The Billionaire Playboy's Regret (Lark and Max)

Lark held her father's hand as he stood up to face the two people walking towards them. She could feel the tension radiating off him.

Gracie looked even worse than Grady did. Lark could see the woman definitely was crying earlier and the way she was wringing her hands together and staring at Grady and biting her bottom lip, she knew the girl had one foot out the door. Her father was giving off the cold lawyer vibe out of nothing more than nerves and poor Gracie was freaking out.

"Grady, hi. I didn't think you'd be down here already." Sawyer swallowed extending his hand to Grady who pumped his once and dropped it. "Gracie was nervous and wanted to have a drink and we thought we'd come here and get the lay of the land before we met in the restaurant."

"Sure." He gave a curt nod his fingers flexing at his thigh.

"Maybe I should have called first to say we'd be here early," Sawyer seemed nervous as Gracie looked ready to melt into the floor.

Lark stopped his stammering by walking past the man and wrapping her arms around the very scared looking woman. "Hi. Gracie. We weren't properly introduced earlier. I'm Lark Hoffman. It's so nice to meet you." She looked into the eyes so similar to Fallon's. "This is your last chance to run like the wind because our entire family is on it's way and once Nana Prue sinks her claws into you, you're here forever." Gracie sniffed as a big fat tear rolled down her cheek, "hi. I'm really nervous." She blurted out.

She kept her arm around Gracie's waist and turned her. "This is my," she gave her own nervous giggle, "our father, Grady Hoffman. Dad, this is Gracie." Lark gave him a look she knew her mother would approve and noted the way he swallowed and nodded.

Grady's eyes were watering as he looked at her and he whispered, "you're so beautiful." He stepped closer, "can I hug you?

Gracie nodded vigorously and Grady wrapped his arms around her as the girl fell against him. Lark reached out and rubbed Sawyer's shoulder as he looked away. She put her arms around him and hugged him, whispering in his ear, "thank you Sawyer. I know this is hard for you but you're not losing her, you're gaining all of us. Mom gave Dad orders to bury the hatchet with you for Gracie's sake, so you better be on your best behavior. You haven't met her yet, but my mom will rip you to shreds if you hurt Dad."

He hugged her back with a laugh, "I've never been on best behavior in a very long time, but I'll give it a try." His voice froggy with emotion told her despite the lightness of his words he was grateful.

"Why don't we get a table instead of sitting at the bar?" Bobbie suggested and motioned to an unoccupied table in the corner of the room.

Lark hung back to gather her thoughts a moment and let Max wrap his arm over her shoulder, and she rested her head on his bicep.

"What you just did was pretty cool, Lark Hoffman." He said quietly in her ear.

She looked up at him. "I can't imagine being in her shoes. Dad is scary as f**k when he starts to close off.

I could see him shutting down. I channelled Mom."

He kissed her temple and squeezed her, "you're incredible."

"Thanks," she cleared her throat.

"Your father was right you know, you've had a crazy day."

"Will you stay with me tonight?" she asked. "Only you? I can't deal with Johan and Ollie tonight."

"I would love to." He gave her a grateful smile. "I thought you might be angry still."

"I wasn't really angry to begin with," she admitted. "I was covering for Ollie and panicking."

He chuckled, "fair enough. I wasn't exactly being a good boyfriend either."

She looked up at him, her eyes wide. "Boyfriend?"

"Sweetheart, I watched you come two nights in a row. I think boyfriend is a definitive term now."

She felt her cheeks burning at his comment and then boldly met his gaze, "maybe it's time to up the experiment beyond voyeurism."

"How much are you planning to up the experiment?" he stared at her incredulously and then to the table in the corner of the room as he drew her to a halt. "Seriously Lark. It's been a day, and you don't know what you're saying."

She rose on tiptoes to whisper in his ear, "I need you Max. I need all of you and I swear on everything holy if you don't step up to the plate and do more than talking dirty in my ear while I touch myself, I will be annoyed. It's time. I'm ready. I know you are."

"Lark, are you sure?"

"I am using alone time with you later as the motivation to get through this evening with as much grace and dignity as I can. My mother and sister are going to be here later and they're going to be impossible to deal with. Please let me have this as my reward for a job well done."

"I'm a reward?"

"The best reward. All I want is to end my night on a very positive note."

"Chère, I am going to give you all the positive endings you could possibly imagine." He pulled her hand to

his chest. "Do you feel how fast my heart is beating? It's because of you. You have to know if you find by the end of the evening it's too much and you only want me to hold you, I understand."

"Max," she patted his chest aware his heart rate was matching hers as they arranged a clandestine meeting later, "I'm hoping your heart can hold up.'

He turned her around and smacked her backside before pushing her towards the table.

She giggled as they got closer to the table and sat beside him, her fingers linked with his. Gracie was nestled between Grady and Sawyer and the table was quiet again.

Lark smiled, "Gracie this is Max Villeneuve and his mom Bobbie, and this is Johan, Max's best friend. They've been part of our lives since I was born."

"You're a couple, right?" Gracie looked between them. "I can tell."

"Yes," Lark nodded and noted her father's raised eyebrow. "Don't start Dad."

"Two weeks ago, you hated him."

"I have never hated him," she denied. "I was angry with him for being a man-w***e. There is a difference."

"Not a man-whore." Max grunted but there was humor in his voice.

"Matter of opinion." Johan put his two cents in laughing at Max.

"Nana Prue told me I'm not so bad," Max folded his arms over his chest.

"You do realize she sleeps with multiple leathery men each cruise she goes on," Lark looked at Max. "She

is not the one to judge if you were a man-whore."

Grady groaned loudly, "did you have to say that out loud? You're talking about my mother."

"Prue Hoffman?" Sawyer interrupted the banter. "Your mother? Judge Prue Hoffman? She goes on cruises and sleeps around. She's got to be in her eighties."

in

"She is. She'll outlive us all Sawyer," Grady groaned, "and she swears s*x is the key to longevity. She came home from a cruise a couple weeks ago and this old guy showed up in a convertible. He was at least twenty years younger than her. She'd given him our mailing address because she'd left her earrings his room on the cruise ship, and he said he'd have them delivered to her. He showed up at the house on bended knee with a diamond begging her to marry him talking about how she changed his life." He swirled his drink in his glass, "then she let him down, not very easily by telling him s*x was only s*x and despite the multiple orgasms," he made a gagging noise, "she wasn't interested in being tied down." Gracie gave a loud laugh, and it startled the crew before clapping her hands over her mouth as the noise erupted from her lips. All the eyes turned to her as Sawyer chuckled. "I'm sorry."

"Why? For laughing?" Johan questioned with a laugh of his own.

"It was really loud," she started to sink in her seat.

Grady pulled her upright and shook his head. "You don't get to be shy around us, Gracie. The laugh you made sounds exactly like Fallon. I don't need DNA to tell me you belong. If the eyes didn't give it away, the laugh did." He then looked at Johan, "and you f**k off."

"What did I do?" Johan threw his hands up in the air.

"I'm watching you." He leaned backwards and exchanged a look with Sawyer. "Johan is Max's best friend. For context, Max did a cover on GQ a few weeks back and the tagline was 'If you can't please your woman I can'," he pointed at Johan, "and he's the guy who produced the line. He," he pointed back to Max, "sells s*x toys and he," he pointed to Johan, "is the reason they sell. Gracie, do yourself a favor and avoid Johan."

"I'm harmless. In fact," Johan leaned forward, "I'm nursing a broken heart. A cowgirl made me sad." Gracie giggled as both Grady and Sawer groaned loudly.

"Gracie, tell us about yourself." Bobbie questioned. "You work for your dad, right?"

"Yes." She nodded quietly and looked around the table. "I'm not super smart like the people at this table. I went community college and got my admin assistant diploma and have been working for dad ever since."

"Are you kidding?" Lark laughed, "intelligence isn't merited on a diploma or where you went to school. I know many highly intelligent people who never went beyond high school and I know many really stupid people who went to law school." "Doug," Johan coughed in his fist making Lark snicker.

"I was really worried you were all going to be snobs," Gracie stared at her thumbnail. "Dad said you wouldn't be and I was going to be really fortunate to have the Hoffmans in my life but I was nervous about coming tonight."

"Your Dad is a smart man," Grady patted her hand on the table. "I mean, I still think he's a d**k but I can't discount his intelligence."

"He told me today what he did. What he and my mom did to you wasn't nice. I'm grateful you're able to try to put it aside for me." She gave a tentative smile at Grady. "I don't know if I could. Cheating is not anything I would ever forgive in a relationship."

Grady looked to Sawyer, "you told her?"

"I did. She deserved to know. She's my baby girl." He looked away.

"Yes, she is." Grady nodded at Sawyer. "I don't want to take away from your life, Gracie but I'm hoping in getting to know one another, we can add to it. If you're willing."

Gracie gave a nod and a smile around the table. "I think I'd like this very much." She looked at Lark, "I always wanted a sister."

"You're going to have two, but I should warn you, Fallon is weird. Not as weird as Mori Villeneuve but she's weird.'

"I'm definitely okay with weird."

Lark laughed at Gracie's words and prayed the girl was certain because once the rest of the family descended, weird was going to be an understatement.