McDonald_MM_GEN_Dec2013 (12 page)

Donna Jane McDonald

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Book Two of the Next Time Around Series (Coming Soon)

When phone calls hadn’t worked to get Taylor to agree to go out with him, Max had finally conned Chloe into telling him where he could find her. The last thing he’d expected was to have to swim through a sea of sweaty jocks just to talk to her. He’d been following Taylor for fifteen minutes as she walked around the gym floor in a black knee-skimming skirt and a fitted silk blouse the same color as the halter dress she’d worn at the hotel. She was checking equipment, writing down serial numbers, and bending at interesting angles in her efforts. Worse, he wasn’t the only one noticing.

“Why are you shutting me out without a chance? You already admitted that you’ve dated as much as I have,” Max said.

Her tanned legs were bare, but the odd part of the outfit were her sock covered feet, slipped into stylish, expensive sneakers he knew she wore solely to protect the equally stylish and expensive gym floor under them. Based on the clothes he’d seen before, if he searched her office, he’d probably find a pair of killer black high heels tucked somewhere. Wondering how tall they would make her made him forget his original question, until Taylor finally answered.

“It’s not about the quantity of women you’ve dated, Max. I’ve just learned all the life lessons I need to about dating jocks.” She glanced briefly at the good looking male now sulking as he watched her. Taylor shook her head and hoped her tone had been convincing enough.

“Stop stereotyping all jocks as bad guys. I bet there are some good ones out on the floor of this gym right now that you haven’t dated.” Max looked at the men in question, wishing he could join them. Working out at the hotel was the not the same as being around other guys in a regular gym. It was one of the things he had missed most during his recuperation.

Taylor looked around calmly, taking her time to study the ten or so men still working out in the gym. She watched Reston Williams, a very sexy California cowboy, heading off to the showers.

“Actually, I only see one or two guys I missed going out with,” she said, turning back to her work. “But that’s because I refuse to date married men, or anyone already in a serious relationship.”

“Okay, I have those same rules. I don’t date married women or those involved with other men in serious relationships. So why is my dating past worse than yours?”

“I never said it was. I’m truly not passing judgment here, Max.”

“If you weren’t passing judgment, we’d be together already.” His glare was wasted on Taylor’s back, but he let it linger anyway.

“No. My refusal to date you is about me. It’s also about my goals for love next time around. I appreciate the physical appeal of athletic men as much as the next woman, but it was a jock who married me for money and left me when I had none. So I’m done with jocks.” Taylor shrugged her shoulders, remembering the hurt that she had worked to put behind her. “That’s just how it is with me, Max. It’s was my bias before I ever met you.”

This time, at least it was a grin that was wasted because Taylor still wasn’t looking at him. “I’m sorry, I thought I’d made it clear that I’m not interested in your money. I’m interested in your other assets,” he said.

Taylor stopped what she was doing, turned and studied Max’s face to see if anything she said was getting through his thick skull. “Even beyond my current aversion to jocks, I’m simply not interested in dating another high profile, known womanizer. I know what it’s like to have the press instantly reduce you to just another random casualty on some guy’s sexual conquest list. I’ve been there and done the womanizer thing more than once. I refuse to be some hot guy’s cast-off woman ever again.”

“Glad to hear you think I’m hot, Babe. How are we going to find out what happens if you never date me?” Max teased.

“Being ‘hot’ is a positive, Max. Don’t add ‘stupid’ to the negative list. You know that’s happened to every woman you’ve dated and case aside.”

As much as he enjoyed debating with her, the truth was Max liked Taylor’s honesty and found it refreshing. If he upset her, Max had no doubt that the woman glaring at him now would just tell him. He certainly wouldn’t have to read it in print first.

“You’re assuming the worst of me without even knowing if it’s true,” Max said.

“You’re not listening. I hate, absolutely hate cheaters, Max. Any wish a guy has for an ‘open relationship’ is a total deal breaker as far as I’m concerned. I don’t think I should have to share a man’s attention all the other women he dates. No woman should have to share. It’s about loyalty as much as it is fidelity for me.”

Max put his hands in his pockets, trying to look their discussion was casual, but it didn’t feel that way to him. It felt like they were laying the groundwork for a deeper understanding. It felt like she was laying bare her soul with sharing her fears. He hadn’t expected anything less.

“Where you’re concerned, I don’t want to share either, Taylor. And I can’t remember ever being jealous of a woman before I met you. I’ve stayed away from other women because of you.”

“You’re not jealous of me, Max. You’re just challenged because I keep turning you down. I know it probably doesn’t happen often to you, but that’s what going on here. Go ask out one of your hockey groupies if you want adoration. You probably sleep with a different woman after every game and have the envy of every guy you know.”

Rolling her eyes at the injured look she got in response, Taylor picked up her clipboard and walked back to her office. It didn’t surprise her when Max followed, but it did surprise her when a fully dressed, great smelling Reston Williams also stuck his head in the door.

“You seem highly irritated today, Legs. This guy bugging you?” he asked.

Taylor looked at Reston’s stance and snorted at the pose. He looked just like his cologne advertisement with his massive arms crossed and his chin lowered so much that the brim of his battered tan Stetson almost covered his eyes. The man was real cowboy, complete with a working horse ranch, but he was also a former jock. His endorsement contract kept him coming back to her gym so he could keep his aging body in prime condition.

“Talk to me, Legs. I’d be happy to help extract him for you,” he said.

Another time, Taylor knew she would have openly laughed at Reston’s show of concern, but the last thing she needed right then was two posturing males messing up her day. One was bad enough. “Max is a friend. And our debate is nothing I can’t handle. You can head on back to the ranch now, Tex. I’m fine.”

Her quip back was natural to her. So was using the nickname she’d given him back when they were dating. Then she got an idea. “Hey Reston, are you labeled a womanizer by the media? Tell me the truth. You know it won’t change how I think of you.”

Taylor smirked at Max who grunted at Reston and glared. When she saw Max was sizing him up as a new challenger, she shook her head again. Despite the craving she had for those with an abundance of the chemical, sometimes she really hated testosterone. You would think at forty her body would be more discerning.

When Reston grinned wickedly at her, she wanted to swear at him. He was probably wondering if Max was going to get her to bend her ‘no-jock’ rule. He was probably hoping she would reconsider dating him again, once Max got on her nerves bad enough. She snorted as she watched Reston rub a hand over a chiseled jaw and chin rough with an evening beard. Even mild stubble looked odd on the man who normally shaved twice a day. He once told her he would never agree to another endorsement contract that required his face to be smooth all the time.

“Well, if by ‘womanizer’ you mean that I prefer women and date a lot—then yeah, I guess you could say that I am one. But Taylor—Sugar—you know I’d give up all the others for you. You kiss like an angel, and you’re the hardest working woman I have ever met. Hell, I’ll be forty in a few months. I’d settle down if you’d agree to marry me.”

Taylor rolled her eyes at Reston’s proposal and shook her head, which was pretty much what she had done every other time he had made the same unappealing offer. She wasn’t willing to become the prize female the cowboy could put out on display like he did his horses. His lack of romance was just one of the many reasons she’d stopped dating him.

“Sorry, Tex. That matrimonial dream is never happening with me, but thanks for the compliment. I’m sure when the urge to settle down takes more solid root, you’ll find someone even more perfect than me, not mention lots younger. Wasn’t your last girlfriend twenty-two?”

“Yes, but I’m finding youth in women is overrated. There’s nothing better than being with a woman who knows herself and what she wants. Since I’m gentleman enough not to discuss your finer attributes in front of a stranger, we better change the subject. What’s with you and the little glaring dude here?”

Taylor fought her amusement as Reston swung a knowing grin to the now seething Max, whose face was turning red.

“You dating this kid, Legs? When we broke up, you said you were giving up jocks. Wasn’t your last guy some kind of insurance broker or something?” Reston asked.

Max met Reston’s gaze and fought the urge to walk over to him. “What do you mean ‘little dude’?”

The jab about being a kid hadn’t stung much, even though Max didn’t consider forty all that much older than being thirty-one. But he was damn glad this guy thought he looked like a jock. Sometimes lately he sure didn’t feel like one. All the same, his scowl darkened when the man laughed again. It was obvious that there was a lot of history between the abrasive cowboy and Taylor.

“Compared to the men Taylor is used to being around? Yeah boy, you’re little. Want to come out to the gym floor and meet some of Taylor’s former guys? There’s a bunch of them in here right now, though I think I was the last one she dated of
our kind
.”

“Reston—that’s enough of your teasing. Leave Max alone. He’s not interested in my dating past. Lay off or I’ll cancel your membership,” Taylor ordered.

“Are you sure about that, Sugar? The guy looks pretty interested to me. In fact, he looks like he’d like to kick my ass six ways from Sunday just because you and I are being friendly.”

Turning, Max gave Taylor a disbelieving stare, finally broken by a strange sound erupting from him. It was a cross between a snort and a huff, and reminded him way too much of his brother, Jasper. It also didn’t help his frame of mind that Taylor rolled her eyes at him when she heard it. He decided not to let her condescending habit make him more mad.

“I’m so not like this guy,” Max said firmly.

“Yes, Maximillan—you are. You’re just a different generation.” When both men glowered at her reference to their ages, Taylor had had enough. “If you gentleman will both kindly exit my office, I’ll get back to work. Max, I’ll see you Thursday evening. Emma and I are definitely coming for the second set.”

“Ah hell—we’re both being dismissed, boy. That’s not a good sign. You might want to cut your losses and find another filly.” Flashing a wide smile, Reston tipped his Stetson and walked off.

Max waited until he thought the man completely out of earshot before continuing his argument. “Now that we’re alone again, back to the jock question. No, let’s be more specific. What was your problem with Mr. Wish-I-Was-A-Cowboy when you dated him?”

Max stood there for a few moments watching Taylor ignore him with no visible remorse whatsoever for doing so. Walking around her desk, she sat down in her office chair and starting removing her sneakers. He walked around the side to get a better view himself.

Opening the bottom drawer of her massive desk, Taylor pulled out a pair of jet black four inch skyscrapers and casually slipped them on. When she stood to straightened her clothes, Max’s gaze traveled up her legs and back to the floor. Her painted toes peeked out of the ends. What had the hell had he asked her? Oh yeah—her dating the damn cowboy.

“Time for you to leave, Max. I have work to do,” she said.

“Okay—look. Maybe your dating past is none of my business since we’re not sleeping together yet, but answer this for me. Do the men in your life always leave when you dismiss them? What kind of wimps have you been dating up to now?”

Taylor gave Max the look she usually reserved for her ex-husband. “Well, I have had to call the cops once or twice. In your case, I would just call your brother. Or Sam.”

“Sam?” Max was surprised to hear the name rolling so easily off Taylor’s tongue. “How do you know Sam? He uses the gym at the hotel.”

“I am not discussing how I know Sam because it’s none of your business.”

She bit her lip at the flash of pain in Max’s eyes, but wasn’t about to admit that Sam had sought her out to talk about her resistance to dating the younger man. Wicked Wad’s ego was already large enough. He didn’t need to know his brother and Sam thought he was the best thing since sliced bread.

“Just tell me you are not dating Sam. That’s all I really care about,” Max said. The rough order barely made it out of his tight throat. Surely Sam wouldn’t try to date Taylor behind his back? Not when he knew Max was interested in her? Sam was not that kind of man. Was he?

“My relationship with Sam, or any other man, is none of your business. You can ask him if you must, but I really wish you wouldn’t. I’m usually more discreet about dropping names. We had lunch to discuss some business. That’s all. It wasn’t a date.”

Max moved closer to her, just a couple of feet away. He was now officially desperate to believe he meant something more to Taylor than every other male in the jock harem her business supplied her with daily. And God help him, he wanted to be more important to her than someone like Sam, too. It was too late to play it cool. All he could do was try to recover the play.