Chapter 19

Chapter 19
Angie

Her heart pounded like a drum, and Angie would be lying if she’d said she wasn’t nervous.
What the hell am I doing? Was pretty much playing on repeat in her brain.
And yet . . .
Her feet were still moving.
Max had taken her to an elevator and through several twists and turns before she was finally in familiar territory. Or semi-familiar, since she’d only been underneath the arena once.
A visit aborted by her sister’s engagement—and now the visit was prompted by Mandy’s pregnancy.
Plus Max.
And Kelsey. Angie couldn’t discount her friend either. Or herself for that matter.
Life was funny sometimes. She’d done the work, put her time in at therapy, pushed herself slowly and inexorably out of her comfort zone, and yet all of that progress was dwarfed by her growth over the last few weeks.
Max stopped them a couple of feet from the door to the therapy suite. “You sure?”
Angie swallowed hard.
She’d delayed long enough.
It was time.
“Should I knock?” she asked.
“No need.”
A nod, a deep breath, and she turned the doorknob.
The room was empty except for a group chatting in one corner. Angie knew they were players not only because they were head and shoulders taller than her, but also because their shoulders were wide and their thighs like tree trunks.
Her gaze trailed around the room, searching for any sign of Mandy and finding none; her stomach twisted.
Damn.
Max nudged her forward. “Her office,” he said, taking her hand and tugging her across the space. He deposited her in front of another closed door. “You can do this,” he murmured.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked.
He frowned. “Am I pushing too much?”
Angie shook her head. “No,” she said. “I just—why are you being so nice? Why do you care when we barely—”
“Know each other?”
She nibbled at the corner of her mouth. “Well, yeah. I mean why are you invested in me? In this?”
Max inhaled and exhaled slowly. “At first, it was for Mandy. She’s my family and I didn’t want her to be sad.” A shrug. “But that’s not all of the story. I mean, I’m attracted to you, obviously, and want to get to know you better. I also think that most people would empathize with you and want to help . . .” He trailed off.
“And?”
“And—” Another breath, this one shorter and more staccato. “I’m drawn to you, Angel. I could list all the reasons why, starting with that big heart of yours, with the way you talked so sweetly to my son, how you checked up on me and Sparky, but those are not even the whole story either.” He cupped her cheek. “I’ve never believed in instant anything—and certainly not instant feelings—but somehow with you, Angel, I feel like I’ve known you my whole life.”
She bit her lip. “Me, too. I can’t explain it, other than you somehow get me.”
“It’s because we have nerdy things in common.” His handsome mouth curved.
Angie placed her palm over his, laughed softly. “We’re nuts, aren’t we?”
He grinned. “Yeah, probably.”
“And what about Brayden? I don’t want to take away time from him.”
“Brayden will be fine,” he said. “We’ll go slow and steady and see where things go, okay?”
She sucked in a bracing breath. “Okay.” Her lips twitched. “But you still owe me a date tomorrow. This doesn’t count.”
He saluted. “Noted.”
“All right,” she said. “Here goes.”
And she knocked on Mandy’s office door.
There was a thump and a male curse, followed by a “Shh!” Eventually, the door cracked enough to reveal Mandy’s fiancé, Blane, his shirt buttoned wrong.
Blane glanced at her, then Max, his brows pulling together. “Um, can I help you?”
“H-hi.” She lifted her chin. “I’m Angie. I, uh, wanted to see if Mandy was available—”
The door wrenched open.
“Angelica? Oh my God!” Mandy gasped, one hand coming up to cup her mouth.
Angie nodded. “Hi, I’m sorry it took me so long to—”
Mandy’s eyes filled with tears. “Don’t apologize and don’t freak out. I’m going to cry because I’m a hormonal mess and I’m so happy to meet you finally. God, you’re so pretty.” She sniffed. “Can I hug you?” Her face screwed up. “I’m sorry, I’m so weird right now. Of course, I can’t hug you. We just met. I—”
Angie wrapped her arms around her sister, squeezing tight. She was surprised to find that Mandy was several inches shorter than her, considering Angie always felt so small when compared to her.
After a few seconds, Mandy pulled back and took Angie’s face between her palms. “You’re so beautiful.” Another sniff. “And you have Dad’s eyes.”
Angie blinked back tears herself. “So do you.”
Mandy nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t know about you sooner.”
“I shouldn’t have stayed away for so long. I—uh—”
“There’s probably a lot we both need to talk about,” Mandy said. “Are you—? Do you—?” She covered her face. “I’m sorry. Usually I’m better with the English language than this.”
“Breathe, sweetheart,” Blane said, wrapping an arm around Mandy’s shoulders. He extended a hand to Angie. “I’m glad to meet you.”
She nodded. “Me, too.”
And silence. She had so many things to talk about with her sister, but it was late and they were at the arena and—
“Do you want to grab lunch sometime soon?” she asked. “Both of you,” she added hurriedly when Mandy exchanged a look with Blane. “I’d like to—well, I’ve been alone for a long time. I’d like to get to know my family.”
“Are you—?” Mandy sighed. “Ugh. I was trying to find a tactful way to ask if you have a safe place to stay.”
Angie frowned. “Um, yes? I bought an apartment in the city a few years ago.”
“Oh.”
Mandy’s disappointment was so glaring that Blane stage-whispered, “She’s in mother-bird mode. She wants to gather all her chicks and bring them home.”
Mandy smacked him the same time as Max snorted.
Angie glanced back at him.
“Mandy’s very good at organizing people,” he agreed.
“That’s not fair—” Mandy sighed. “Okay, fine. It is.”
Angie straightened her ponytail nervously. “I’m, uh, all right. I’ve lived on my own for a long time and have a good job.” Mandy’s face fell, and Angie hurried to say, “I appreciate the offer though.”
Mandy beamed and they spent a few minutes talking about Angie’s job at RoboTech. They were just starting to tour the freshly remodeled therapy suite when Mandy let out a huge yawn.
“You’re tired,” Blane said. “We should—” He shut up when Mandy leveled a glare at him.
“Blane is right,” Angie said, half to save him and half because it was late.
“I’m—”
“And I have to work tomorrow.”
Mandy’s face fell. “Oh gosh! I’m—”
“Give me your phone.” The demand seemed to shock Mandy out of the apology and her sister didn’t say anything further, just mutely reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell.
Angie input her number then sent herself a text.
“There,” she said, handing it back. “Now we can figure out a good time to meet up again.”
Mandy clutched it to her chest. “You’re not going to d-disappear again, are you?”
That glimpse of emotion made Angie’s heart skip a beat, her eyes burn with tears.
She wasn’t going to vanish.
She was so beyond done with running.
But instead of admitting either of those things and risking starting some sisterly waterworks, Angie smiled and said, “And miss out on my chance to be the annoying younger sister?”
The waterworks came anyway. Mandy burst into tears and hugged Angie tight. “You’re so funny!”
“Then why are you crying?” she asked.
“I don’t know.”
Angie sniffed.
“Why are you crying?”
Her lips twitched. “I don’t know either.”
After a long minute, they both pulled back. Mandy looked at her with her father’s eyes. “I’m so glad to finally meet you.”
Angie squeezed her sister one more time. “Me, too.”
“God, we have so much to talk about!”
Blane slipped an arm around Mandy’s shoulders again. “Soon, sweetheart.”
She nodded. “I know.” To Angie she said, “Run, before all of these questions I have in my head start bursting out of my mouth.”
“Bye.” Angie waved and turned for the door, Max trailing her. She’d just made it into the hallway when she heard Mandy exclaim, “Was she with Max?”
The man in question turned to her.
“Gossip train,” she said.
He inclined his head. “More like gossip Ferrari, but the point is there.”
She winced, trying to decipher how she felt about that, especially when things with Max were still new. It felt like they’d skipped a few steps. “Do you mind?”
He laced his fingers through hers. “Circle back to before. I like you, Angel,” he said. “So, the more important question is, do you mind?”
Angie considered that as they navigated the twists and turns in the arena. It wasn’t until they emerged out onto a parking lot that she’d ferreted out exactly what was going on in her mind. “No,” she said. “I don’t, even though the logical part of my brain is telling me that it’s all too fast, and it’s stupid to get wrapped up with a hockey player when my dad was . . . well, my dad. Not to mention Brayden and your ex and hell, my anxiety isn’t something that I can pretend is just magically cured. It’s work, and you may decide that you don’t want that in your life.” She squeezed his fingers. “Part of me feels like all of that together is a powder keg, destined to blow up and destroy us both.”
“And the other part?” he asked carefully, leading her to a black SUV.
Her eyes met his. “The other part of me wants to grab on to this chance and enjoy it for however long it lasts.”
Max released a relieved breath as he opened the car door and helped her inside.
“I like you, Max Montgomery.”
He trailed his fingers along her jaw. “I like you, too, Angelica Shallows.”
The gentle kiss he pressed to her lips stole a chunk of her heart.