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he enunciated in perfect syllables.
    “You fainted, Max.” She looked at Grayson and C.C. “It was the only flaw I ever found in him.” She paused. “Well, that and his inability to commit to anything but his work.”
    At the mention of work, Grayson jumped in. “That’s not necessarily a fault, especially in a young, driven man like Max. Given time and the right woman, he’ll find his match.”
    He spoke with such certainty, C.C. wanted to ask him how he knew this.
    Apparently Max was bothered more by his ex’s comment on mice than her thoughts on his commitment issues. “I did not faint,” he ground out. “I slipped and hit my head on the counter.”
    Candace offered him a knowing, sympathetic look.
    “I’ve done that before,” C.C. blurted out the lie. “Right in front of my apartment. Wet leaves are the worst. Snow, too. And rain,” she added. Why the sudden need to help Max Jerrnigan save face? He probably had fainted. After all, any man who couldn’t handle chocolate was a man who would faint at the sight of a mouse.
    “I had no idea you’d grown so clumsy,” her father said. “Fourteen years of ballet and you still can’t maneuver a sidewalk?”
    C.C. shrugged and concentrated on buttering a roll.
    “I’ve had my less than graceful moments, too,” Candace said with a wry grin. “Ice got me once and I couldn’t sit for three days. Another time I caught a heel in a sidewalk grate and hit the ground so fast I almost got whiplash.”
    Grayson shook his head and looked at Max. “Did you ever see two more beautiful, albeit clumsy women in your life?”
    “No,” Max said, his eyes on C.C. “Never.”
    ***
    “So, let me get this,” Roxie Revito said in the trademark husky voice that drew the attention of every male age fourteen to ninety-four. “Your father is marrying this guy Max’s ex-girlfriend? The guy you met on the plane?”
    “Right,” C.C. said. She kicked off her heels and sprawled in the middle of the Hilton’s king-size bed.
    Roxie whistled through the phone. “Twisted.”
    “I know.” C.C. hadn’t been able to get Max Jerrnigan or his ex out of her mind since last night. It didn’t help that she and Max had just spent the past ten hours together; walking the potential development site, reviewing the drawings and proposals he and his partner had made. They were good—very good. When he spoke of the project, passion thrummed in his voice and glittered in his eyes. She had wanted the opportunity to put these plans into action and gain her father’s confidence in her ability to one day run the company. But he’d chosen Max, and Grayson Crowell never second-guessed himself. She knew she shouldn’t take it personally, but dammit, she did.
    “Why’d they split?”
    Roxie loved gossip; juicy, over-the-top, mind-boggling gossip. “Not sure.” C.C. bit into a triple chocolate cookie. Actually, she’d been wondering the same thing since last night, but Max hadn’t volunteered any details and she refused to ask him straight out.
    Not that she even cared about his love life. He could have ten ex-girlfriends and it wouldn’t matter to her, unless the ex was about to marry her father. That was the only reason she wanted to know about Max and Candace.
    “Can’t you get him to spill?” Roxie asked. “Smile sweet, hike your skirt and say pretty please?”
    “I will not stoop to begging,” C.C. said around a mouthful of cookie. “Max Jerrnigan is the only thing standing between me and proving my ability to my dad.”
    “Oh, C.C., relax and enjoy this guy. Grayson Crowell will always be your father. You’ll get a chance on the next one.”
    “I don’t want the next one. I want this one.” Dammit, she deserved it. “I’ve done everything he wanted me to do—attended the Ivy League schools because I needed a solid foundation, worked in investments so I could understand the financial aspects. I even dated a banker because it seemed that’s what Dad wanted. And you