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Maxi snorted. “Yeah, that’s basically what I told him. But while I was trying to deal with that, my mother passed away during a procedure.”

“You said that once before. What type of procedure?”

Lord, she hated explaining it. “Mom was beautiful. She didn’t need cosmetic surgery, but she liked it all the same. Seemed like every six months she was having something else done, always tweaking this and tightening that. She got it in her head that she wanted this extreme makeover, and I guess it was just too much. She died of cardiac arrest under anesthesia.”

“Damn. So unnecessary.”

She nodded. Very unnecessary. “My mom and I weren’t really close, not since...well, since I was eighteen and everything happened.”

A disapproving frown creased his brow. “Was she close with your sister?”

“Yes.”

The frown darkened more. “That has to be tough.”

“Not really. I mean, I’m used to it.”

One fingertip brushed her cheek. “No one gets used to that.”

That rough whisper teased over her senses. “There’s so much you don’t know about me.” Things she needed to confess. “Even though that’s the way I wanted it, at least with you, it wasn’t the norm. Usually I’m an open book.” She hadn’t hidden from her failings. No, like a fool, she flaunted them.

“So flip a few pages for me.”

She smiled with his jest. “I’ll start with family.” He needed to understand the many ways she’d disappointed them. “My sister is a fitness buff. She owns her own boutique gym for trendy people. Very exclusive, and very pricey. Harlow is one of those hard bodies...well, I guess like you.” Maxi turned her head to stare out the window at the kids playing. That made it easier than looking at Miles. “I already told you about my brother. He was one of those ‘top of the class’ guys his whole life. Mom is a dynamo. There was no challenge that seemed too big to her.” And then there was Maxi. A disappointment.

Miles waited, occasionally drifting his fingers over her bare shoulder in a way that felt comforting more than seductive.

“You should probably know,” she finally said, “I’m the odd duck in my family. I love them and they love me, but we don’t really fit together. I’m the underachiever. I was never super motivated about anything.” Except the farmhouse, and that had turned into a living nightmare.

“You had a good job,” Miles said. “That is, if you were really a personal shopper?”

God, it hurt, knowing he didn’t believe anything about her. Not that she blamed him after she’d been deliberately elusive. But now...now she needed him to believe, to trust her as much as she trusted him. “I never lied to you about anything, I promise. I just didn’t share much.”

“Want to tell me why?”

“Gary—my ex—was all about trying to get back with me, especially after my grandma died and he knew I’d had two inheritances. With my dad already gone, everything came to Harlow, Neil and me. But there wasn’t a lot of equity in how it was done and my sister and brother were...are furious with me for financial reasons.”

She could feel Miles staring at her. She knew he had a lot of questions.

Instead of asking any of them, he cupped her shoulder in his big, warm hand and just waited quietly for her to continue.

This was why Miles had scared her so badly. He seemed too blasted perfect. The last two times she’d been drawn to a guy, she’d been horribly wrong. She no longer trusted her own judgment, but she also wasn’t a fool. Being around Miles would mean falling hard and fast. If he turned out to be a creep, then what?

And even if he didn’t, the last thing she needed was another complication in her life. Deep down to her bones, she knew that this was her chance for redemption.

But to accomplish that, she had to be strong.

Of course, she’d never counted on being harassed, terrorized and assaulted.

CHAPTER FOUR (#udcc22cdf-68e8-5161-aa4e-d09620e81d53)

GETTING BACK TO her explanations, Maxi said, “The financial mess happened when my mother mostly cut me out of her will to motivate me.” Her mouth twisted with the memory. “I not only screwed up when it came to men, I often failed at life, too.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“If Mom was alive, she’d explain it all to you, believe me. I was her big disappointment in so many ways. She had Neil and Harlow and they excelled at everything.” She gave a small, deceptive shrug of acceptance. “And then she had me.”

“Everyone is different. It’s not fair to compare.”

Maxi laughed, but she didn’t feel any humor. “Trust me, there was no comparison. Neil and Harlow always strived for perfection. Looking back, I think I strived to be contrary.”

“Well,” he murmured, “I can confirm the contrary part. But that’s not always bad.”

“I was a screwup and I know it.” She couldn’t deny it. “Wrong boyfriend, wrong attitude, wrong focus. I had mediocre grades and didn’t care. I blew off college. Took an apartment in a terrible part of town. It drove Mom nuts. She decided the best way to make an impact on me was to leave all her business interests evenly divided between my brother and sister. She didn’t cut me out entirely, though. She left me an old patch of rental property that wasn’t worth much.”

In a carefully neutral tone, Miles said, “That sounds more like punishment than positive motivation.”

She shrugged. “I figured it was a small price to pay for how I’d disappointed her. But it all backfired anyway.” Guilt always tightened her throat whenever she thought of her mother’s thwarted plans. “For as long as I can remember, Mom always bought property. She got started with the rental property she gave to me, but throughout my lifetime, she grew her holdings until she could purchase a posh resort. It was her pride and joy, and by all appearances, it was a thriving, lucrative business.”

After a brief pause, Miles said, “By all appearances?”

Maxi still couldn’t believe that her mother had kept the business problems private. From her, sure. She and her mother didn’t talk business. Often they didn’t talk about anything.

But not confiding in Harlow and Neil? Incredible.

“After Mom passed, Harlow discovered that she’d filed bankruptcy. That’s bad enough, but from what I understand, she’d also transferred assets through a shell company to Harlow and Neil, which makes it look like she was trying to defraud her creditors.” Honestly, none of them could be sure she wasn’t. “Now, as the recipients of the transfers, they’re being sued. Heaven only knows when it’ll all get settled.”

Miles whistled. “Wow. Can’t say I understand all that either, but it sounds pretty nasty.”

“Very.” Because it was so ironic, Maxi laughed uneasily. “The property Mom left me? Turns out it was smack-dab in the middle of a big land deal. I made a killing off it.”

Eyes flaring, Miles said, “Holy shit. I bet your brother and sister aren’t happy about that.”

“They’d have been fine if it had gone the way originally intended. But for them to be on the short end? They’re livid. And then, of course, it wasn’t long after that my grandmother passed away, too. I was heartsick when Harlow and Neil jumped me at the funeral, demanding I do the right thing, which to them means selling the house and giving the profit to them.”

“Bad timing,” Miles muttered.

“Very bad. I was already hurt and angry, more so after Harlow claimed I could never take care of the farm, that I was in over my head. Neil agreed with her. They wanted me to be happy with a chunk of money and forget my grandmother’s wishes.”

“To care for her cats?”

She nodded. “I didn’t react well. I offered them each twenty grand to leave me alone, which admittedly won’t go far.”

“Sounds generous to me.”

At the time, it had sounded generous to her, too. But she hadn’t realized the financial tangle her mother had left behind. “They didn’t think so. Neither of them has been to the house, but I get plenty of texts and emails reminding me of my duty, and what I should do for them.”

“What about your duty to your grandmother?”