Blossom Street Brides (Blossom Street #10)(10)

“It’s just that oh—Max, please don’t be upset with me,” she said.

Max exhaled, doing his best to hold back his irritation. Bethanne had been with her ex, and while Max hated to sound insecure and jealous, that was exactly how he felt. He didn’t trust Grant Hamlin for an inch when it came to Bethanne. The other man had made his intentions clear. Grant wanted Bethanne back in his life. Furthermore, he was willing to do anything necessary to undermine their marriage.

“So apparently Grant was with you for quite some time.” Max had waited up half the night to hear back from Bethanne. When she didn’t call, it left his mind open to speculation. He could well imagine what Grant had thought up this time to keep Bethanne occupied.

“Max, I am so sorry. I meant to call you first thing this morning, but I had three phone calls before I even got into the office, and then I had one meeting after another all day. A new balloon company is trying to get my business, and their representative was with me a full hour, and then Annie needed help planning a huge party function for the Boeing Company. It’s been crazy around here. Before I knew it, the entire day had evaporated and it was after six. I can’t tell you how sorry I am.” She continued to offer him a litany of excuses.

“You didn’t answer the question,” Max reminded her.

Bethanne hesitated, and then on a breathless note confessed, “I can’t remember the question.”

“You and Grant. Just how long was he at the house?”

“Oh … that question.”

“Yes, that question.” Rooster walked into Max’s office, and, seeing that Max was on the phone, started to leave. Max didn’t think this conversation would last much longer, not in his current frame of mind, at any rate. He was annoyed and frustrated, so he gestured for Rooster to take a seat, which his friend did. Rooster lounged back in the chair and crossed his long legs, balancing his ankle over his knee.

“Did I hear someone come into your office?” Bethanne asked.

“Rooster. You’re avoiding the question, which tells me I’m not going to like the answer.”

“You probably won’t. Grant and I went out to dinner to celebrate Andrew and Courtney’s news.”

“Just the two of you?”

“Yes. It didn’t mean anything, Max. I was married to Grant for nearly twenty years. We have a long history together.”

Max didn’t need a reminder. After a disastrous second marriage, Grant had realized what a huge mistake he’d made leaving Bethanne and their family. He’d made no secret that he wanted Bethanne back. When he abandoned her, he didn’t have a clue what an incredible woman she was. Her ex-husband had learned a painful lesson.

When Grant realized Max was in the picture, he’d panicked and done everything he could to convince Bethanne to take him back. His ploy hadn’t worked, and Bethanne chose Max. Grant’s loss was Max’s gain. That, however, wasn’t the end of the story. A man who cheated on his wife wouldn’t hesitate to do it again. While Max trusted his wife, he had no faith in Grant’s sense of honor and fairness. The other man was capable of using whatever means available to destroy Max’s relationship with Bethanne.

“Grant has made no secret he wants you.”

“I’m married,” Bethanne returned, as if that decisively settled the matter. While she might have that mind-set, Max was all too aware that Grant didn’t.

Rather than argue the point, he moved on, doing his best to sound as casual as possible. “Where did you go for dinner?” If she told him the little Mexican place that had been their favorite spot early on in their marriage, Max was afraid he might lose it.

“Zapata’s.”

“I thought so,” he said, his jaw tightening. “Are you really so naive that you can’t see what Grant is doing?”

“Naive?” she snapped, paused, and took in a deep breath as if she, too, were struggling to control her own impatience. “I resent that.”

“What else would you call it? You seem completely oblivious to Grant’s manipulations.”

“I’m married to you,” she reminded him again. “I know Grant far better than you do. You’re overreacting, Max. This isn’t like you.”

Max ignored her comment. “What time did you get home?”

“From Zapata’s?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “Just what are you implying?”

“Nothing. You didn’t call.”

“No, I didn’t. It was after ten, and I knew you’d had a busy day, and I didn’t want to wake you.”

She needn’t have worried; he was up well past midnight waiting. He would have phoned Bethanne, but in his frame of mind it wouldn’t have been a good idea. The fact that she’d taken nearly twenty-four hours to connect with him had done little to cut the edge off his frustration. He was both annoyed and aggravated, and struggling not to let this conversation break into a full-blown argument.

“Did you have a good time?” he asked, downplaying his displeasure as much as possible.

“As a matter of fact, we did.”

Bethanne was unwilling to offer him reassurances, it seemed.

“Grant and I talked about when I learned I was pregnant with Andrew and how excited both sets of our parents were when we told them the news.”