Page 54 of Her Righteous Protector

Hannah felt herself calm just a tiny little bit. At least about that. “So, if we’re not talking about Meghan’s parents, are we talking about Virginia?”

Max nodded. “How about we not just stand in the middle of the living room, huh?” He tugged at her trenchcoat. “Can I help you out of that?”

She nodded. He hung up her coat for her and then she went over to the armchair that was next to the couch. Max sat on the corner of the couch closest to her without making a verbal comment, but he did raise his eyebrow. Hannah didn’t care, she wasn’t going to be pressured.

He sat forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “Hannah I want to explain—”

She held up her hand. “You have nothing to explain. You want what’s best for Zephyr. Full stop. How could I ever fault you for that?”

“Yes, I do. But for the record, I’m more than capable of having multiple high-level priorities in my life,” he said sardonically.

She shot him a grim smile. “Maybe you can. But are you telling me that anything would ever be as high as Zephyr?”

His eyes turned molten silver. “If I had a wife. If I had another child. Then yes.”

She sat back in the chair as if she’d been shoved.

“You think you might have more kids?”

“I never intended to have children unless I found and married the woman I loved.” He grimaced. “So that one was shot out of the water, but here I am, fucking ecstatic about it.”

Hannah grinned. “Yeah, I’m pretty happy that condom failed too, I can’t imagine a world without Zephyr in it.”

“Okay, so we’re in agreement on that.” Max leaned closer and blew out a breath. She felt surrounded by him and she was beginning to melt. “Hannah, it’s been pointed out to me that the other night I was talking out my ass.”

“I don’t understand.”

He placed a hand on each arm of her chair, effectively closing her in. “I bet you don’t understand, because I sure as hell didn’t.”

Max’s mouth hovered over hers. “Let me be perfectly clear about something. If I felt I needed someone to take care of Zephyr when I eventually move back to Virginia, Meghan’s life insurance is going to make it easy for me to find one hell of a nanny. Or, I could just as easily pay for a damned duplex for the two of us so you could live on one side and I could live on the other and Zephyr would have us both forever. Money works wonders that way, you know?”

His eyes glowed as she tried to make sense of all he was saying.

“Do you understand what I’m saying, Hannah? When I tell you that I’m in love with you, it’s not because I need a caretaker for Zephyr, or that I don’t want the two of you to be apart from one another. I’m pretty sure I can still make those things happen. Are you hearing me?”

Her eyes widened. “You’d buy a duplex?”

“Fuck yeah. This is our boy I’m talking about. But there’s a problem with that idea.”

“What?”

His right hand lifted up and circled her neck, his thumb pressed against the flutter in her neck. “Your pulse is racing wildly. It always does when I get close.” Max lowered his hand, letting it drift over her breast where her needy nipple poked against his palm. “And here, when I’m close, your nipples are always so tight.”

He picked up her hand from her lap and placed it over his groin, and she felt the bulge of his erection. “And this has been me for what seems like forever,” he groaned.

She shook her head. “It’s just sex,” she protested as her hand caressed him through his jeans.

“No, it’s not, Hannah.” He cupped her face. “Tell me who I am to you.”

Nooooooo! That’s such an unfair question.

“Okay, I’ll tell you who you are to me,” he said as if he heard her protest. “You’re Hannah Woods, the woman I admire most in this world. The woman who is currently breaking my heart because she’s sitting here confused and hurting. The woman who wants to help everyone she knows. A loving mother, a talented artist, and the woman that I’m in love with.”

He meant the words. She could see the love shining from his eyes, like shards of starlight piercing her soul.

“God, Max. I can’t believe you just said all that.”

She felt tears coming, and then they fell. “Please tell me I’m not crying again,” she begged him.