Max kept his arm around her, holding her close as they went up the stairs to the same room she'd occupied before. He took a seat in an overstuffed chair, and tugged her into his lap, his arms encircling her.
"Ummm," he kissed the top of her head and murmured into her hair, "this is much better. I was so afraid I would never get to hold you again. When I saw you through the kitchen door earlier, you looked so sad, I wanted to kick myself for causing it."
"You saw me through the door?” she asked, laying her head on his chest. “That's how you knew where I was."
Max stroked her hair as he spoke. "I followed you when you ran around the side of the house, but I knew you were upset, so I went for a walk in the woods to give you some time. But when it started snowing I came back to the house.”
“I was just about to step into the yard when I saw you leaning against the glass door in the kitchen. You stood there for a long time and you looked so sad, and all I wanted was to hold you, comfort you, take your pain away. Finally you turned away and I couldn't wait anymore. I came to my room and changed out of my wet clothes and went to the kitchen to find you."
Liz placed her hand on his chest. "You were out in the snow the whole time? Where?"
Max laid his cheek on top of her head. "I walked down the path that led to the fallen tree in the clearing you found. When I came back, I saw you through the door and stopped at the edge of the yard. You were practically looking right at me, I thought maybe you had seen me."
"I didn't see you,” Liz said softly, “but maybe somehow I felt you. I was so sad because I thought I would never be with you again, and when I looked out into the yard a feeling of strength and comfort surrounded me. I could feel the pain being soothed away. I thought it was from the peacefulness of the scene outside, but now I think it was coming from you."
Max gathered her closer and she sighed. "Max, I'm so glad you came here."
"Nothing would have kept me away," he said softly, but fiercely. "When I got your message yesterday, I knew I had to do something drastic to keep you from slipping away from me. And I had already been planning to come."
Liz looked up at him and Max stopped her from speaking by placing his hand over her lips. "I know, I didn't tell you Alex had invited me.”
He smiled. “Before this whole thing with Tess, I'd planned a surprise that Alex was helping me with. But after your message yesterday I told Alex what happened and asked him to find out if you still planned on coming up this weekend. He called Maria to find out your plans and I arranged my schedule around yours.”
"What kind of surprise?" Liz asked.
Her question caught him off guard. "Surprise?"
"You said you'd planned a surprise," she prompted.
Max smiled. "Yeah, well, I had a whole thing planned. Tonight I was going to take you on a drive and accidentally go by the cabin we looked at. You know, the one that overlooks the lake.”
Liz nodded, and he continued. “I'd stop there, suggest a look around, and the door would just happen to be open."
He grinned at the look of confusion on her face. "And the only thing inside would have been the rocking chair you admired at the street fair, and of course a picnic basket and candles, a fire in the fireplace. I planned for us to spend the evening talking and looking at the moon on the lake off the back terrace."
"The rocking chair?" Liz asked.
"Yeah," he said pulling her closer again, "you remember it don't you?"
"Of course, but what is it doing there? OH!!" she exclaimed. "You bought the house."
Max smiled. "Yeah and I thought we'd celebrate there."
"It sounds heavenly," she sighed wistfully, but her expression turned sad. "But then all of this other stuff happened, and I ruined your plans."
"You didn't ruin anything," he assured her, placing a kiss on her head. "You have to know you are much more important to me than some cabin. The cabin or the celebration wouldn't mean anything without you. But it will still be there and we can celebrate another time.”
He sighed. “The early snow was a problem too," he admitted. "I would've been forced to leave the car at the bottom of the canyon with the rocking chair in it anyway. But we have all the time in the world. We can come up another weekend and celebrate."
Tears welled in her eyes as she met his gaze. "Oh Max, I can't believe how wonderful you are, and after I treated you so badly. I'm so sorry."
He wiped away the tear that slid down her cheek. "No Liz, don't apologize,” he said gently. “You had a good reason for what you did. I just want to be completely honest with you so there are no misunderstandings. I want you to know everything."
She shook her head. "Max, you don't have to explain anything. I believe you."
"Yes, I know,” he assured her. “But I want you to know the whole truth."
Liz nodded, "Okay."
He reached out taking a strand of her hair in his fingers as he started. "I haven't dated Tess in months, almost a year. I was never in love with her and she didn't love me. We never discussed marriage, but when I tried to end it she refused to let go and there were a few nasty arguments. She had gotten the idea that she would like me for a husband, or more likely," he said wryly," she wanted to be married to my money."
He shrugged dismissively and continued. "I've bumped into her occasionally at parties and around town, but there hasn't been anything between us for a long time."
A scowl crossed his face. "I really don't know why she was kissing and grabbing at me that day. Tess has never done anything like that before, and she was never an overly demonstrative person. I was trying to hold her off and ask her what she was doing when you saw us."
Liz saw the pain that entered his eyes and took his hand, lacing her fingers through.
He cupped her cheek, holding her eyes. "I was never so scared in my life as when you ran from me that day. When I couldn't find you, I was sure something terrible had happened and I didn't know if I could survive without you."
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I was so relieved when I found you at Maria's, all I wanted to do was take you in my arms, where you belong, and make sure nothing ever came between us again."
"But I wouldn't let you," Liz said softly.
"No," he stated simply. But she could hear the emotion in his voice as he continued. "I knew you were hurting, but I was willing you to come to me."
"I could feel it," she confirmed with a smile, "and it nearly worked."
"It did?" he asked incredulously.
"Yeah,” she said with a nod. “I had to use every ounce of strength to resist you."
"I'll have to work on that," he said wryly, placing another kiss on her forehead. "That's the reason I insisted on seeing you, I have to confess."
"What do you mean?" Liz asked.
"I knew you still loved me,” he said softly, “and I also knew I could coerce you by kissing you senseless."
He smiled at her shocked expression. "You'll have to forgive me Liz, but I had to use any means available to get you to listen to me. I found when I had you in my arms and you couldn't escape me was the best time to pursue my advantage."
"I'll have to work on my reactions to you," she teased with a laugh. "I mean you can't have your way all the time just because you know I'll agree when you kiss me."
He smiled wider. “We’ll have to work on it together.”
Liz blushed, and his eyes burned with heat. He stroked her cheek with his thumb. "But let me finish clearing up this mess first.”
Liz nodded, and he continued. “As for having lunch with Tess on Thursday, it's just not true. That is the day I called to invite you to lunch, remember? When you didn’t come, I had some lunch brought in and called a meeting with a few of my managers, all male, in my office. And there's no way Kyle could have seen us unless he was repelling down the side of the building."
"I've been thinking about that," Liz said softly. "Kyle has been against you from the beginning and when he found out that we were reconciling yesterday, he was livid. I think he made up that lie trying to keep you out of my life."
Max held her eyes. "Do you know why he would do that?"
"Um, well..." Liz hesitated.
Max touched her face. "He loves you, doesn't he?"
Liz nodded, "He thinks he does."
"So he lied to you to keep you away from me," he growled softly.
Liz sat up so she could see his face better. "Max? Why didn't you just tell me you had lunch at your office that day? It's irrefutable proof that you weren't with her."
Max shook his head. "I wanted you to believe me because you trusted me, not because I could prove it to you."
"What if I didn't?" Liz asked.
"Then I'd have gotten Alex to back me up. He was at the meeting and I know you trust him. But you did believe me so it doesn't matter."
"Max," she started, looking down at her hands. "I've been very distrustful of you and I want you to know why. I want to tell you about what happened with Sean."
"Liz, you don't have to tell me now," he objected. "I want to know, but I can wait until you are ready."
"I need to tell you Max,” Liz said meeting his eyes. “I'd decided to tell you last Saturday."
He nodded, encouraging her to continue.
Liz took a deep breath. "At first Sean was great, he was charming and we had fun together. I was young and very naive and I guess you could say he swept me off my feet. I thought I loved him and he said he loved me."
"Sean had taken over the business his parents built and he was making a huge success of it. But the more successful he became the more image-conscious he became too, and not only for himself but for me as well. At first it was just little things. He bought me jewelry and clothes that were the latest trends. I really didn't think anything about it, I just thought he liked to give me gifts."
"Then my parents died and nothing seemed to make sense anymore. I let Sean take care of a lot of things for me because it was easier than dealing with it myself, and we got engaged. When he started making suggestions about how he wanted me to wear my hair and what kind of clothes he wanted me to wear, I wasn't worried or upset, it just seemed he wanted the best for me because he loved me."
Liz shook her head. "But then Sean started to criticize more and more things about my life. He didn't think my friends or family were good enough. He wanted me to change jobs to something more prestigious or to quit working all together. He didn't like where I lived and wanted to put me in an apartment in the nice part of town and pay all of my bills. When I objected, he argued that we were to be married and then he would do it anyway. I didn't want to quit and become dependent on him, but he became so angry that I agreed to look for another job just to pacify him."
She took a gasping breath as the emotions started to overwhelm her. "Whenever I objected to what he w-wanted he became angry, and over time his temper went from bad to worse. He would rant and b-break things and call me t-terrible names. He would tell me how s-stupid I was, and with the same breath how lucky I was to have him to take care of me, yelling that I belonged to him and he would d-decide what was b-best for me.”
Her voice was becoming strained and she struggled to continue. "H-He would tell me about all the other women who were after him, and if I didn't know what a g-good thing I had, he could always go to one of them. After he calmed down he would be so remorseful and upset and he w-would beg me to forgive him. And I w-would. I was so stupid."
Liz started shaking from the memories, and Max pulled her closer to him and held her head against his heart.
"H-He was constantly c-criticizing me, and tearing down my self-esteem. Eventually I started to believe everything he said. I thought he had to be r-right. He ran a multi-million dollar company and he had to be sure in his judgment and his decisions, so I thought he must be right about me too. When he told me I was stupid, I believed him. When he told me I c-couldn't take care of myself, I believed him.” Her voice grew softer until it was just a whisper. “And when he told me I was less than n-nothing without him, I b-believed h-him."
She could feel Max's strength surging into her as his arms tightened around her, and after a few minutes she continued. "He was extremely j-jealous and he constantly accused me of cheating on him with any man that would come into conversation. I once made the mistake of mentioning a great idea one of the male designers had come up with and Sean called me a w-whore and worse.”
“I had never seen him so angry and I was scared to d-death. He threw things and s-slammed me into the wall. He said if I knew what was good for me, I would stop dangling other men in front of him. S-so after that I was very careful not to mention any men to him."
Her voice trembled with emotion. "It was a t-terrible time in my life. I was walking on eggshells all the time, trying not to do anything that would upset S-Sean. I was so depressed and unsure of what I was doing, it was like living in a haze. I c-couldn't sleep, I had no appetite and was losing weight, but as the weeks passed I finally started to see what I had allowed him to do to me."
"I was working at a prestigious, high pressure job I hated, I was afraid to speak to my co-workers, I had no friends of my own, and I barely saw my family. Everything I did was what h-he wanted. I had allowed him to take over and I had nothing for me, nothing I wanted. I had let him push everything and everyone out of my life that had meant anything to me.”
“I thought I would be able to talk to him about it, make him see that I needed some things in my life that I wanted, but he was furious when I brought it up. He refused to talk about it and stormed out of my apartment."
"The next day he came over and told me, not asked, but t-told me, about some social function he was taking me to. But Maria had won an award for her work, and the presentation was on the same night. I told him I wanted to go to the award dinner because it was for my sister. He said he should be the most important person in my life, and what he wanted was more important than my sister.”
“But for once I stood my ground. He tried to c-coax me to go with him instead, then he insisted, but I was firm. The more I refused, the angrier he got. He said the m-most awful things." Liz squeezed her eyes shut, shivering with the memory.
"He was f-furious I was standing up to him, and roared at me that he was going to cut my family out of my life. He said I was too s-stupid to know what was good for me and h-he was g-going to teach me a l-lesson."
“What happened?” Max whispered.
Liz’s body shook. “H-He hit m-me.”
"He did what?" Max asked incredulously, suddenly furious.
She met his eyes and her voice came out strong and steady. "Sean hit me. He backhanded me and knocked me to the floor. He kept calling me the most awful names and s-screaming that I had forced him to do it. That I was forcing him to h-hurt me.”
"Oh Liz." Max smoothed her cheek gently as if he could erase the pain of the old hurt. "I had no idea."
"I-I didn't want anyone to know," she said simply. "I had l-let him think he could run my life and when I took that away..."
"But no one has the right to do that to you," Max said angrily.
"I know that n-now," she agreed softly. "When I look back, I can see it had been building up for some time. He had become more abusive and v-violent, jerking me around, slamming me into walls, but it literally took a s-slap in the face to make me see what had been h-happening.”
She smiled grimly. “S-So I ran away from him. I moved in with Maria and I told her and Alex what had been happening. They were great. They supported me, no questions asked.”
“Except I never told them that Sean had hit me. I n-never told anyone. I was just too embarrassed that I’d let it happen.”
Max’s rumbling voice interrupted her. “You didn’t let it happen. You got out.”
Liz shook her head. “Sean tried for weeks to get me to come back to him. He called at home and work, left messages for me everywhere. He kept showing up, and he c-cried, and begged and demanded. And he lied and lied, constantly changing his stories to fit the situation, m-making all kinds of excuses. But when he saw that I wasn't going to give in to him, he got furious and told me that I wasn't the only woman in his life. He told me if I didn’t come back to him, he would just go to his m-mistress."
She released a short laugh. "If that statement was meant to make me jealous, I can truthfully say that it had the opposite effect. I was livid. He was the one who had continually accused me of cheating, and it was him all along. I couldn't believe he had a mistress the whole time we had been engaged, when he supposedly loved me. I knew by then I had never really loved him and he didn't know how to love. He just wanted a possession, a doll he could dress-up and play with."
"And that's why you were so upset about Tess," Max said softly.
"Yes,” Liz said with a nod. “It seemed as if history was repeating itself."
His eyes were so warm and tender when they met hers. "But you believed me anyway."
"Oh Max," she sighed, touching his face gently with her fingertips. "I had to believe you. You made me believe you. I could see the love and the truth in your eyes and it chased my fears away."
He paused. "I'm sorry about what happened Liz. If I'd known..."
She shook her head and pressed her fingers to his lips. "I didn't want you to know. I was too emb-barrassed. But Maria and Alex kept pushing me to tell you. They said you'd understand, and it would help smooth over some of my reactions to things that happened between us."
Max nodded. "Like the last time we were up here and you tried to back out of going with me to see the cabins. What happened that day, Liz? What scared you?"
She shrugged. "It wasn't anything big really. Diane had been talking about the horse carriage rides, and you said we would do it the next time we were here. I panicked, plain and simple. I hardly knew you and already you were making plans without consulting me. I know I overreacted but..."
He interrupted. "No. I'm sorry Liz. It was just a suggestion, my hope that we would be together in the future. I really didn't mean anything by it."
"I know," she assured him as she fitted her head into the hollow of his neck. "You aren't anything like Sean."
"Liz,” he said softly, “I didn't know anything about him. What Alex told me was vague and I didn’t want to push you into telling me.”
He kissed her head. “I fell in love with you the first time I saw you, and I've wanted to be with you every minute of every day since then. Each time we were together was better than the last and I craved you more and more, but I held myself in check, afraid that I would scare you away."
He stroked her hair. "I wanted to kiss you so badly on our first date at the botanical gardens I thought I would explode. The way you looked at me that day I thought you wanted it too. But I couldn't take the risk that I was going too fast and have you slip away before I even had a chance."
Liz glanced at him shyly. "I was intrigued,” she admitted, “and I wondered what it would be like to kiss you."
He smiled. "But now that I know what happened I'm glad we took things slowly. It gave us a chance to know and trust one another."
Liz nodded. “Me too.” She reached up to touch his face. “And I’m glad you didn’t give up either.”
“Never,” Max said. “I’d never give up on you.”
He held her eyes, as he stroked her cheek with his thumb. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right? I’ll be there for you any time you need me. If you just want to talk, need someone to listen, if you get scared, or just need a hug.”
Liz smiled. “I know, Max.”
Her expression turned pensive. "Max, I'm curious,” she said softly. “I kept waiting for you to tell me to stop seeing Kyle. I especially thought after you two were in my office together that I would get an ultimatum."
Max smiled grimly. "I never wanted to do anything more in my life than drop kick him out the door that day," he admitted. "I kept picturing him trying to make time with you when you were at work together. He had so much access to you and I didn't. I wanted to threaten him with grievous bodily harm if he ever came near you again."
Liz thrilled at his possessive words.
Max continued. "I wanted to forbid you to see him and I wanted to make you promise that you wouldn't see him outside of the office, but Alex's warnings kept me in line."
Max kissed the top of her head. "You turned me down when I first asked you to dinner because you already had a date, and I knew it was with Kyle. So after that I asked you out as early as possible so I would have a better chance of catching you free. I'll admit I was jealous of the time you spent with him but you were coming out with me, and we were getting closer and I knew you wouldn't do that if you had strong feelings for him. I tried to monopolize your time and your thoughts. That's why I sent you so many flowers. I wanted to make sure your head was so full of me that you would forget all about him.”
Liz smiled.
“But I must admit," he continued with a devious grin, "I probably would have gone crazy if it wasn't for the inside help. Alex was keeping me appraised of your relationship with Kyle."
"I can believe it," she said rolling her eyes as she remembered conversations she had with Alex and Maria on the subject.
"You're not angry are you?" Max asked concerned.
"No I'm not angry," she said smiling. "I never thought I would say it but it's kind of nice to have someone be possessive in a good way."
Max smiled. "Okay, so now you will stop seeing Kyle?"
Liz laughed. "Max I haven't dated Kyle for weeks. Soon after I met you, I told him that I just wanted to be friends."
"You did?" he asked incredulously. "You mean I have been worrying for nothing?"
She nodded.
Max pulled her into a tight embrace. "Good, because I love you, and I couldn't bear to lose you."
Liz hugged him back as if she couldn't get close enough. "You won't lose me. I love you too much."
Max smiled and leaned closer to her, his eyes on her lips. "Liz?"
"Yeah?" she whispered.
"You trust me, and you want to be with me, right?"
"Yes Max," she sighed.
"Then can I risk kissing you and you won't accuse me of trying to coerce you into anything?"
She giggled. "Max you can try to coerce me any time you like."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After their talk and some cuddling, Max and Liz went downstairs to join the others at the reunion.
As they entered the living room, Alex was one of the first people Liz saw, and it was obvious he’d been waiting to see her. He looked worried and his eyes raked over her, but as he saw Max at her side, his relief was evident. Then Alex noticed their clasped hands and a huge grin lit his face.
He crossed to them, and Liz couldn’t help but see the look that passed between the two men. And for the first time she was grateful for a little of Alex’s interference.
Alex wrapped his arm around her. “So everything is okay between you two?”
Liz smiled. “Everything is great.”
She hugged him. “You were right Alex, it was all just a misunderstanding.”
He hugged her tightly, rubbing her back. “And how are you Liz? I was really worried about you when you ran away this morning.”
“I was scared,” Liz admitted. “But Max wouldn’t give up on me, and helped me see the truth. And for the first time in a long time I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off me, and I’m happy and hopeful.”
“See, I told you everything would work out,” Alex said softly.
Liz nodded. “Thank you Alex, for everything.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The rest of the weekend Max was never far from Liz’s side. His hands stroked her skin, and threaded through her hair. He rubbed her back, and kissed her neck, and took every opportunity to wrap her in his arms.
And Liz reveled in the attention. She loved him so much, and finally she felt free to show him and everyone else.
They spent practically every minute together, cuddling by the fireplace, looking off the balcony, and taking walks in the woods.
Max even took her back to the lake where they had first kissed. It was frozen-over, and the trees and ground were covered with snow, making it even more beautiful.
He held her close to keep away the cold, and kissed every inch of her face, his lips worshiping her, as he whispered words of love. Finally his lips settled on her hers and he kissed her so thoroughly that Liz knew everyone back at the cabin would immediately be able to see what they had been doing.
And when they did return, Maria’s knowing smile told Liz she was right.
At first Maria was angry that Liz had reconciled with Max. She had seen first-hand how damaged Liz had been when she left Sean, and she’d been the one to help her sister put her life back together.
But when Maria heard the whole explanation, she changed her mind and welcomed Max back into Liz’s life. She had liked Max from the first, and was glad to have everything work out and see her sister so happy.
Alex was overjoyed that his scheme had brought two of the people he loved most together, and he took full credit for the happy ending, telling everyone who would listen how he had arranged it.
