Maximum Risk by Ruth Cardello

Nick was trying to get a rise of out Max, and it was working.
    Gio nodded. “A few.”
    Nick shook his head in a mockery of concern. “Rich eligible bachelors. I wouldn’t send a woman I was interested in off to a dinner like that alone. But maybe Max doesn’t care. In that case, it won’t matter who Tara leaves with.”
    Max slammed a hand down on the back of the chair. “You win. I’ll go.”
    Gio smiled for the first time. “Good.”
    Luke said, “It would have been better if he’d agreed to come because we’d talked things through.”
    Nick shrugged. “We don’t need to talk it out. We all know what’s wrong with us. We are a seriously fucked-up family. Max, you’re right, life is easier without us, but we’re not going anywhere. We’re your brothers.” He pulled Max to him for an exaggerated hug. “And we love you, man.”
    Max shoved Nick off him. He looked around the room, and an unexpected feeling welled up in him. No matter how he tried to deny it, it rose within him—hope. “I am deeply worried about the three of you.”
    Gio walked over until he was close enough Max worried he was about to hug him also. “I’m glad you changed your mind, Max.”
    The sincerity in Gio’s expression made Max uncomfortable. “I’m not agreeing to more than dinner.”
    Gio held his eyes. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes, Max. I don’t deny that. But Julia is close to her family, and I want to be close with mine.”
    Max made a face. “Please don’t hug me.”
    Gio smiled again, but there was a hint of sadness in the gesture. “Come to dinner with an open mind, Max. That’s all I ask. Give us a chance to get it right this time.”
    “I’ll be there,” Max said. He thought back to how hopeful he’d been when the four of them had attended Stephan’s wedding. Their truce had lasted only a few days after their return. He swore he wouldn’t get pulled back in again, but his emotions were a tangle of frustration and hope.
    Nick slapped Luke on the back. “See, a little blackmail, a little humor—it’s a combination that always works.”
    Luke studied Max’s face. “You were lucky. It was only effective because he really likes her.”
    Max denied the claim. “I don’t. I realized you were serious about your threat to stay until I agreed to go.”
    Nick chuckled. “I’ve never seen Max smitten with a woman before. I can’t wait to meet her. She must be something special.”
    Max walked to the door and held it open. “Get out.”
    Nick walked through the door first. “Don’t try to back out of tomorrow night. If you do, I will find you.”
    Standing beside the open door, Max said, “I’m going. I said it, and I meant it.”
    Luke gave him a pat on the arm as he walked past Max and out the door. “You’ll thank me one day for making sure you didn’t miss out on this.”
    Max made a doubtful face but admitted, “I know you believe that, Luke.”
    Gio stopped in front of him and said, “I believe it, too. I’ll make sure you’re seated next to Tara at dinner.”
    “I don’t care—,” Max started to say, but when all three of his brothers gave him a knowing smile, he said, “Thank you,” then closed the door.
    He headed off to the bathroom. As he stripped for the shower, he caught his expression in the mirror. He was smiling.
    All this about a dinner.
    My family is nuts.
    But they’re right: I am smitten.
    Avoid me all you want today, Tara.
    Tomorrow you’ll be mine again.

     

Chapter Eight
     
    Patrice Stanfield sat back in her chair and folded her hands on her lap. The simple but elegant beige dress she wore hung loosely on her thin frame. Her white hair was swept up in an elegant, loose bun. She wasn’t an old woman, but her health issues had certainly aged her. The butler who had greeted Maddy and Tara and led them to this sitting room had disappeared along with the woman who had served them tea.
    Tara placed her empty cup and saucer back on the tray between them and tried not