The Billionaire Playboy's Regret (Lark and Max) novel Chapter 51

Heriberto drew his weapon and Santiago kept a finger to his lips in warning while his other hand motioned for her to answer.

She movessd to the door and leaned against it. “I don’t want to talk to you right now, Max.”

“Please. I don’t want to talk through the door.”

“I don’t want to talk at all, door or otherwise.” Her heart ached as she lied. She did want to talk. She wanted to open the door, throw herself in his arms and beg for his help.

“You want to go home because of Ollie, right?” he said, his voice sounding as if his forehead was resting on the door immediately behind where her head rested. “I should have known right away it wasn’t because of this new sister thing. Ollie was messaging you in the meetings this morning and she made you upset and -”

“Max, shut up,” she noted the lifted eyebrows of the man sitting across the room.

“Please let me in to apologize.”

“No. I need time to think. I know you didn’t conclude this on your own. You probably called Johan who pointed out I would never abandon my father for anything in the world and I’m not afraid of Doug the Douche and there needed to be another reason I asked to go home, right?”

“It’s been an emotional morning,” Max spoke softly. “I owe you an apology.”

“Max, right now, I need to get my head on straight. We’ve been trying this thing out for a few days and the first-time things get bumpy you snapped at me. I don’t like it. I’m not going to jump into another relationship with a man who thinks it’s okay to make me feel like this. Give me space.”

His voice was pleading through the wall, “don’t do this Lark. It was a stupid comment.”

“Really stupid,” she agreed, “but unlike you, I don’t want to spit stupidity until I’ve thought about what I want to say. Please see Johan and leave me to think.”

“Can I come back and see you at bedtime?”

“Max, it’s not even one in the afternoon. I’m sure we’re all having dinner together later.”

“I don’t like walking away like this. We should talk this out.”

“When I’m ready,” she wondered if Ollie was ready to jump out of the suitcase and smack Max yet for being annoying. The thought put a hint of a smile on her lips and both men in the room noted it.

“Text me when you’re ready.”

“Sure.”

She waited until she heard his door close on the other side of the hall and then moved back to the bed and sat down. “He’s a bit whiny, isn’t he?” Heriberto asked.

She made a face, “he’s not. He’s treading thin ice with me, and he’s scared every argument we have it means I’m going to not talk to him for another twelve years.”

“Wait, you didn’t talk to him for twelve years? Why?”

“Because we had a falling out.”

“But you care for him,” this time it was Santiago. “I could see the way you walked into the hotel earlier you are close. Why go twelve years not speaking if you care for him?”

“Because I deserve to be loved and respected and not to be an afterthought. I asked him to meet me, and he didn’t, and I realized when he left me alone and didn’t come to see me I needed more. It was a miscommunication back then and we’re working through it.”

“What happened?” Heriberto eyed her with scrutiny. “No girl walks away from a man they love unless something big happened. He didn’t simply not come meet you. Something happened.” When she shot a startled glance at him, his words were eerily accurate, “you got hurt. He was supposed to be there, and he wasn’t, and you got hurt.”

How the hell was this guy as astute as he was? He could rival Bobbie and her mom with his intuition. She shook her head to deny it, but he gave a bitter laugh.

“You protect him even now for him leaving you to be exposed to danger? Even if he didn’t care for you, he should never have allowed you to be unsafe.”

“I said we’re working through it.”

Realization dawned on him, “You haven’t told him! Why not? If you are not entirely truthful with him then your relationship is doomed from the start. What was it you said earlier, Tesoro ? You and Olivia want what your parents have, and they have relationships where they don’t keep secrets from one another,” Heriberto looked to his brother. “It doesn’t sound like either woman is off to good starts, no? One hiding her entire self from you and this one hiding truths from the man she cares for. “He clicked his tongue at her.

Santiago gave a loud sigh, “we are done for now. Tell Olivia I want to talk to her, please. I will keep my room across the hall.” He rose from his seat and then noted the two cell phones on the bed behind Lark. He lifted up Ollie’s and shook it,” she was here?”

“She was. She isn’t now. She thought maybe you hijacked her phone. She told me she was leaving it here.” She lied through her teeth. How on earth she was able to produce such stories this quickly was beyond her, but she was grateful for her quick thinking.

He shook his head, “then she is still in the building.”

Lark gave a laugh at his comment. “She walked right past you when you were in the bar.”