And that meant the world to me.

I didn’t tell him that, instead, I said, “That was just a nice thing to say.”

“I like that,” he replied as his hand left my chin and curled around my neck.

I blinked in confusion then I asked, “You like what?”

“I like that you don’t believe guys are checkin’ you out, you won’t accept that compliment, but you get soft when I tell you I like somethin’ you do for me.”

I bit my lip and tried to look away but Max’s hand at my neck tensed so I kept my eyes on his and demanded, “Stop being nice.”

He grinned yet again and his fingers gave me a squeeze. “Duchess, you best get used to that. I know you haven’t had a lot of experience with it but you should know, I intend to be nice to you on a regular basis.”

“Now you’re being nicer,” I informed him and it came out as an accusation.

“Yeah, babe, like I said, you better get used to it.”

I wasn’t sure that was possible. However, I was sure that I wouldn’t mind trying.

I decided to change the subject. “Can I talk to Harry now?”

He looked at Harry and replied, “Yeah.”

“Max?” I called and he looked back at me, I got up on my toes to get close and I whispered, “You’re the best I’ve ever had too, not just with your mouth, with everything. And when I say that, I mean everything.”

Then before I could witness his full reaction for what I saw with his face softening but his eyes getting dark and intense was enough, I pulled free from his arms and hurried to Harry.

Told you that you were selling yourself short, Charlie said in my head.

Oh be quiet, I said back.

I walked along the bar toward Harry, not looking back at Max and I felt my mouth smiling slightly but inside I was smiling a whole lot bigger.

I noticed that Harry was being given a wide berth. Both of the stools beside him were empty and no one was standing close.

I slid on a stool next to him, his neck twisted so he could look at me and I realized why he was being avoided. His eyes were red-rimmed with drink and maybe sleepless nights for his face was haggard and, up close, he looked even less happy.

“Hi, Harry,” I said softly.

“Nina,” he muttered and looked back down at his drink.

“You doing okay?”

“Nope,” he answered instantly then put the glass to his lips and threw back the contents in one gulp.

When he dropped his hand, the bottom of the glass crashed against the bar and I jumped.

Suddenly, and loudly, he shouted, “Jake!”

The bartender’s eyes came to Harry and Harry rapped his glass against the bar indicating he wanted another. Jake nodded and turned to the bottles of liquor behind him.

“Harry –” I started.

He cut me off. “Heard you’re movin’ to town.”

“Um… yes,” I affirmed.

“Figures,” he muttered strangely and Jake was there.

I watched him pour bourbon into Harry’s glass, Harry’s hand still wrapped around it and I looked up at Jake to see his eyes come to me. I shook my head slightly. He nodded his indicating he understood.

“Dude, you want another one after this, you gotta give me your keys,” Jake told Harry.

Without hesitation Harry reached into his jeans pocket, yanked out his keys and slapped them on the bar. Jake snatched them up and walked away. Harry took a sip of bourbon.

“Max and I’ll take you home.” I offered and Harry’s bloodshot eyes came to me.

“You know, I don’t get it,” he stated.

“Get what?” I asked.

He looked from my face to my lap then up again. “You live in fuckin’ England. England,” he spat out his last word and I jumped again, the venom in his tone surprising me. “You come to town, drive straight fuckin’ through, straight to Max’s. Now you’re sittin’ with his Ma and his sister at The Dog, laughin’ and bein’ loud. Then you’re pressin’ up tight to Max and makin’ out with him. I mean, what is that?”

I didn’t know where he was going with this or why he was even talking about it or, most of all, why he seemed so angry about it, so gently I said, “Harry, I don’t understand.”

“It’s just him,” Harry told me. “Been that way as long’s I can remember,” Harry’s eyes went across the bar to Max and his unhappy face went tight, “always.”

I was getting uncomfortable with the conversation and not knowing what to say I watched him take another sip.

“Harry, maybe –” I began but Harry looked back to me and what he said shut me up.

“Knew Anna,” he informed me, “knew her for forever. She was a sweet little thing. Wasn’t pretty though. Sweet as hell, always. Funny, Jesus, so fuckin’ funny. But not pretty.”

I stared at him, having seen pictures of Anna I couldn’t believe he didn’t think she was pretty. She was beautiful.

Harry continued, “Then, she got pretty. Like the ugly duckling story, in high school, she turns into a swan. She’d had a crush on Max for fuckin’ years. Years. He didn’t notice her, didn’t know she fuckin’ existed until she got pretty. Then he noticed her all right. Everyone did.”

I didn’t want to hear this, not from Harry.

“Harry, Max and I haven’t –” I started but he kept talking.

“He asked her out and that was it, she was his. The whole town thought them bein’ together was so sweet, so fuckin’ sweet. Everyone thought it was like Cinderella. Anna wantin’ him for so long, watchin’ him from afar, never had a boyfriend, no one but Max. Max bein’ Max, every girl wantin’ a piece of him. Anna’s impossible dream bein’ possible and them hookin’ up, gettin’ so tight, fallin’ in love.” He shook his head and downed another healthy sip before continuing, “Even when he went off to CU, got that scholarship to play ball but got her pregnant his sophomore year. He quit school and came home and married her. Everyone thought it was so romantic. He was such a good fuckin’ guy, givin’ up his dream of bein’ an architect, doin’ the right thing by Anna. Jesus.”

As this information pummeled me, I was beginning to breathe heavily and my heart was skipping in my chest. I wanted to run away, slide off my stool and run back to the safety of Max’s arms, to the time when I didn’t know this. I realized, after all that time thinking I wanted to know that, actually, I didn’t want to know.

“Please, Harry, listen to me a second –” I begged but he kept talking.

“And you know what? He was never pissed about it. Never thought about what coulda been. Never angry that she derailed his life, gettin’ knocked up. He was fuckin’ happy about that baby, thrilled to put a ring on her finger. Over the fuckin’ moon. She was happy too. They were so fuckin’ happy. Even when she lost the kid. And the next one. And the one after that.”

I was no longer breathing heavily, I wasn’t breathing at all.

“They quit tryin’ but hey,” he threw his hand out, “that’s okay. They had each other and for the Great Max and the Beautiful Swan Anna, that was enough. It was everything. Fuck,” he muttered and took another sip.

I forced air into my lungs but didn’t get a word in before Harry spoke again.

“Then Curt kills her.”

The breath I’d pulled in squeezed out as my chest froze but Harry kept right on going.

“Jesus, tore the whole town apart. Thought they’d hunt Curt down, hell, thought Max’d do it. Max was un… fuckin’… done. Never seen a man like that. Never. Fuckin’ shit, he was wild. All anyone could think about was Anna bein’ dead and Max losin’ her and, finally, Max mannin’ up and not seekin’ retribution. And wasn’t Max so great that he didn’t lose it and whale on Curt? Wasn’t he so fuckin’ wonderful that, when his world came crashin’ down, in the end he kept his shit together? No one thought about Curt takin’ Bitsy’s legs, leavin’ her in that chair and Curt walkin’ away unscathed. All anyone could think about was the end of Max and Anna, the death of a damned fairytale.”

“Maybe I should –” I whispered, wanting to get away, desperate to get away but somehow glued to my stool.

Harry kept right on talking. “Then everyone talks, they see him playin’ the field, they know he ain’t serious with no one. Never again. Anna was everything to him. How sad,” Harry hissed. “How tragic.” Harry shook his head and took another sip before he continued his diatribe. “Such a good man, losin’ everythin’ at the age of twenty-fuckin’-seven, heartbreakin’. Max is untouchable, his heart’s so broken, they said, no one’ll ever get in again. No one noticed he was fuckin’ everything that moved, leavin’ ‘em high and dry, never lettin’ ‘em get a piece of him. Everyone knew he did it everywhere, takin’ jobs outta town, had women here, had women at his jobs, had fuckin’ women everywhere.”

“I should –” I started to slide from the stool but Harry’s eyes pinned me to the spot.

“Then you blow into town, you.” His voice got low, his eyes did a sweep of me again and he continued, “The way you look, the way you talk, the way you dress, pure fuckin’ class. No one knows who you are, you come from fuckin’ England and suddenly you’re makin’ out with him at The Dog, pressed to him like he was some kind of God or somethin’. You’re hot, you could have anyone, point your finger at anyone in this bar, you’d have him,” he informed me. “So of course he’d nail you.”

“It isn’t like that,” I whispered.

His brows shot up. “No? So he’s let you in? All the ones before you and he’s let you in? You’re hot, Nina, shit, I’d do you in a second, count my lucky stars someone like you gave me a shot, twist myself into knots to lay the world at your feet, so maybe he has. What do I know? You can probably give him a baby, Anna couldn’t do that. But, you should know, girl, and not anyone’s gonna tell you this but me, everyone hopin’ you’re the one, you’re the one that’ll heal all his fuckin’ wounds. You’re hot, you’re sweet, you’re even funny. But you should know, what you ain’t is Anna.”