Maximum Dare - Vanessa Fewings Page 0,78
and holding them for him.
He let out a frustrated sigh. “This is getting old. I mean the crutches. I’m going to lose my mind if I can’t kick a ball soon.”
“Maybe you can bounce it off your head?”
He burst out laughing. “I do miss you.”
“Sorry about last night,” I said.
“You have nothing to apologize for. I shouldn’t have walked off like that. It was your special evening, Daisy. You achieved something amazing and I should have stayed to help you celebrate.”
“I never meant to hurt you, Nick.”
He rested his face in his hands. “I’ve been such an ass.”
“I couldn’t find the right time to tell you about…”
“I wondered why Max wanted to talk about you so much.” He gave me a wry smile. “He kept bringing your name up in conversation. I think he was feeling me out, seeing if I’d be okay with you two being a couple.” Nick nudged against me. “He’s kind of goofy when he’s happy.”
“He’s fun to be around.”
“You both are.”
I couldn’t look at Nick. God only knew what he thought about me getting on a plane for Brazil to see Max.
“You two started spending time together,” he said. “You grew to really like each other.” Nick reached for my hand. “Then I went and injured myself and you both felt sorry for me.”
“We didn’t want you to have anything more to worry about.”
“And here we are.”
I sighed. “Yeah, but I can’t get on that plane.”
“It’s better than first class.”
I stared at him. “Why did you hide your family from me? Why hide all this?”
“It was something I’d always done. Dad insisted we go to a regular school, a regular college. No private education for us. He didn’t want us to be snobs. There was a part of me that feared that any girl that got to know me would like me for all the wrong reasons.” He cringed. “And Mum was always on my case about…”
“I saw her do that to Max, too. She only wants the best for you both.”
“The thing is, Daisy, you are the best. You proved that time and time again. I proved I’m an idiot.”
“It’s going to be okay, Nick,” I said softly. “You’ll bounce back from this. I know it.”
“I’ll give it my best try.”
“I’ll cheer you on as I’ve always done…as a good friend.”
“Daisy, I can’t believe I’m saying this,” he paused for a beat. “But you should fly to S?o Paulo to see Max. It’s the best way for you to prove how much you really love him.”
“Nick, I don’t think I can bring myself to board this plane.”
He sat up straight. “What can I do to make it easier?”
“I keep thinking of Liam.” I bit my lip to suppress the panic I was feeling. “What he went through. How scared he must have been.”
“It happened fast, Daisy.”
“I want to believe that.” I turned to face him. “You were there for me. When I needed you, Nick. I’ll always be grateful. I couldn’t have made it through without you.”
“You were there for me, too, when Dad died. I don’t know how I would have coped without you. I pushed everyone else away. But you, you knew what I was going through. You got me.”
I squeezed his hand.
“When I was injured you were there for me, too.” He shook his head. “You came to the hospital. Maybe you should have told me about Max then.”
“I know. We wanted to protect you.”
“Can I do the same for you now, and give you some advice?” He turned to look at me. “Liam would want you to go after the man you love. He’d never want to think that what happened to him had stopped you from finding happiness.” Nick wrapped his arm around me. “Max is as good as it gets, Daisy. We have to get you on this plane.”
Tears stung my eyes. “Tell him…tell Max…”
Gillian headed back towards us. Nick gave a shake of his head to let her know it wasn’t happening.
She gripped the handrail and looked at Nick. “Dear, will you let me talk with Daisy alone?”
He gave a resigned nod, pushing himself up and navigating down the steps with his crutches like a pro.
Gillian sat beside me again. “Max is the practical one. The methodical one. He is changing careers because he wants his life to be different. I believe that he was ready to have a serious relationship and give it the time it deserves.” She reached into her handbag. “It seemed like a