Crazy for Love (26 page)

M
AX NO LONGER FELT
the roll of the sea beneath his feet, but a glance toward the horizon made him aware that the boat was bucking pretty hard. He scanned the water with a hard eye, waiting for the last diver to surface, but he didn't move forward to assist.

Instead, he wrapped his hands around the railing and let Kailie hunch over the water as it began to bubble. This hands-off technique made him sweat, even in the constant sea breeze, and his stomach wasn't exactly happy with the training, either.

The diver, a twenty-year veteran who still faced every day with excitement, emerged from the water, holding his net bag high. It was the last planned dive at this site, so even though the bag held only a tiny pottery shard, the diver shouted in triumph. The crew hated to leave even a fragment of treasure behind.

Greedy bastards,
Max thought with total affection. They worked hard and partied harder and drove
him mad every step of the way. But tomorrow he'd be on a flight to Virginia, and that was enough to keep his anxiety under control.

Chloe.
Just the thought of her made him smile, though he turned serious again when he watched Kailie handling the last of the tanks. He'd check her work when she was done. So far, he hadn't discovered any mistakes. Kailie was thorough, but she was young and way too nice to boss these hard-headed daredevils around. Maybe after a few more seasons…

By the time he finished double-checking the equipment and the logs, the galley was deserted, so Max made a quick sandwich and retreated to his cabin. As he shut the door, his mind raced, anticipating the soft thrill of hearing Chloe's voice. It was Saturday, so they'd share a few hours of conversation, at least.

Damned if he wasn't giddy as a teenage boy at the prospect. And just as fucking horny. Two months was a long time to go without Chloe's touch. He was only mildly appeased by her willingness to describe in great detail just what she missed about his body. And what she wanted him to do to hers…

“Tomorrow!” she squealed as soon as the line opened up.

“Tomorrow,” Max agreed. “Are you sure you're ready to put up with me in person?”

“Oh, God, I'm gonna put up with you so good you won't be able to walk for two days.”

“Jeez. Maybe I should be afraid.”

“You should definitely be afraid. I'm going to…Oh, Max, I've missed you so much. Jenn and Elliott are so annoying, always holding hands and
looking
at each other. It's sickening.”

“You mean the way we're going to hold hands and look at each other as soon as I get there?”

“Yes, it's awful!”

“I'm sorry.” He was smiling as he said it. Jenn and Chloe seemed nearly back to normal. And Jenn was all Elliott ever talked about. Life had moved on without Max, and he was acutely jealous.

Suddenly, he couldn't hold it back any longer. He'd wanted to wait until he saw her. Maybe he'd wanted to be sure. But there was nothing doubtful in him when he said it. “I love you, Chloe.”

Her breath jumped, spiking his blood with a quick surge of adrenaline. The moment drew out, stretching his pulse thin, until she finally inhaled as if she'd speak.

“Max Sullivan,” she breathed, “I love you, too.”

Max stretched out on his bunk with a sigh. He let her words sink in. Women had told him that
before, of course, but he'd never believed them. They couldn't have loved him, because they hadn't known him.

But Chloe… Chloe knew all his secrets. Except one.

 

“I'
D REALLY PLANNED ON TAKING
you straight to my apartment, you know.”

Max couldn't help the big grin that stretched across his face. “Half an hour,” he answered.

“In case I'm being too subtle, I want to have sex with you. Right now. I'm desperate. Horny. I've been horny for two months.” Her hand slid up his thigh. “I need your huge—”

“Hey!” he barked as the tires of his rental car thumped against the grooves in the highway shoulder. “Come on. That's just mean. I have a surprise for you. Aren't you excited?”

“If the surprise isn't an erection, then no. No, I'm not excited. I'm sullen.”

He tugged her hand over and put it back on his thigh. “Come on, don't pout.”

“Where are we going? We're not even in the city anymore!”

“Almost there.”

“Max,” she groaned. But after a few seconds, Chloe seemed to forget her pouting and her hand
moved in friendly little circles against his knee, edging up beneath the hem of his shorts. The skin of his thigh tightened until he couldn't feel anything except the electric sizzle of her fingertips stroking him. “Oh, Max, I didn't know I'd miss you this much.”

Strange how a heart could feel joy and pain at the same exact moment. Pain that he'd left her alone for two months and sheer, prideful joy that she'd missed him. When she leaned close enough to press her lips to his neck, Max nearly purred. The scent of her shampoo… Jesus, it seized hold of his soul with a nearly audible snap.

Her mouth felt so good that it took him a full thirty seconds to realize the problem. That snap hadn't been his soul at all. “Holy shit, Chloe. Get back over there and put your seat belt on!”

She did as he asked, with only a little grumbling.

Despite the horror of Chloe without a seat belt, Max was hard as a rock now, and they were almost to their destination. Hopefully, there would be no one else around.

He pulled off the highway and turned onto a road that wound around the side of a hill.

“Where are we?”

“Here,” he said, slowing the car as the road ended at a small A-frame cabin. “What's here?”

He got out of the car and met her in front of it. Five feet away, a Realtor sign swung in the breeze. “It's a house,” Max said, “for sale.”

“You want me to buy a house?”

“No, I…” He turned toward her, suddenly worried about her reaction. “I turned in my resignation last night.”

“You did?” When it hit her, she jumped into his arms. “Oh, Max, you
did?
”

He held on to her, closing his eyes so he could savor the moment. She pulled away way too soon.

“But I thought you said it would take a few trips to get the new girl trained.”

“Well…she was the dive supervisor on another ship for five years, so it turns out she's pretty well trained already.”

“But…but you said she was so young!”

“Yeah. Twenty-eight.”

“Max!” She slapped his shoulder. “You big…dork.” When a tear slipped down her cheek, Max shook his head. “What's wrong?”

“Are you buying a house here? In Richmond?”

“Maybe.” Was she happy? Was she freaked out?
Did she think this was moving too fast? “I haven't seen anything but pictures yet, but I need to make an offer soon if I like it. Want to go inside?”

This time, when she threw herself into his arms, she was crying. Loudly. All he could do was hold on and hope that she was overcome with happiness and not horror. “Chloe?”

“Yes, I want to look inside,” she said into his shirt, her words muffled and watery. Then, “Do you have a tissue?”

While Chloe blew her nose and got herself in order, Max figured out the key safe on the door and then stood there quietly with the key in his hand. He'd never owned his own home. He hadn't even owned a car for the past decade. But this place could be his.

“Ready?” she asked from close behind him.

Max turned the key and stepped in. It wasn't fancy, but he'd already known that from the pictures. It had been built as a getaway cabin, so even though the living area was a big two-story room with a huge fireplace, the kitchen to the left was small. Still, it had been recently remodeled, and everything in it was shiny and new.

The kitchen led to a mudroom with a back door beyond that. As he walked toward it, Max noticed that every window he could see was filled with
green. Trees surrounded the house, and just the sight of them left Max feeling more peaceful than he had since he'd left Richmond two months before.

He took Chloe's hand and pulled her through the mudroom to the door beyond.

“You haven't even looked around yet. Where are we going?”

He opened the door and there it was. At some point it had been a garage, but now it was a work-room, complete with lights on pulleys and an elaborate system of shelves to hold every tool he could ever want.

“Whoa,” Chloe breathed.

Max went straight for the garage door and pulled it up to reveal the edge of the driveway and beyond that…more trees. The scent of leaves overwhelmed him as fresh air blew in.

“I think I'm gonna buy this place,” he whispered.

“Maybe you should look upstairs?”

“Screw the upstairs.”

Laughing, she curled her arms around his waist. “You have to at least
look
upstairs.”

“All right, fine.” Just to make Chloe happy, he raced upstairs and quickly toured the two bedrooms and one bath. “Perfect,” he declared, then obligingly followed Chloe back downstairs to look around the
little hallway off the living room. Another bathroom and a small den. “Still perfect.”

“The carpets are a little worn.”

“Sure, sure. New carpet. Come on.”

“Where?” She laughed.

“One last place.” Max stopped in front of the long curtains on the far side of the living room. “Ready?”

“For what?”

He swept the curtains aside and reached for the handle of the sliding door before he was tempted to look through it. He slid it open and stepped outside. “For this.”

Outside was a deck. It was weathered and needed sanding and painting. Some of the boards might even need replacing, but that was nothing. Nothing at all. Because from the deck, you could see for miles.

A green expanse of hills and valleys stretched out before him like an emerald carpet.

He took a deep breath, and when he exhaled, the last of his life at sea fell away from him.

“It's beautiful,” Chloe whispered.

He walked to the railing and put his hands on the peeling wood. He could see a dozen houses, but not one person. Oh, they were probably out there, obscured by the trees, but he couldn't see them. They
weren't his problem. Out here, the only thing he had to worry about was himself.

And his girl. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her body against his. “Notice anything else?”

She glanced down toward his groin, but he shook his head. “What?”

He nodded toward the view. “No water. Not one lake or pond or stream or river. And no goddamn ocean. Isn't that the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?”

Shaking her head, she leaned her back against the railing.

“Wait. Don't lean against that until I've made sure there's no rot.”

She didn't even roll her eyes, she just pushed off it and moved her weight back in Max's direction. Chloe knew full well that he was a mess of anxiety and control issues, and she didn't care. “Chloe?”

“Yeah?”

Max opened his mouth. He took a deep breath, then shook his head. “Maybe we should walk the house again. Look at it more carefully.”

“Why? It seems perfect for you. The shop, the view…”

“I want to be sure you like it, too—”

“Yeah, it's—”

“Because if you're tired of the haunted house, I thought you might need a place to stay. With me. Here. Together.”

Heart thundering, he waited for the confusion to clear from her eyes. It was too soon. Way too soon. But they'd practically lived together for two weeks before he'd left. And then they'd talked every night. Maybe…

“I'll be working,” he added before she could say no. “I talked to a guy who does custom furniture for big mountain cabins, and he needs someone to do side work…”

“If I move in here with you, it might hit the gossip sites.”

“It might.”

“And we won't be taking it slow anymore.”

“No, we definitely won't.”

Chloe gazed up at him, her eyes searching for something in his. She looked so damn
serious.
“So…” she finally said. “If you get the workshop, can I have the downstairs den?”

“Yes. God, yes. You can have anything you want. Except a pool.”

She laid her head against his chest and squeezed so hard that he could barely breathe. “I love you, Max. And yes. Yes, I want to live here with you.”

Hell, he didn't need air. He had Chloe Turner. In that moment, Max was certain that normal, average girls were completely overrated. Chloe was just screwed up enough to love him, and he could live with that kind of craziness. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Eyeing the ten-foot drop to the backyard, Max edged her another inch away from the old railing. Once she was safe, he kissed her until he forgot all his worries. Every single one.