooked him in the stomach hard. “That’s for my sister, you ass**le.” He looked around him and walked away quickly. He needed to go and meet Alexis and take care of the paperwork for the adoption and then he needed to sit pretty while everything went through and then he could go back home and hope that Sophie would be willing to listen and take him back.
Chapter 17
Ella
“Hey Sophie, I just saw your missed calls. Sorry, I was out. Is Max there?” Ella tried to keep her voice upbeat not wanting her friend to know that there was anything wrong. It seemed like years had passed since they had been the two young girls who summered in Winterside and made prank calls.
“Hey Ella, I’ve been better.” Sophie sighed. “I need to tell you something.”
“Is Max there, Sophie? I really need to talk to him.” Ella’s voice was insistent.
“He’s not here, Ella.” Sophie sighed. “I just met up with Nick, or you may know him as Dr. Spencer.”
“He found you?” Ella gasped.
“It’s a long story but I think Senator Phillips is after Max.”
Ella sighed. “I know.”
“You know?” Sophie exclaimed loudly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know.” Ella sighed. “But I have a plan.”
“What? Let me help.”
“You can’t help, Sophie. I’m going to The X Club tonight. I’m going to try and talk to Senator Phillips.”
“Oh Ella, you can’t go there.” Sophie paused. She didn’t want to tell her about her own experience with Frank Phillips.
“It’s okay, Sophie. I won’t be alone.” Ella’s voice was determined. “I’m going with Joseph. And before you say anything, he’s a good guy. Well, maybe not a good guy in love but he is loyal to Max. He’s going to help me.”
“I don’t like this, Ella.” Sophie’s voice was sad. “These people are powerful and dangerous.”
“I’ll be okay.” Ella tried to keep her voice calm. “I promise. Just stay home and take care of Jacob. Please.”
“Stay safe, Ella.” Sophie hung up and thought for a moment. There was no way that she was going to allow Ella to go to ‘The X Club’ with Joseph and just stay home. Not to protect her and not to protect Max. Someone needed to step up to protect Ella. She looked around and saw the wedding magazines on the table and sighed. Why couldn’t she have just read the magazines and planned a wedding? Instead she had to insist on going to the sex club and all sorts of chaos was in her life now. She picked up Maxwell’s letter and held it to her heart. “Oh my darling Max, I hope you come back to me.” She dropped the letter as she remembered something. Max had said he was going to meet Alexis today to get the paperwork. She didn’t think that he would skip out of town and not take care of that. So that meant he was still in town, which if she was smart she would have realized earlier. The letter he sent had come by courier and not by a delivery service. Sophie’s heart started beating fast, Max was still in town. Somewhere in New York, Max was doing something, possibly thinking about her. She looked out at the sky and blew a kiss to the clouds. “That’s for you, my love.”
**
“I don’t care about him, I don’t care about him,” Ella whispered to herself in the back of the cab as she checked her makeup on the way to The X Club. She wasn’t sure what to expect when she got there. And she wasn’t sure how she would feel seeing Joseph again. Her heart still ached to be with him. She loved that he got her and that he still cared about Max enough to stick his head out for him. She wondered what would have happened between them if he hadn’t been married. Maybe he would have married her. Maybe he would have cheated on her as well. She couldn’t allow herself to think those thoughts. The thoughts of what could have been. “I’ll get out here,” she shouted at the driver to stop a couple of blocks away from the club. She had arranged to meet Joseph outside of the club so that they could arrive together. “Thanks.” She jumped out of the cab and walked to the corner and waited for Joseph.
“Hey gorgeous.” He walked up to her looking debonair.
“Hi.” Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at him, all her emotions coming back to the surface.
“You look beautiful as always.” He couldn’t keep his eyes off her. She was wearing a light grey see-through top, her na**d br**sts were prominent beneath the top and her ni**les were hard from the cold air. He looked down at the maxi-skirt that barely covered her ass and grinned. “I take it you’re ready for the club?”
“Yes.” She grinned. “Aren’t you?” He was wearing a white shirt and a pair of cotton pants.
“If you’re asking if I have any underwear on, then no, I don’t.” He reached over and caressed her face. “I’ve missed you.”
She stared at him and looked into his blue eyes that were so clear and honest. “I don’t want to go down this road again, Joseph.”
“I’m sorry.” He frowned. “I just wanted you to know that my feelings were genuine.”
“For me or for your wife?” she said bitterly and turned away. “Let’s just go.”