29

Cadence
Normally, I’m a five am person, which is why I’m a bit thrown that it’s after eight when I wake up.
I’m also thrown at how I woke up draped over Maximilian, but I’m not thinking about that.
I can chalk the sleeping in to yesterday being exhausting, not to mention my late-night chat with Max, but I can’t ignore the fact that I have nothing to do.
I wake up; I check my phone and my laptop. With neither of them with me, I’m a little lost. Most mornings, I start my day alone before Tatiana and Travis show up around ten o’clock.
I am well aware that I’m not alone here.
And then the fact that there are three very attractive men smiling at me right now—smiling warmly but expecting nothing.

“Hey.” Max hands me a cup of coffee which I take, but don’t meet his eyes because I woke up draped over him not fifteen minutes ago.
That should not have happened. I never wanted it to happen.
But some part of me obviously did.
“Would you like some eggs?” Dexter asks. “I make decent scrambled.”

Nick slaps his shoulder. “You offer to make them for her, but not the rest of us?”
“She’s prettier than you guys,” he says, pulling a frying pan out of the drawer under the stove.
Dexter scrambles the eggs and Nick is in charge of toast. After I gulp down my first cup of coffee, Max makes lattes and sends me out to the balcony to “sit and wait for us to feed you.”
This is a first.
Tatiana makes me lunch now and again, and I can get a meal at Malcolm’s if I time it right, but having someone serve me breakfast is a novelty. I wonder if I crawled back into bed, would they serve me there?
Would they all serve me?
I flush at the thought, even though it’s only in my mind. I’ve been with more than one man before, and while it can be enjoyable, I’m not looking for anything like that here.
But if I was…
“What are you smiling about?” Max asks with his own smile as he steps out of the balcony door, with hair wet and slicked back. He must have had a shower, which brings about another smile at the thought…
Mind. Away. From. Men.
“It’s beautiful here.” There is no chance of me getting into what I was really thinking about, especially since I went hardcore bitch when I assumed he had the same idea. And since I forcefully push into the back corner of my mind any and all thoughts about Max, his friends, and the possibility of seeing any and all of them naked, that will be the last time I think it.
“Best beach in the world.” He takes a seat close enough for his clean smell to drift over to me.
He smells good.
I must think so if I slept cozied up to his armpit last night.
“Any more bad dreams last night?” he asks.
“No,” I say quickly, not wanting a reminder of being vulnerable. “I don’t remember dreaming at all.”
“I had a good dream,” he offers. “And then I woke up and found it had come true.” He glances at me out of the corner of his eye.
Dreaming about me? That will have to be nipped in the bud, because that’s not what I came here for.
I sound like a broken record, even to myself. “Max…”
“Yeah, yeah, no strings,” he says. “But we didn’t say no fun. Isn’t that what you said you came here for?”
“You and I… would not be fun,” I tell him firmly.
Max laughs. “Oh, I beg to differ.”
I can’t help but smile. “Yes, but you said—”
“No obligation. No expectation. Not no fun. You and I would be so much fun in so many ways.”
“Not interested.” I tell myself it’s the truth, but my voice crackles like an AM radio station. I clear my throat and try again. “No.”
He leans back and sips his coffee. “You know, Cadence, if I really believed you meant that, I’d leave you alone. I’m not the type of guy to force my affections on a person… except when you come across me drunk in an elevator late at night. But I wasn’t too forceful, was I? I apologize if I was.”

I shake my head. And I think that’s it, but then I open my mouth. “You made me smile.”
“I’m good at making people smile. And I’m good at having fun, and being friends. I like you, and I think you like me. We could have fun this weekend and just see what happens.”
“And that’s all you want? When did you split up with Caroline?”
“What does she have to do with it?”

“Because I get the sense you’re not a just see what happens type of guy. I get the sense that you’re an all-in-or-nothing type of guy. But if it’s recent with Caroline, then maybe you’re just looking for a quick weekend thing. If not…” I meet his dark gaze.
Max grunts. “You don’t waste any time getting a read on people, do you?”
“Trick of the trade,” I tell him coolly.
“It’s been almost two years since Caroline dumped me,” he admits.
If he hasn’t had a relationship since then, Maximilian Stonee is ready to start again. More than ready—eager, excited and looking for someone.
That someone should not be me.
I’m a closed-off workaholic with walls taller than the ceilings of this condo. There is no way Max, or anyone, will be able to bust through in the short span of a weekend, let alone a year of weekends.
But why then, do I have this pang in a corner of my heart thinking of Max with someone who isn’t me?
I’m relieved with the door opens and Nick and Dexter step out, both carrying plates. “Got a little dicey in there with the toast,” Nick says in a hearty voice, reverently placing a plate before me. “But I managed to get it to the optimal toast colour.”
“It looks beautiful,” I assure him, and turn to Dexter. “Thank you for making me breakfast.”
Dexter smiles shyly and takes the seat beside Max. “The boat is meeting us in an hour, so we’ve got some time.”
“Boat?” At my confused expression, Max looks contrite.
“I forgot to tell you last night. We booked a snorkeling excursion for this afternoon. Come with us.”
The offer has me automatically shaking my head. “No thanks.”
“Come,” Dexter urges. “It’s gorgeous out there. You might like me after a day on a boat.”
“Thanks,” I smile tightly. There is no way I’m stepping foot on a boat. Getting me into the water would be enough effort. “I’ll stay here. I have a book.”
Max raises an eyebrow. “Are you planning on reading that book?”
“I usually don’t have a lot of time for reading, so it’s time I start.”