She nodded. “Did you two stay close?”
He glanced out the car window and saw they still had time for him to explain before they reached their stop.
He didn’t answer directly. Not yet. “Kutch went to a small college in California. A technology school his parents thought would be a good fit. And get him away from the bad high school memories.”
Kutch had suffered from severe acne and he was overweight. Lucas might have had his brother and occasionally his asshole friends to deal with, but Kutch’s bullies took the concept to a whole new level.
“Did you lose touch because of the distance?” she asked.
“You didn’t hear?”
“Hear what?” Maxie asked as the cab pulled up to the address Lucas had given.
“Hang on.” Lucas paid the driver and asked him to wait. They wouldn’t be long here, and even if they were, he wanted to be sure they had a ride back home when they were ready.
He climbed out of the car and helped Maxie out next. “This is it,” he said, pointing to a red-brick building.
“Where are we?”
Lucas gestured to a small sign on the side that read, Kutcher Recreation Hall.
Her eyes opened wide. “It’s named after him. What happened?”
“If you aren’t lucky, reputations follow you, courtesy of social media. Kutch didn’t have an easy time of it in college either. He committed suicide freshman year.”
“Oh my God.” Her hand flew to her mouth, her shock obvious. “I had no idea. My life became so insular I didn’t follow high school people on those sites. That’s awful. He must have suffered terribly to do that. And his poor parents,” she murmured, her eyes filling with tears.
He nodded, recalling the phone call he’d gotten from Kutch’s mom. “His parents thought I’d want to know. They called a select few people. Kutch didn’t have many friends,” Lucas said in a low voice. “I felt like I failed him, losing touch like that. My life took such a different turn. I got lucky. He…” His voice cracked, and he trailed off, unable to express his feelings.
Maxie turned and stepped closer, wrapping her arms around him. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. Me too.” He cleared his throat. “Anyway, this place is a community center and a technology haven. I picked an area that didn’t have the money for computers on their own. I figured kids who didn’t play sports or have something to do after school could come here. Hang out.” He shrugged, almost embarrassed now that he was explaining his motives.
“That’s so generous. And such a smart thing for you to do.” Her expression was soft and full of understanding.
“I didn’t tell you to make me look good. I wanted you to know I didn’t forget where I came from. And remind you, while you’re wrestling with what happened between us, that I’m nothing like Keith.”
She tipped her head back, meeting his gaze with her big brown eyes. “I know. I never should have said you were. I was just upset.”
She bit down on her lower lip, a move that had an immediate effect on his groin. But this wasn’t the time or the place for him to act on those feelings.
“Lucas, last night was incredible. And I don’t regret it. I never could.”
“But?” he asked because the follow-up seemed obvious.
“But I can’t be in a relationship right now. Not when I’m finding my footing for the first time.”
He grasped her hands. “And I respect that. I understand and I plan to give you all the time you need.”
“But?” she asked this time, with a half-smile on her lips.
“But I’m going to be right here. By your side. I’m not going to let our time pass us by. No way. No how.” With that pronouncement, and without waiting for her to respond, he whistled for the cab idling on the street corner, waiting for them.
He’d wanted to have the last word.
Chapter Six
Once again, Lucas proved himself true to his word. He became a definite presence in Maxie’s life. Not that he hadn’t been before, but now he stepped up his game. Living together took on a different meaning now that they’d had sex.
Breakfast in the morning was more intimate than it had been before. The car ride to work, though short, provided her with an up-close-and-personal invasion of his personal space because he drove a Porsche, didn’t care that he had to pay for expensive New York City parking, and the small interior was filled with his masculine scent. She climbed out of the car even more aware of him than she’d been before she’d gotten inside.
He picked her up afterwards, always agreeing to whatever time she said she had to work until. On later nights, he offered to go out for dinner, and sometimes she was just too tired to cook.
Over the next few weeks, they frequented his favorite restaurants near his apartment. She learned the owners, maître d’s, and waiters knew him by name, and he knew theirs and asked about their wives and children.
For as many times as she and Keith had been out to dinner to restaurants he went to often, she never once recalled Keith being friendly to the staff, let alone truly caring about their personal lives. She learned that Lucas had helped put one man’s daughter through culinary school because she was just that talented and he couldn’t manage it on his waiter salary.
There were so many facets to Lucas’ personality, including his standing Thursday boxing night with Derek and often with Kade. He’d come home sweaty and sexy-looking in a tee shirt with the sleeves cut off and the hem ragged at the bottom, the muscles in his legs and arms tight and hard.