Mollie McQueen is NOT Getting Divorced Page 17

  ‘I didn’t want to.’ She said honestly. ‘I was in the taxi when I decided I couldn’t go through with it.’

  Staring back at her with an expression she couldn’t read, Max remained silent as Mollie continued to speak.

  ‘My parents arrived shortly after you left for your date. They decided to drop in after having dinner in Chelsea.’ Mollie explained, her stomach churning as she recalled her parents’ revelation earlier. ‘We had a talk and they made me realise that I didn’t want to date anyone else. The idea of sitting opposite someone who wasn’t you made me feel physically ill. With each second that passed my heart became heavier and heavier until I had to stop the taxi and get out.’

  ‘Mollie…’

  ‘I know it wasn’t a proper date and this was just part of the therapy, but… I don’t know… I couldn’t do it.’ Mollie whispered.

  Pushing away the milk carton, Max sighed heavily and held out his hand for the brandy.

  ‘Do you remember our first date?’ He asked, peeling the label off the brandy bottle and tearing it into small pieces. ‘We went to that vegetarian place?’

  Mollie nodded and raised a tiny smile.

  ‘You were late.’ Max said teasingly.

  ‘Fashionably late.’ Mollie corrected. ‘It’s a woman’s prerogative to be late on a first date.’

  ‘The waitress wasn’t very impressed when you asked for Parmesan on your veggie lasagne…’

  ‘Do you remember the lecture she gave us about making educated food choices?’ Mollie giggled. ‘She even handed us a list of useful websites with our receipt.’

  ‘To be fair, those websites were pretty useful! Who knew Worcestershire sauce wasn’t vegetarian?’

  Mollie laughed along with Max and brushed her hair out of her face.

  ‘That was your first vegetarian meal, wasn’t it?’ He said quietly, grinning as he recalled the day they shared falafel under the moonlight.

  ‘And my last.’ Mollie scoffed. ‘I’ve never told you this, but on the way home, I stopped by McDonald’s for a Big Mac…’

  Momentarily stopping laughing, Max shook his head in disbelief.

  ‘You’re kidding me?’

  ‘Nope.’

  ‘We’ve been together for over ten years and you’ve never told me that our first date was a lie?’ He said slowly, feigning horror. ‘What else have you been hiding from me?’

  ‘Wouldn’t you like to know…’ Pulling her knees up to her chin, Mollie raised an eyebrow mischievously.

  ‘You’ve always been a little bit tricksy, Mollie. You keep me on my toes. It’s one of the things that made me fall in love with you.’ Picking up the remnants of the brandy label, Max tossed them at Mollie playfully.

  ‘Do you remember when we went to Florence?’ Mollie asked, twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

  ‘For my twenty-fourth birthday?’

  Mollie nodded and grinned back at him.

  ‘Well…’ She said slowly. ‘When I told you I had worked overtime to book the Presidential Suite for you, the truth is, I told the hotel it was your thirtieth and they bumped us up for free.’

  Blinking back at her in silence, Max opened and closed his mouth repeatedly.

  ‘I don’t know what I’m more shocked about.’ He stammered. ‘Discovering you’re a secret scammer or that they actually believed I was thirty. Thirty? Really?’

  ‘Oh, they believed it. They even sent a birthday cake to the room while you were in the shower. I had to throw it over the balcony before you saw it!’

  ‘Mollie McQueen!’ Max exclaimed in shock. ‘You’re unbelievable.’

  ‘That was an amazing trip though, wasn’t it?’ Mollie replied.

  ‘It really was. The sights, the architecture, the food.’ He mused. ‘We got to see a lot considering we spent so long in the hotel room.’

  Mollie’s cheeks turned pink and she made a grab for the brandy.

  ‘I don’t think we left the bed for three days.’ Max continued, clearly enjoying watching Mollie squirm. ‘All the way to Italy to spend half the week beneath the sheets. We could have done that at home…’

  Wiping her mouth, Mollie placed the bottle by her feet and tried to suppress her smile.

  ‘Now that I think of it, we seem to have quite the reputation for spending holidays in bed.’ Max said thoughtfully. ‘The same thing happened in Miami and Santorini and…’

  ‘I’m quite aware of our holiday antics, Max, thank you very much.’ Mollie interrupted, holding her nose in the air. ‘I don’t need a running commentary. I was there, after all.’

  ‘Do you remember that time in Sardinia?’ Max asked, ignoring what Mollie had said. ‘When the do not disturb sign fell off and the maid…’

  Covering her face with her hands, Mollie cringed as Max reeled off every sordid detail. Details that Mollie had completely forgotten about over the past few years made her toes curl. Their dire sex life had caused her to block out any memories of their past bedroom behaviour, but it would appear Maximilian didn’t have any trouble recalling days gone by.

  ‘We almost broke the bed in Edinburgh.’ He said cheekily, tapping Mollie’s foot with his.

  ‘You almost broke the bed in Edinburgh!’ Mollie corrected. ‘You put your back out when you insisted on carrying our suitcases up ten flights of stairs, just so you didn’t have to give the porter a tip. I’ll never forget the bang that bloody bed made when you finally collapsed on it.’

  ‘We had some great times, didn’t we?’ Sliding across the kitchen floor, Max positioned himself next to Mollie and took a sip from the brandy bottle before passing it back to her.

  ‘We did.’ Mollie agreed, the lump in her throat returning at his use of the past tense. ‘We really did.’

  An emotional quietness fell over them. The only sound coming from the open fridge that was whirring loudly in the background.

  ‘I miss that Mollie.’ Max said sadly. ‘I miss the Mollie who would drink straight from the carton, stay in bed with me until noon and watch stupid cartoons. I miss the Mollie whose laugh would make my heart leap and whose smile would make everything else pale into insignificance. I miss holding you. I miss your smell. I miss the feel of you in my arms. I miss… I just miss you, Mollie. I miss you.’

  Feeling her eyes fill with tears, Mollie allowed a silent sob to escape her lips. Hearing Max say all the things she had been wanting him to say for so long hit her with an emotion she couldn’t quite explain. She knew she should reciprocate, but she just couldn’t bring herself to open her mouth. She didn’t dare to admit how she really felt for fear of him responding with a big however. A however that would tell her their feelings were too little, too late.

  ‘Being with Ana tonight made me realise I don’t want anyone else, Mollie. I want you.’ Max said, his voice thick with emotion. ‘I want the empty hummus cartons in the fridge and the gamble of using my razor after you’ve been in the shower. I just… I just worry we have let this go too far.’

  Sniffing loudly, Mollie raised her head and looked at her husband. His eyes were heavy with hurt and his brow was creased into a painful frown. He looked as terrible as Mollie felt. The agony on his face was evident for the world to see, but only now was Mollie taking a moment to recognise it. Reaching up, she placed a hand behind Max’s neck and dropped her forehead against his. Max’s familiar smell made her muscles melt as she closed her eyes and nuzzled into his neck. The warmth of his skin on hers made her hold on tightly, not wanting to let go and break the moment.

  As Max ran his fingers along Mollie’s spine, she looked up at him and felt her chest rise and fall at a steady rate. The connection she had been longing for was there. She didn’t have to ask to know that Max could feel it too. She felt wanted, she felt needed, and most importantly of all, she felt loved. Locking eyes with him, Mollie moved her gaze down to Max’s lips and slowly edged a millimetre closer. She could feel his breath on her face as his lips parted and finally made contact with hers.

  Full
y committing to the kiss, Mollie wrapped her arms around Max’s neck and ran her fingers through his hair. What started as a gentle peck soon escalated to a heavy dry-humping session on the kitchen floor, and Mollie tore herself away to fumble with Max’s belt. In their haste to undress one another, Mollie broke a fingernail and cursed loudly. Not being deterred, Max tugged Mollie’s dress over her head and carefully pushed her back onto the tiles.

  Banging her head on the fridge door, Mollie yelped and kicked it shut in frustration.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Max asked, between animal-like grunts.

  Nodding enthusiastically, Mollie grabbed Max’s shirt and ripped it open.

  ‘Ow!’ Covering his left eye as a button fired into his face, Max continued to pull off his shirt.

  ‘Sorry!’ Mollie squeaked. ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘I’m fine.’ Max said hurriedly, squeezing his eye shut. ‘I think it’s knocked my contact lens out, but I’ll be alright.’

  With lust overtaking her ability to think logically, Mollie proceeded with the race to undress one another. Keeping one eye shut, Max threw his shirt onto the kitchen table before reaching down to help Mollie out of her underwear. The second her bare bum hit the cold tiles Mollie let out a shriek, causing Max to shoot her an alarmed look.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘Nothing!’ Mollie stammered. ‘The floor is cold, that’s all.’

  Looking rather perplexed, Max clumsily leaned over her and snatched a bath towel from the radiator. Awkwardly lifting herself up, Mollie allowed Max to shuffle the towel under her bum before pulling him back down. Due to not being able to see properly, Max went in for a kiss and succeeded only in bumping Mollie’s nose with his.

  Deciding to breeze straight past it, Mollie continued regardless and rather gracelessly removed her bra as Max fell on top of her in a heap.

  ‘Wait a minute!’ Max said, propping himself up on his elbows. ‘Your face! You’re bleeding!’

  ‘What?’ Using the chrome bin as a makeshift mirror, Mollie groaned when she realised Max was right. ‘Oh, no…’

  Standing to his feet, Max adjusted his boxer shorts to protect his modesty and grabbed the kitchen roll.

  ‘You need to tilt your head back.’ He said, passing her a handful of paper towels. ‘Here, let me do it…’

  Allowing him to manoeuvre her head into the correct position, Mollie groaned as Max held a ball of crumpled tissue against her nose.

  ‘What must we look like?’ She grumbled, looking up at Max and shaking her head. ‘You’re practically naked, I’m straddling a towel, you’ve lost a contact lens and I’ve burst my bloody nose.’

  ‘I don’t think we’re going to win the Sexiest Couple of the Year award, put it that way.’ Retrieving his shirt from the dining table, Max draped it around Mollie’s shoulders.

  ‘My nose hurts.’ Mollie complained, removing the tissue and prodding her bruised nose carefully. ‘You don’t think it’s broken, do you?’

  ‘I doubt it.’ Squinting at her through his one good eye, Max studied Mollie’s face and frowned. ‘It’s always been tilted to the right, hasn’t it?’

  Mollie gave him a playful nudge and smiled through the pain.

  ‘Brandy?’ He offered, holding the bottle towards her.

  Without hesitating, Mollie accepted the brandy and took a mouthful before passing it back to Max. Resting her head on his shoulder, she clutched the tissue to her sore nose once more as a sense of contentment fell over her. They might not have enjoyed the hot, steamy, want-to-rip-one-another’s-clothes-off sex she was hoping for, but as they sat there on the cold kitchen tiles, sharing a questionable bottle of brandy from the back of the cereal cupboard, Mollie felt something she hadn’t felt for a very long time. It was still there. Their flame was still burning brightly. It had simply become hidden beneath the stresses and strains of daily life.

  Mollie’s father taught her at a young age that in order to keep a fire alive, you have to ensure the logs remain close together. Near enough to keep each other warm, yet with enough room to allow them to breathe. The secret is to keep a tiny light flickering at all times. However small, however hidden, because a mighty flame can grow from the smallest spark…

  Chapter 29

  When Mollie McQueen peeled open her eyes the following morning, the searing pain that shot through her temple caused her to immediately recoil. Squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt to expel the dull ache from her throbbing head, Mollie became aware of a vice-like grip around her waist. Gradually looking down, her heart began to pound as she moved her gaze along the arm in question to reveal Maximilian snoring on the pillow beside her. No longer noticing her thudding headache, Mollie managed to twist herself around and snuggled into Max’s chest.

  His skin was warm and his breath smelled faintly of brandy, but Mollie didn’t care. She was lost in her husband’s arms once again and she couldn’t be happier to be so. In that moment, the last couple of weeks didn’t matter. Neither did the last few years of bickering and tit-for-tat disagreements. All that mattered was the present moment. Being so caught up in who had done what and when, Mollie had completely ignored what was right in front of her. Now that she could finally see it, she didn’t want to let it out of her sight.

  Watching Max’s stomach rise and fall with each breath that he took, Mollie smiled when he let out a tired yawn.

  ‘Good morning.’ She whispered, burrowing her nose into his neck.

  Gradually coming around to the realisation he wasn’t alone, Max pushed himself up and frowned. Blinking at Mollie repeatedly, he rubbed his eyes and smiled before groaning.

  ‘My head hurts.’ He said groggily, looking at his bedside table for the bottle of water he generally left there. ‘And I think I know why…’

  Reaching down to the floor, Max retrieved an empty bottle of brandy and presented it to Mollie. The smell of alcohol caused her stomach to churn as she pulled the duvet up over her nose. Quickly discovering she was completely naked, she clutched the sheets against her bare body as Max complained about his hangover from hell.

  Listening to him speak, Mollie peeked beneath the sheets once more and gulped when she realised he was also in his birthday suit. After their laughable attempt at make-up sex, the last thing she remembered was sitting on the kitchen floor and reminiscing about days gone by. Once the brandy was gone, they made the rather silly decision to crack open the bottle of Moet they had been saving for a special occasion. After that, well, Mollie couldn’t remember exactly what happened after that, but given their state of undress, she could have a pretty good guess.

  Not wanting to ruin the moment by piecing together the jigsaw that was the night before, Mollie took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around Max’s waist. The touch of his skin soothed her sore head as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to gently snooze.

  ‘We should get going.’ Max said abruptly, tapping Mollie’s arm to encourage her to move. ‘We’ve got an appointment with Evangelina in an hour.’

  Straining her neck to look up at him, Mollie frowned and brushed her messy hair out of her face.

  ‘We’re still going?’ She asked, unable to hide her disappointment. ‘I thought…’

  ‘You don’t need to explain anything, Mollie.’ Max said, smiling sadly as he threw back the sheets. ‘It was what it was. Let’s not ruin it by trying to put a label on it.’

  Not knowing what he was talking about, Mollie nodded slowly as a sense of unease rushed through her.

  ‘We both agreed it was just sex.’ He continued, placing a hand on her shoulder. ‘And I respect that…’

  Mollie’s heart sank as Max’s words hit her like a series of tiny knives. Each one stabbing her stomach deeper than the last.

  ‘Don’t worry. I won’t read too much into it.’ Max whispered. ‘It was the perfect way to draw a line under it and move on.’

  With a final lingering kiss, Max pushed himself up and walked out of the bedroom. Too numb to move, Mollie clutched the sheets
closely as the sound of running water drifted out of the bathroom. Max’s words ran through her mind like a broken record, making her skin prickle with grief. It was just sex. It was the perfect way to draw a line under it and move on.

  Mollie’s heart physically ached as she clutched her pillow and slipped beneath the duvet. She always believed that if you were brave enough to say goodbye, life would reward you with a new hello, but deep down, Mollie knew that some goodbyes were never meant to be said…

  Chapter 30

  It started with a kiss and ended with sex they could barely remember…

  As Mollie sat next to Max in the waiting room at Evangelina’s office, she tried to convince herself that their relationship had run its course. That it wasn’t over, just simply complete. It had served its purpose and was now ready for the curtain to fall. She tried her hardest to believe that some people aren’t supposed to stay in your life forever. That they are merely passing through until their chapter closes and they move on to leave wet towels on someone else’s bed.

  The problem was, Mollie wanted Max to leave towels on her bed. She wanted to discover his discarded laundry on the floor. She wanted to hear him shouting at his damn PlayStation and she wanted… Well, she could do without him trimming his nose hair in front of the television, but the point is, she simply wasn’t ready for Maximilian to bow out of her life. Their story wasn’t anywhere close to being over, that she was sure of.

  Hearing the door squeak open, Mollie looked up to see a couple she hadn’t seen before walking into the waiting room. With matching unconvinced expressions on their faces and an air of we’ve just had a massive argument about them, they reminded Mollie of her and Max when they arrived there for the first time. Offering them a kind smile, Mollie looked away when the woman responded with a scowl. The exact scowl Mollie had when she reluctantly agreed to attend therapy. Little did she know back then that Evangelina’s unorthodox methods would make her do a complete one-eighty in just seven days’ time.