Ditched (26 page)

I thought that sounded like Mike.

“Max, he’s a good boy. He’s a keeper,” she said.

I smiled because I couldn’t agree more. “I know.”

She looked at me long and hard as if trying to decide if I truly meant what I said, or whether I was just humoring her. She finally gave a curt little nod and the corner of her lips twitched up just a bit. “Good, now don’t you forget it.”

I assured her I wouldn’t and she left.

***

The beach house was small
. It still took me a little more than a week of working from the time Max left every day until the time he got home. He helped me move the furniture around but I did the taping and the painting. By the time I was done, the beach house looked like a brand new place.

At
Villette’s suggestion, I’d left the bathroom and kitchen alone. Two yellow rooms still kept the house looking lively.

We invited his grandp
arents over so they could see the house when it was done. Max grilled shrimp and I made potatoes and put together a salad. In Charles words, “Villette was tickled pink by the invitation.”

When
they left, I noticed they left the remainder of a bottle of wine in the refrigerator. Max noticed it too. He gave me a devious grin. We’d already each had a glass with dinner. This time, the wine was white, not red and I realized I liked it a lot more.

“Should we?” he asked. He was already pulling it out before I answered.

“Sure,” I said as I took out two glasses. Max poured them and then we went outside. It was another beautiful evening. The sun was about to set again. Tonight the sky was swirled with brilliant shades of yellow and orange. We sat on the swing and watched it set. When it was gone, I readjusted myself so my back was leaning against the arm. Max grabbed my feet and pulled them into his lap. He ran his finger lazily across my ankle.

Even after the sun had gone down, t
he air was still warm and humid. I closed my eyes for a few seconds, just listening to the waves crash in. When I opened them, Max was watching me.

“Thanks for inviting them over tonight. They really appreciated it,” he said.

“We can do it again sometime. I really like them.” I swirled my wine around, it would probably take me all night to finish the rest of the glass. “I assume you know your grandparents are thinking of giving this house to you. But you never mentioned it.”

“
I know. I just don’t think it’s right to accept it.”

“
Villette seems pretty insistent,” I pointed out.

“When isn’t she insistent?” he said with a smile.

This was true.

“And
outspoken,” he added on. “The first day you met them,” he shook his head. “I wanted to crawl right under the table.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “They both looked pretty smug tonight, seeing us together.”

He nodded. “Yeah, she likes you. She keeps telling me so. I keep telling her I knew she would. And then she tells me I shouldn’t have wasted so much time.”

“Why did you?” I asked. “Why didn’t you ever just tell me?”

“When was I supposed to do that?” he demanded with a half-laugh. “Junior year? When you were dating Collin? Or senior year when you were still dating Collin? Last year, when you got engaged?” He shook his head. “I mean, yeah, you guys would break up and I thought about it. But every single time I thought about it too long.”

“And we’d get back together,” I filled in.

“You sure did,” he agreed. “Even then, I was afraid of being your rebound. Or worse yet, I was afraid of saying something and ruining our friendship. I think that, more than anything else, is what always stopped me.”

“Did you really hate working on the paper?”

He scrunched up his face comically. I could tell he didn’t want to answer. “I didn’t
hate
it. Let’s just say that…” he faded off, obviously trying to find a polite way to say it.

“That you did it for me,” I said with a smile.

“Yeah,” he admitted. “I did it for you. I mean, there are worse things to get suckered into than taking pictures. I knew you needed the help. Since you always liked to come along to make sure I got the shot right, I really didn’t mind it. It’s not something I would’ve done if it weren’t for you. But no, I didn’t hate it.”

I smiled and took another sip of wine and we just swayed on the
swing, enjoying the evening.

“That day, in the church,” Max said softly, “when you walked in on your dad’s arm. My heart felt like it had been ripped right out. You looked so incredibly beautiful. I wanted to just tear you away from your dad bef
ore he got you to the end of that aisle.” He stopped talking and took a few shallow breaths. I could tell this was hard for him to say. “I kept thinking you had to know you were marrying the wrong person. But you kept walking. They were the slowest steps I’ve ever seen a person take. I think I was holding my breath the entire time. Then you got up there and the flowers fell. I couldn’t see your face but your demeanor changed and I just
knew
that you weren’t going to go through with it. I didn’t know why or what had changed right then. But I knew and when you came running back down the aisle, you were holding your head high and I was so proud of you.”

“I was so happy you were there,” I said as I laced my fingers around his. “I don’t think I would’ve gotten past the parking lot if you hadn’t been. I don’t…I really don’t know what I would’ve done.”

He smiled, just barely. “When Lanna came out and told you to leave with me, I never thought you would. When you agreed—”

“You looked so relieved,” I said as I squeezed his hand. I could still picture his face, that day in my bedroom. “You were so damn sweet. Especially that first night in the hotel room.”

He scoffed, “Yeah, that. That was an interesting night.”

“I’m sorry I cried all over you about Collin.”

“I didn’t mind, Holly. Really, not by that point,” he assured me. “I was just glad I was there and it was just you and me, finally. I mean, I didn’t dare hope anything would happen with us. I didn’t expect you to stay here so long. Every time you’d ask if I’d mind if you stayed a little longer, I can’t tell you how happy that made me.”

“And now, here we are,” I said. I held out my
wine glass to him, he clinked it with his own.

And now…here we were…and I knew both of us were wond
ering what would come next. I didn’t want to ruin the evening by bringing up those worries. Instead, I changed the subject to more neutral ground and we talked until Max started yawning.

When he walked me to my door he
gave me a quick kiss. “Really, that’s all I get?”

“I think that’s all I can handle right now,” he said. Then he placed a few kisses on my
forehead.

“You can come in with me. I’ll behave.”
I think.

He shook his head and laughed. “I don’t think
I
will. Not unless I’m all the way across the hall,” he said.

He bounced another quick kiss off my lips and I grabbed him, pulling him back in. I cupped his cheeks in my hand and gave him a proper kiss goodnight. Then I let him slip back to his own room.

Whoever said chivalry is dead is wrong. It’s alive and well in Max. And while I would never want to kill it off completely, every now and then I wished it would just back down and take a nap.

Chapter 20

“Hi there
, Pumpkin. Am I calling too early?”

“Hi,
” I said back. “You’re fine. I’m up.” I didn’t tack on that I was up making Max French toast before he left for work. I slid the last piece onto the plate and then covered it up to keep it warm for him.

“I don’t suppose you’re ready to come home yet?”

I slid onto a bar stool. “I thought you were okay with me staying here?”

He chuckled at that. “That doesn’t mean I don’t miss you.”

“I miss you, too,” I admitted. Then I was silent, waiting for him to dive into whatever he had to say. I knew he must be at work so if he called, it must be important.

He cleared his throat. “Well, if you have a few minutes, I’d like to talk to you about Collin.”

My stomach dropped. My mother had just started to back off where Collin was concerned. I wasn’t ready for my dad to pick up where she left off. What had happened to young people getting out on their own, seeing what the world had to offer?

“
I really don’t think—”

He cut me off.
“This isn’t personal. It’s business. Collin, well, I think he’s going to be a good asset to this company. He’s worked out well so far this summer.” I didn’t say anything. I had known that he was working for my dad, just to get a better feel for the place. It had been lined up well before the wedding debacle. It was just one more thing that had been out of sight and out of mind for me these past few months. But the summer was nearing an end and reality was going to be settling in soon. “As unhappy as I am with him over how he treated you,” my dad said, “I’m trying my damndest to keep things professional at this end.”

“
I know.” I didn’t understand the specifics. I tried not to be nosy when it came to my parents’ finances. But I knew that Collin’s ultimate goal was to buy out my dad’s firm. Or rather, Mr. Reynolds was planning to help Collin buy out the firm. Of course, I knew that “help” really meant that Mr. Reynolds would provide all of the financial backing needed to give Collin what he wanted. The only positive thing I could say about that was that Collin did seem to be truly passionate about architecture. I did really believe that if given the chance, he’d make sure my father’s business continued to thrive. Even when it was no longer his.

“I just wanted to clarify with you that the plan is still the same. Collin will be working under me until he gets his degree. I just wanted you to be aware of that,” he said. “On one hand, I really don’t want to do that kid any favors. On the other, everyone makes mistakes and although that was about as bad as they come, I don’t have it in me to pull his entire future out from under him.
Even though I do have other prospects, a few which have been banging at the door lately, I just don’t think it would be the right thing to do.”

“I know,” I said
again. “And I wouldn’t want you to.” My dad was at the age where he could retire now, if he chose. I knew that he wouldn’t be entirely opposed to that. I knew he’d had a few other offers, other companies hoping to buy him out now. But he had a verbal agreement with Mr. Reynolds and he wouldn’t go back on it. I admired him for that.

Max came into the kitchen and I handed him his plate of French toast.
He lightly kissed my cheek and eyed me curiously as I finished up the conversation with my dad.

We made small talk for a few more minutes
. Max was done eating by the time we ended the call.

“He’s calling early. Is everything okay?”

I told him what we’d discussed. Nothing that he said was really
news
but I appreciated that he still wanted me to be aware.

“Are you really okay with it?” he wondered.

I nodded. “Dad’s retiring as soon as he can. Collin’s there but it’s not like he’s hanging out in Dad’s office all day. Dad’s got him running errands, picking up supplies, that kind of thing for now. The next few years will be a transition period but my dad’s set on retiring as soon as possible. Once he does, I wouldn’t be surprised if my parents packed up and moved to Florida or Arizona permanently. He’s at a point where he’s ready to just get away from it all. So does it really matter if it’s Collin that takes over or someone else?”

“It sounds like you’ve thought about it a lot,” Max noted.

I nodded. “I have. I don’t feel like anyone in my family owes Collin any favors but,” I shrugged, “it’s not really a favor. It’s not even personal. It’s business.” If I said that no, I wasn’t okay with it, it would’ve felt vindictive. It would also be pointless because my dad was a man of his word.

“Are you…?” I started to ask, unsure of how to put my thoughts into words. Max gave me a questioning look. “Are
you
okay with it? I mean, does it bother you that Collin will be working with my dad for a few years?” I didn’t point out the obvious, because I assumed he was aware of it, but despite what had happened between Collin and me, our parents were still friends. Our fathers still worked closely together. Even though my mother had mentioned things were strained, I was sure that she and Gwen were still playing tennis every Tuesday. Furthermore, because of that, Collin would most likely not ever be completely extricated from my life. Not that I ever planned to seek him out but running into him, seeing him at functions, it was all inevitable.