In a heartbeat (Heartbeat #1) Read online

  “Please – sit, make yourself comfortable. I’ll be just in there looking for the shirt.” He pointed at the closet door. Stella nodded and headed for the sofa.

  Max walked into his closet and left the door open. He knew exactly where his football shirts were, but he wanted to take his time and prolong Stella’s presence in his room for as long as possible. Fortunately for him, she didn’t sit down and stare nervously at him. She started walking around, looking at photos and exploring. Max valued his privacy and couldn’t remember when the last time was that he’d had a girl in here. But somehow Stella’s looking around didn’t seem like an intrusion. It seemed like opening up to her in a different way, and he liked it.

  Pretending he was looking for the shirt, he followed her around with his eyes. She seemed to relax a bit; her body wasn’t so rigid anymore. Good: that was exactly what he wanted. He wouldn’t dream of making a move when she was expecting it. But he fully intended on kissing her tonight. The thought of spending another day without having tasted her lips was unbearable. He needed her. He couldn’t explain what it was exactly that he needed from her. All he knew was that the pure need to be close to her was so strong that it had a mind of its own and pulled him towards her. Trying to restrain it took a lot of effort.

  Stella didn’t ask any questions. She looked silently around, but didn’t say anything. Max wondered what she was thinking. Eventually she sat on the sofa, turning to face him. His search became more concentrated now that she was looking at him.

  “I know you’re stalling,” she said and made him smile. Of course she knew. “Why do you want me here?” she asked, her voice losing its playful edge.

  He picked up the shirt with one swift movement and came out of the wardrobe. He sat opposite her on the sofa, mimicking her pose – his arm propped on the back cushion, one leg folded in front of him, the other one planted on the floor.

  “I don’t know,” he said and gave her the shirt. She took it.

  “Thanks.”

  They remained silent for a while. Stella was looking at him expectantly. Max felt he had to say something, but he didn’t know what. All he knew was that he didn’t want her to leave. But how could he stop her?

  “I think I’d better go,” she said and stood up. Then, she hesitated for a second and it was all Max needed to realise exactly what he needed from her. Something inside him snapped and the urge to hold her in his arms flooded his veins and set his whole body on fire. Slowly he got up and loomed over her.

  “Do you want to stay?” he whispered. It wasn’t meant as a flirtatious or suggestive comment. He didn’t want to tease her. He wanted to know the honest answer to that question. Somehow, she knew that because she didn’t smile or roll her eyes.

  “Yes.” Her answer was positive, but her body language was definitely not. “But I won’t.”

  “Why not?” He brushed her hair back over her shoulders and stroked her cheek with his knuckles. Instantly her arms were covered in goose bumps. She didn’t reply straight away; her eyes remained thoughtful as if she was trying to figure out what to say and what to leave out. “Why not, Stella?”

  Again, silence. Well, if she couldn’t find a reason to leave, then maybe Max could play this to his advantage.

  He cupped her cheek with one hand while the other caressed her arm and slipped to her waist. Still nothing. No words, no reasons why they shouldn’t be together. Dipping his head down while keeping his eyes focused on hers, Max cut the distance between their lips until they almost touched. He was so close that he could feel her warm breath. His restraint was wearing thin and unless she spoke in the next two seconds, he was going to ...

  “I don’t want to fall in love with you,” she blurted out.

  He jerked back as if she’d slapped him. She closed her eyes in regret.

  “I’m sorry, Max. I didn’t mean to ...”

  “I’m not asking you to fall in love with me, Stella.” He couldn’t help but sound a bit defensive, bitter even. He didn’t even know why that statement bothered him so much.

  “It’s not a matter of you asking. You’re ... amazing. Every minute I spend with you I realise how great you are. I wouldn’t be able to help it.”

  “Then don’t. I want you to be as obsessed with me as I am with you.” He moved closer to her again, the fire inside him rekindled by her words. He hugged her close and kissed the top of her head. She circled his waist with her arms and Max sighed contently. “Don’t go. Stay here tonight,” he whispered in her hair. She shook he head slightly as she pulled away from him. Unwillingly, he released her. She took a step back and then hesitated. Again.

  Bad move.

  Extending his long arms, Max grabbed her and pulled her to him, their lips colliding. He sucked on her lip as she did the same to him. When he thrust his tongue not too gently inside her mouth, she welcomed him eagerly, meeting it with her own and then sucking on it. Max groaned with pleasant surprise, as Stella continued to gently suck on his tongue inside her mouth. Now all he could think about was her mouth on every part of his body.

  They kissed the life out of each other, surrendering to the moment, surrendering all control. Max buried his fingers in Stella’s long hair, pulling her head backwards and exposing her neck. He trailed his tongue down her neck and kissed her collarbone. His other hand moved down her body and stroked the side of her breast. Stella gasped and let out the most erotic sound Max had ever heard.

  If there was any control left in him, it snapped at that very moment. He picked her up and fell back on the sofa with Stella straddling him. She fell forward on his chest and pressed her body into his, cupping the sides of his face as she kissed him. Max palmed her thighs and slid his hands underneath her dress. A tremor rolled through him as Stella left his mouth and traced her tongue down his jaw.

  And then her phone rang.

  The noise was so loud that it shook them both out of their bliss. Stella took it out of her pocket and frowned at the display.

  “I swear if that’s Rico I’m going to kill him,” Max growled, and Stella shook her head.

  “Hi, Lis. What’s up?” she said, breathlessly. “No, everything’s fine. I guess we just lost track of the time.” She looked at him and smirked.

  God, she was so sexy! Max slid his hands up her thighs again, moving the hem of her dress further up until he reached her hips and her panties. Stella closed her eyes and bit her lip. Is that phone call ever going to be over?

  “I’ll be home soon. Yeah, me too. Bye.”

  She hung up and suddenly the silence in the room was too much. Max sensed that it wouldn’t be a good move to kiss her again, because her mood had changed. As if Lisa calling had been a reminder of why she didn’t want them to be together.

  “I have to go,” she said and moved away from him.

  “Stella ...”

  “I can’t talk about this now, Max. Please – I need some time, OK?” He nodded and stood up. Sliding up one of the straps that had slid down her shoulder, Max smiled and tried to fix her hair. Then, to reassure her, he gave her a hug. She returned it and at that exact moment, it hit him.

  I don’t want to fall in love with you.

  He knew why those words had struck him so hard and so unexpectedly.

  Because he was already there.

  Chapter Eleven

  The next morning Stella woke up with a start. She looked around frantically, because in the first couple of seconds she wasn’t sure where she was. Had she stayed in Max’s? No. She was in her own bed.

  There was something about being with Max that blurred reality. It was a nice kind of blur, a blur where there were no reasons why they shouldn’t be together. A blur where there was no cancer, only plans and dreams for the future.

  Unfortunately, the moment the blur cleared, reality hit Stella like a hurricane. What had she done last night? Why had she allowed things to go that far? Max had kissed her and it was ... epic. It was a kiss that made her whole body tremble with desire. It was a kiss worth fo
rgetting reality for.

  If one thing became clear last night, it was that Max didn’t have any intention of leaving Stella alone. He wanted her and he was coming after her. Sooner or later she was going to crack. Again – as she’d done last night. But next time there might not be a phone call to interrupt them.

  The only thing she could do was stay away from him, even as a friend. But how was she supposed to do that? He was a permanent feature in Lisa’s life. There was no way she could avoid him for the next eight weeks.

  And frankly, she didn’t want to. Max was great and she couldn’t wait to spend more time with him and get to know him better.

  The hell with reality.

  When Stella came downstairs, Lisa and Niki were already in the kitchen, making coffee and delicious-smelling food.

  “Hi guys. You’re up early.”

  “Early? It’s 11 a.m.,” said Niki and, walking over to Stella, gave her a peck on the cheek. “Late night last night?”

  “Yeah. Sorry about that, Lis. I should have called, but I guess I lost track of time.”

  Max had driven her home right after Lisa had called, but they’d stayed in the car and talked for a while. Neither of them had wanted to leave their cosy little bubble. They hadn’t touched any of the ‘minefield’ topics, but instead had talked about music and films and food and childhood memories. It turned out that they had a lot in common – they liked the same kind of films and listened to the same bands. Apparently, after Stella had admitted she liked 80s and 90s rock, Max had beamed and said that he loved it, too. He’d quickly found an Aerosmith CD and they’d sang ‘Crazy’ at the top of their lungs together. Then he’d confiscated Stella’s iPod and scrolled through her playlists.

  “Have you got a split personality or something?” he’d asked, after he’d rummaged through her music collection.

  “What? Why?” She’d tried to grab back her iPod, but he moved his hand away too quickly.

  “Green Day, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Linkin Park and 30 Seconds to Mars should never be on the same device as Rihanna, Destiny’s Child and Lady Gaga,” he’d said, still scrolling through.

  “I like having different kinds of music depending on my mood.”

  “Seriously? You have Zero Assoluto and Paolo Nutini?” He’d looked at her incredulously.

  “Well, yeah. I was trying to get my Italian back on track and I find it much easier to study a language through music.”

  “And what the hell is Framing Hanley?”

  “It’s a really great band. You’ll like it.”

  They had listened to Stella’s favourite Framing Hanley songs after she’d managed to wrestle her iPod from Max’s hands, before he found anything else to make fun of. She’d been right – he did love them. By the time Stella had finally dragged herself away from Max, Lisa had long gone to bed. Stella had crept up the stairs and gone to her bedroom as quietly as possible.

  Lisa didn’t look too happy with her right now. Stella realised she wouldn’t have traded the time she’d spent with Max for anything, let alone her cousin’s approval.

  “It’s fine, Stella. You told me you were with Max, so I knew you’d be safe. That’s why I went to bed and didn’t wait for you.” Stella would have bet that Lisa’s concern wasn’t just for her safety – especially from the way she’d said it – but she couldn’t care less. At the moment all she wanted to do was have fun and forget about everything. She’d deal with life in eight weeks’ time.

  Niki put some pancakes, scrambled eggs, toast, jam, salami and butter on the table and motioned for them to sit down. Lisa brought the coffee and suddenly they all seemed happy and content as they tucked in to their food.

  “I have news,” said Niki, after waiting for everyone to get some food. Both girls looked at her expectantly. She beamed and said, “I talked to Helen last night.”

  “Oh my god! Really? How did it go?” Stella was so excited. She had hoped Niki would make the first step and call her mum, but she honestly wasn’t sure if she’d ever do it. Lisa smiled and looked at her mother with interest.

  “It was a bit awkward at first, I guess. But then it was as if we’d never lost touch! We spoke for about an hour and it felt ... right.” Thinking about it, Niki did look glowing this morning, as if a huge weight has been lifted off her shoulders.

  “I’m so happy for you, Mum.” Lisa stood up and gave Niki a peck on the cheek as she made her way to the counter and refilled her coffee.

  “I have to call my mum before we go”, said Stella. “I bet she’s very excited as well.”

  “Where are you going?” asked Lisa as she came back to the table.

  “Not me – we. We’re going to the match, remember?” Judging by the confused look on Lisa’s face, she didn’t. “Genoa vs Sampdoria, the charity game? Beppe told us about it on Monday.”

  “Oh, right. I’d completely forgotten about that.”

  “You’re still coming, right?”

  “Yeah.” Lisa shrugged as if she’d come only because she didn’t have anything better planned.

  “You OK?” asked Stella, because her cousin seemed to have been acting strangely all morning, and it wasn’t just because of her coming home late last night.

  “I’m fine. I just have a lot on my mind.”

  “You wanna talk about it?”

  “Maybe later. We have to get ready.” She gave Stella a reassuring smile, as if to show that she wasn’t the reason for her crappy mood and, taking her coffee cup with her, climbed up the stairs to her room.

  “What’s up with her?” Stella asked her aunt.

  “Don’t know. She hasn’t told me anything. When I got home last night she was in her studio and didn’t come out until I went to bed. Maybe she’s in some kind of artist mood. It’s happened before.”

  Stella nodded, accepting her aunt’s explanation because she didn’t seem worried. They were very close, so if Niki was sure Lisa was OK, then she must be.

  “So, Lisa tells me you’ve spent a lot of time with Max.” Niki smiled cheekily at her and Stella blushed.

  “Yeah, he’s great. Don’t look at me like that; we’re friends.”

  “Riiiight.” Her aunt laughed. “You know you can always talk to me about anything, right? I’m here for you, sweetheart.”

  “Thanks, Aunt Niki. I know.”

  “Good. I have to go now, but I hope we can all be here for dinner, no? I miss you guys.”

  She gave Stella a kiss and walked out of the front door, heading to work.

  Smiling, Stella went up to her room to get ready. Just as she closed the door, she heard her phone vibrate on her nightstand.

  It was a text.

  Max: Are you wearing my shirt yet?

  Stella grinned and typed back.

  Stella: Just about to.

  Almost instantly she got a reply.

  Max: So you’re not wearing anything right now?

  That made her laugh, but it also turned her on. She imagined him still in bed, in his boxer shorts, propped on his elbow and typing on his phone.

  Stella: Are you?

  Where did that come from? She wasn’t supposed to encourage his flirting now, was she? But it was so damn hard to resist.

  Max: A little. But it’s easily removable. Just say the word.

  Stella: Keep your pants on, big guy. Or we’ll be late for the match.

  Max: Spoilsport.

  Stella shook her head and, smiling, went into the bathroom to take a shower.

  Half an hour later she was almost ready. Her hair was freshly washed, but she couldn’t be bothered to blow-dry and style it, so she just put it up in a ponytail and tied a blue-and-red ribbon around it to match the club’s colours. Her make-up was minimal – just some mascara and lip gloss. It was time to decide what to do about Max’s shirt.

  It was huge. When she first put it on, it reached her knees and the sleeves covered two-thirds of her arms. Oh, and there was space for two more people inside it as well. On the plus side, it smelled wonderful
. It was freshly washed, but Max’s scent still lingered on it. The moment Stella put it on it felt as though he was right there next to her.

  Right. Back to styling the shirt.

  Only one appropriate thing came to mind – leggings and a belt. Stella had a dark blue pair of leggings which came down to just under her knees. She usually used them for yoga, but they’d do perfectly for this occasion because the shirt was half red, half dark blue. Rummaging through her accessories drawer in the wardrobe, Stella found a skinny red belt which she tied around her waist in a messy knot.

  There. It looked as though she had a football dress on, but it was still casual and, she thought, original. Lastly, she put her trainers on and was out of the bedroom door just as the front doorbell rang.

  “Lisa, are you ready?” she called as she passed her room on her way to get the door.

  “Coming,” Lisa shouted back.

  Swinging the front door open, Stella stood face to face with Beppe and Gia, who were both grinning.

  “You’re such an idiot,” Gia told him in Italian, as she removed his hand from her shoulders and walked in, kissing Stella on both cheeks. “Wow, you look adorable!”

  “Yeah – I wouldn’t use the same word, though,” said Beppe, as he winked at her and hugged her, kissing her cheeks as well.

  As Beppe walked in too, Stella saw Max coming along behind. He was wearing a Genoa shirt as well, but his was the away one – white with two blue-and-red stripes at the front. The other difference was that his actually fitted him.

  “Ciao, tesoro,” he said as he leaned in to kiss her cheeks. “And here I thought you couldn’t make my shirt look sexy,” he whispered in her ear, making her heart rate speed up.