The Trouble with #9 by Piper Rayne

Itry to catch my breath by walking out to the pool. His best friend’s sister? Of course, she’s a hot blonde with decent-sized breasts and not an ounce of fat on her. Why wouldn’t he mention her to me?

My phone buzzes in my purse and it gives me an idea. An easy way out.

It’s just a text message from a store about a sale, but I pretend someone called and answer the phone to no one.

“This is Paisley Pearce,” I say.

I feel Maksim before he comes into view—an excuse on the tip of his tongue, I’m sure. I have no reason to feel the jealousy that’s racing through my veins. She’s his best friend’s little sister. But why didn’t he mention her if it’s really nothing? Maybe he wasn’t expecting her to be here when we walked in.

“Okay, sure, I can be there in about twenty minutes.” I wait, listening to dead air. “See you then.”

I hang up and hide my phone in my purse before he can tell there was no one on the other end. I just need some space. Space to figure out this new situation between us and the fact that he lives with someone who could be a runway model.

“Who was that?” Maksim asks, shame coating his features.

“A client. They’re requesting an emergency meeting. I’m going to call an Uber.” My hand moves to my purse again.

“I’ll drive you and you’ll let me explain things on the way?”

Of course he wants to clear the air. That’s Maksim. He’s not one to avoid difficult conversations, other than the reason why he is how he is on the ice. That reason is locked so tight, not even the best safe cracker could get in.

“It’s okay, I don’t mind.”

His hand grabs mine. “Please. I know this must have thrown you for a loop.”

I want to scream that of course it did. Why has he never told me he has some kind of roommate situation going on with a gorgeous woman? But is that really any of my business? Maksim’s never been anything other than attentive and worn his feelings on his sleeve, and until last night we weren’t physical. But I can’t help how I feel about the discovery.

“Okay,” I say meekly.

Time to buck up, Paisley, and advocate for yourself here.

We walk back through the house and Nadiya holds the box of the yogurt bars in my direction. “I figure these must be yours. He never keeps anything sweet in the house.”

“Yep, those are mine.” I accept the box. “It was very nice to meet you.”

“You should come for dinner sometime. I’d love to get to know the woman who can tame Maksim.”

All brain function leaves me for a second as I rewind what she just said. The word tame flashes in my head like a neon vacancy light on a hotel on a dark stretch of highway.

“Definitely.” I keep my voice as cheery as I possibly can. “Sadly, I have to get to work now. Bye.”

“I’ll be back, Nadiya. I’m dropping her off.” Maksim is following close behind me.

“Sounds good. I’ll be sunbathing.”

No doubt without her top.

Damn it all to hell, she didn’t do anything to me. There’s no reason to be catty toward her.

We walk out of the house, and I wait by the passenger door for Maksim to open it, but he doesn’t unlock it until he’s by my side and his hand is on the door handle. “Question.”

I can’t even look at him. Tears threaten to fall from my eyes, which would be so embarrassing. “What?”

“Do you really have a client to see?”

“Yeah.” I cross my fingers behind my back. I hate lying. Despise liars.

“Look at me,” he says. As kind and gentle of a person Maksim is, there’s authority in his tone this time, so I obey and look at him. He sees the truth right away. How, I don’t know, but he does. “Get in the car, we’re going for a ride.”

“Maksim—”

“It’s bullshit. You have no client. Get in the car.” He opens up my door and rounds the back of the car.

“You’re not the boss of me.”

He stops right before climbing in. “I’m not doing this. I’m not having some stupid fight about a miscommunication between us. I should’ve told you about Nadiya, I know, but I’m not letting you pretend it doesn’t bother you. She will not be the reason things go to shit between us.”

I stand there, amazed by this man who can so freely put himself out there. “A please wouldn’t hurt.”

He stares blankly at me. “Please. Now get in the damn car, kotik.”

I do as he says because I don’t want to feel this way and I am curious why Nadiya is living with him. More than anything, I want to know why he never told me.

I’m barely strapped in when he backs down the driveway.

“Maksim,” I say.

“Just wait. I don’t want to talk while I’m driving.”

I sit in the passenger seat, staring at everything whipping past until we end up on another beach that’s more secluded, a lighthouse in view. He gets out without a word, and I open my door, growing agitated that he’s somehow taking this out on me. I wasn’t the one hiding something from him.

“I’m mad,” he says, and that makes me break, my temper coming to the surface.

“You’re mad? Did you just find out that I have some movie star male roommate living with me who walks around in a man thong all day?” I stomp away from the car to the sand, kicking off my sandals.

“I knew you struggled with trusting me. That someone hurt you. You told me it was your dad, and that’s why I’ve been so cautious and so careful to make sure you knew you can trust me.” He comes up alongside me.

“And yet you forget to tell me you have a roommate. A very attractive, very young, very… ugh!” My hands fist at my sides. “You didn’t even say anything on the way home from Costco to prepare me, like, ‘Oh, hey, I have a hot roommate.’”

“She’s not really my roommate. I mean, she is, but she doesn’t pay me rent or anything.”

My mouth falls open. “And that’s supposed to make it better?”

“Zamolchi! Just listen to me!” He raises his voice. “Let me fucking explain.”

There’s a big rock nearby and I climb on top of it. “Fine. Explain.”

He huffs as if I’m the one annoying him, then he climbs the rock to sit beside me. “Armen, Nadiya’s older brother, was my best friend.”

“So I heard.”

He stares at me silently until I take the chip off my shoulder, then he continues. “He died when we were just out of school.”

My chest squeezes and I blink rapid fire.

“He always looked out for her, so when he passed, I took it upon myself to do the same. Her parents asked me to watch out for her when she decided to come here for school. Our parents are best friends too, and I wanted to make it up to the family, so I offered for her to live with me. Armen’s death was hard on all of us.”

“How did he die?” I ask.

He focuses ahead of us, staring at the vast water. “It’s my fault. I killed him.”

“What?” I ask softly, sure I heard him wrong.

“I was driving the car that got into the crash that killed him.” He squeezes his eyes shut.

“That doesn’t mean you killed him. Were you drunk?”

He shakes his head.

“Under the influence at all?”

He shakes his head again.

“Were you texting or distracted while driving?”

He shakes his head. “An animal ran out onto the road and I swerved, then bam, a tree was in front of us and that was it.”

I close my eyes to center myself. This is Maksim, the protector. “I’m sorry. I should have waited for an explanation before I reacted.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t think much of Nadiya staying with me. It’s been four years, and she graduates from college this year. Honestly, it’s like living with a sister, if I had one. But I understand how it would look to you. Nothing has ever happened between us, nor will it ever.” He looks at me with a devilish sparkle in his eyes. “I do like you being jealous though.” He slides closer to me and wraps his arm around my waist.

“Who said I was jealous?”

He scoffs. “You were totally jealous, which means you like me. You really like me.”

I laugh, almost falling off the rock. “Yeah, I like you. I really, really like you.”

Pulling me closer, he presses his lips to my temple. “I’m sorry. I should have prepared you.”

“Can I ask you something?” I place my hand on his leg, and he nods. “Have you talked to anyone about Armen’s death?”

His smile dims and he releases me, jumping down off the rock. “I don’t need therapy. He died, it sucks, life moves on. I’ll see him someday when it’s my time.”

I follow him down off the rock toward the water’s edge. “I think it’s the reason you try so hard to protect Ford, Aiden, Tweetie, on the ice. I think it’s the reason for your misplaced anger.”

He looks at me over his shoulder. “Do you think I don’t know that? I’m fully aware. And I’m damn good at it. No one will ever get hurt on my watch again.”

“Your watch?” My heart aches over the fact that he sees everyone’s well-being as his responsibility.

“Yes. But that’s not what we’re talking about.” He smiles and winds his arms around my waist. “I want to go back to your place and ravish you. I feel like I didn’t get well enough acquainted with your tits last night.”

I’m a therapist, I understand distraction. He doesn’t want to talk about it and there’s no way I can continue to see him as a patient—as much of a farce as that was—now that we have a relationship. But it’s affecting his job, and in order to move ahead emotionally, he needs to get it all off his chest and have someone help sort through the trauma with him. Sadly, that person can no longer be me.

“I have a great colleague—”

He shakes his head and tugs me, closing the last bit of distance between us. “I want you, kotik. Take me home and take advantage of me.”

Of course, he’s using humor to pretend nothing is the matter. People push their issues to the side all the time and some manage to live happy lives. Surely, it can wait… maybe until the season is over? We’re just starting out and I don’t want to be the nag girlfriend.

So I let it go. What can it hurt for him to go a little longer without getting the clarity he needs? I ignore the voice in my head telling me that I’m lying to myself.

“Okay.” I nod.

His blue eyes widen as though he’s surprised by my answer, then he picks me up bridal style and walks us back to his car.

We barely make it back to my apartment with all of our clothes intact. Just after we pass through the door, he tosses the yogurt bars in the freezer, even though I’m sure they’re probably totally melted by now, then places me on the kitchen table and falls to his knees. Since I don’t cook or have many people over, it’s the most action my kitchen table has ever seen.

If only the knot in my stomach wasn’t still there, telling me that one day, Maksim’s issues with the past are going to come to a head.