To his surprise, he burst in only to find Carlo holding the stem of a broken glass, his shirt and jacket stained with dark liquid. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Carlo!" Kimberly said. "What the hell happened?" Max asked. They both looked up. "I'm so embarrassed," Kimberly said. "Carlo made a toast and I'm afraid I clinked our snifters too hard. I broke them both and got brandy all over poor Carlo." Max's body flooded with relief, even though he could still feel his heart pounding against his ribs. Everything was okay here. Carlo wasn't attacking her. She wasn't hurt. Nothing was wrong. "We'll have your clothes dry-cleaned, of course," she told Carlo as she bent to grab some small towels from a cabinet beneath the bar. Max was grateful she'd checked out the place so well and knew just where such things were kept. She blotted a towel awkwardly against Carlo's chest, making Max cringe inside. Little snake. Even now, he was getting to have her touch him. Sort of, anyway. Thank God it was only sort of, or Max knew he'd be going crazy.
