Relentless by Patricia Haley and Gracie Hill Page A

was so real. I could see myself hovering in the air.” She took a gulp of the wine. “I could have died.” Maxwell fidgeted, but it didn’t give her pause. She had to share her heart. “I had to question what I’m doing with my life.”
    â€œOh come on, Nicole,” Maxwell said beckoning for the waiter. “You can’t let one situation get you so rattled. It’s over, you’re safe, and that’s the end of it.”
    Maybe yesterday, she would have agreed. “It’s not so simple.” The waiter approached the table forcing her to wait before continuing. As soon as they placed their order, Nicole snatched Maxwell’s attention back into their conversation. “I’m serious. I’m not sure I like what I see in my life. I went off to college at seventeen, graduated early, and put all my energy into building a career. I’ve never been married and don’t have any children.”
    â€œBut you’re doing what it is you want to do. You get to travel and set your own course. Think about it,” he said leaning in toward the table. “Look at where you are. Do you know how long it takes most people to get anywhere near making partner? Years and years, if ever. Look at you,” he said filling his wine glass.
    â€œMaxwell, that’s what I’m saying. Don’t you get it? I don’t think my career is enough anymore. I want more. In my dream, I felt like I had missed something. But it was too late to change anything.” Nicole turned in her chair, crossed her legs, and looked down at her designer shoes, which didn’t seem as satisfying as compared to last week. Her outlook had to change.
    â€œIt’s okay. The plane, the dream, all of it is enough to make you a little uneasy,” Maxwell reached for her hand.
    She withdrew her hand from the table, refusing to be dismissed with his superficial concern. “Maxwell, where is our relationship going? Where do you see us two years from now? Will we still be dating, engaged, married with children, or what?” She threw her left arm over the back of her chair, brushed the waves of hair from her face, and with a stern staring assault, she challenged Maxwell for an answer.
    â€œWhat’s with the melodrama? We’ve been going along with things the way they are between us for some while now. Neither of us put any pressure on the other, nothing really serious, just getting together when it works.” Maxwell thumbed his fingers on the table and let his glances shift to and fro.
    Nicole stared past Maxwell at the couple sitting across from them. What sounded like joy in their voices and pleasure in the laughter floated across the room. “I know it’s a cliché, but life is short: goals, success, being able to drive the best cars and having material things are all good. But, having someone to share those things with, a partner for life, is what I think I want.” Honestly, Nicole couldn’t recall the chemistry with Maxwell ever being completely fulfilling. Her thoughts and gazes lingered with the couple. She was unable to stop staring. The intensity and effervescence of their relationship was intoxicating. She wanted what they had—love.
    â€œNicole, Nicole.” Maxwell quietly tapped on the table with his knuckles. “You can’t possibly be telling me your career is no longer the most important entity in your life.”
    â€œThat’s exactly what I’m saying.”
    â€œYeah, right.”
    She laid her warm palm on top of Maxwell’s hand. A passionless smile and her wide eyelids partnered with her voice to say, “People change. I don’t want to roll over in bed at night to an empty spot anymore. And I think I’d like to have children, maybe one or two.” Nicole withdrew her hand, pressed her lips together hard and released a newly acquainted truth. “I want to be in love with someone and to share my life with