had an earlier dinner. How did it go with your mother this morning?” Max was still watching her, but the energy that flowed between them moments before dissipated into the ocean breeze like smoke.
“It was okay. Mom was fine when I left.”
“This must be difficult for you.”
“Yes. But what hurts most is that I imagine how much more difficult it is for my mother.” Jill picked up the menu. “Why don’t we order, and then I’ll start a run-down on some of your relationships with people you knew in college. It’ll give you a head start when you meet them.”
“That would be great.” Max motioned for the waiter.
Jill sensed he was troubled. She remembered he did not like to avoid talking about things that were on his mind.
But he was sensitive enough now to understand she was pulling back from the flirtation they had shared, and gentleman enough not to press her.
Thank god.
Because she did not feel like she could handle anything more emotional than chitchat. Certainly not a sentence that started with him lying in a hotel bed last night, thinking about her.
Chapter 6
Dinner was a pleasant blur. Jill told Max about Carly and Hamilton, who Max had never actually met, as Hamilton left for Oxford before Max had arrived from Sweden.
She followed with thumbnail descriptions of a dozen more people they had hung out with during the college year they shared. In the car heading back to her place, Max expressed concern at the number of names she had mentioned.
“It’s a long list,” Max said, turning into Jill’s townhouse development. “I’m not terrible with names, but hopefully everyone will have badges so I can have a chance at keeping them straight.”
“I’m sure they will. And it will be interesting to see if any of them seem familiar.”
“I have expectations, but not much hope.”
“Why’s that?”
“Talking to you hasn’t led to a breakthrough with my recall, and I imagine I was closer to you than to anyone else.” Max pulled into her driveway and put the car in park, but did not shut off the ignition.
During the fifteen-minute drive home, Jill felt Max retreating emotionally. While she had been attacked by a second wave of what honestly could be described as lust when he had taken her arm to help her into the car, he had shown no sign of feeling the same.
Now, sitting inches from her, he was even less engaged. “We’re here. I bet you’re ready for bed.”
Jill stretched her neck to the left and breathed deep, clutching her hands together. “Yes, I am tired. But I had a great time tonight. Thank you for dinner.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. “I’m sorry we never got to discuss much of your past. All you did was fill me in on mine.”
“Which part of my past are we talking about?”
“I’d like to hear about what happened with your ex-husband, if it’s something you want to share.”
She took a deep breath. “I don’t like to talk about Andrew Denton, if you want to know the truth. I made a huge mistake marrying him, and he and I didn’t part on good terms.”
“No?” This one word was filled with curiosity. “Sounds like a story.”
Might as well get it out in the open , Jill thought. “It was. Andrew and I were casual friends when we were in college, but we got together a couple of years after we graduated. He was very persuasive, said he’d carried a torch for years, which was flattering.”
“He fell in love with you in college, when you were with me?”
“I guess, but I never saw any sign of it during college. Anyway, after dating him for a few months, we got married. Pretty quickly after that, I found out he had a very significant drug problem. He lost his job, and ran wildly through what money we had, and I realized I’d made a huge mistake. The night I told him I wanted a divorce, he pulled out a gun.”
“What?” Max moved closer, everything about his demeanor surprisingly protective. “He threatened you?”
“No. He wasn’t
“It was okay. Mom was fine when I left.”
“This must be difficult for you.”
“Yes. But what hurts most is that I imagine how much more difficult it is for my mother.” Jill picked up the menu. “Why don’t we order, and then I’ll start a run-down on some of your relationships with people you knew in college. It’ll give you a head start when you meet them.”
“That would be great.” Max motioned for the waiter.
Jill sensed he was troubled. She remembered he did not like to avoid talking about things that were on his mind.
But he was sensitive enough now to understand she was pulling back from the flirtation they had shared, and gentleman enough not to press her.
Thank god.
Because she did not feel like she could handle anything more emotional than chitchat. Certainly not a sentence that started with him lying in a hotel bed last night, thinking about her.
Chapter 6
Dinner was a pleasant blur. Jill told Max about Carly and Hamilton, who Max had never actually met, as Hamilton left for Oxford before Max had arrived from Sweden.
She followed with thumbnail descriptions of a dozen more people they had hung out with during the college year they shared. In the car heading back to her place, Max expressed concern at the number of names she had mentioned.
“It’s a long list,” Max said, turning into Jill’s townhouse development. “I’m not terrible with names, but hopefully everyone will have badges so I can have a chance at keeping them straight.”
“I’m sure they will. And it will be interesting to see if any of them seem familiar.”
“I have expectations, but not much hope.”
“Why’s that?”
“Talking to you hasn’t led to a breakthrough with my recall, and I imagine I was closer to you than to anyone else.” Max pulled into her driveway and put the car in park, but did not shut off the ignition.
During the fifteen-minute drive home, Jill felt Max retreating emotionally. While she had been attacked by a second wave of what honestly could be described as lust when he had taken her arm to help her into the car, he had shown no sign of feeling the same.
Now, sitting inches from her, he was even less engaged. “We’re here. I bet you’re ready for bed.”
Jill stretched her neck to the left and breathed deep, clutching her hands together. “Yes, I am tired. But I had a great time tonight. Thank you for dinner.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. “I’m sorry we never got to discuss much of your past. All you did was fill me in on mine.”
“Which part of my past are we talking about?”
“I’d like to hear about what happened with your ex-husband, if it’s something you want to share.”
She took a deep breath. “I don’t like to talk about Andrew Denton, if you want to know the truth. I made a huge mistake marrying him, and he and I didn’t part on good terms.”
“No?” This one word was filled with curiosity. “Sounds like a story.”
Might as well get it out in the open , Jill thought. “It was. Andrew and I were casual friends when we were in college, but we got together a couple of years after we graduated. He was very persuasive, said he’d carried a torch for years, which was flattering.”
“He fell in love with you in college, when you were with me?”
“I guess, but I never saw any sign of it during college. Anyway, after dating him for a few months, we got married. Pretty quickly after that, I found out he had a very significant drug problem. He lost his job, and ran wildly through what money we had, and I realized I’d made a huge mistake. The night I told him I wanted a divorce, he pulled out a gun.”
“What?” Max moved closer, everything about his demeanor surprisingly protective. “He threatened you?”
“No. He wasn’t
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