14 Chapter 14: Another Side Of The Story

“Stop,” Maryanne whispers, trying to control her emotions. She gently tugs on her hand, but Max refuses to release it.

Luckily, he is too out of it to notice the shift in her mood.

Why is he acting so kind and intimate? This is not like him.

“I only want to thank you,” he rasps out. He opens his eyes once more, turning toward Maryanne. “I enjoyed spending time with you and Riley at the park. I hope we can do more together from now on.”

His grip tightens on her hand. She holds back the emotions that wage war against her reasoning. She cannot fall back into the trap that is Max Ryder. He has hurt her too much to be completely forgiven so easily.

Instead, Maryanne takes a deep breath in and says, “As long as you don’t get sick every time.”

Max tries to laugh through his coughs, but ends up wincing, “I’ll try not to.”

Maryanne smiles down at him, her hand burning from the contact. She pats his arm, her heart racing. “Just try to rest, I am going to check on Riley.”