To the Max (4 page)

“I’m able to go without puking now because your smell is somehow blocking the ones coming from the shop, but I’ll bet the second you leave and I have to go back out there, I’m going to be on my knees again. My abs hurt from throwing up. Well, heaving, because there’s really nothing else to throw up.”

Poor Annie. She looked so miserable.

Max turned his face to his armpit. “You got it backward. I stink. I probably shouldn’t have come straight from my run.”

“You don’t stink. You smell…manly,” she finished.

“Like sweat.”

“You don’t smell like sweat. Not like disgusting sweat, I mean. But like man’s sweat. I mean—” She was babbling.

“I get it, Ace,” he said with a chuckle. “What about the girl who takes care of the shop during the week? Can’t she come on Saturdays?”

“Megan can’t make it on Saturdays. Plus she has school a couple of afternoons too. I’m going to hire someone, if I can keep my head out of the toilet that long, but so far it’s just me. Holly, Sophie, and Christy have been helping, taking turns being here, but today none of them could come.”

“Really?” Because he doubted very much Christy would be too busy to lend a hand.

“Well, no. Holly and Sophie were going to Boston, and Christy doesn’t get many Saturdays free from the library. They’ve been doing so much, I didn’t want them changing their plans to be here, so I sort of lied and told them I got someone to cover for me.”

Ah, that was more like it.

“Let’s just close for the day and get you home, Ace. You’re in no condition to be here.”

She shook her head. “Can’t leave. Kids are due at noon. For many, today is candy day. I don’t want to disappoint them. And Sam and Kyra will be dropping by to get provisions for their pizza night.”

He couldn’t stifle his snort. “I can’t speak for Kyra and Sam, but I’m sure Mike can do without those. As a matter of fact, he might even thank you. And we can’t have the owner puking all over the patrons. They may take offense.”

“I know. Still…” She sighed, not looking that excited about closing up and getting the hell out of there. “Staying home is almost as bad,” she confessed. “My condo is being renovated, and those smells are killing me too.”

“The fire in the clubhouse. The faulty wiring, right?” Max remembered Cole talking about having to shoehorn that job into their already busy schedule. The complex where Annie lived had been in dire need of a face-lift and some new plumbing, but the management had been dragging their feet for a while.

Annie nodded. “They had an origami lecture that evening, and the whole place was full of paper, so a spark and it went up in flames. On the plus side, the fire got management into gear. And it was about time. Last week, my next-door neighbor almost fell walking down the stairs when the step gave way. Thank God Thelma had great reflexes. If it had been me, I would’ve killed myself.”

He tried to hide his amusement. “You mean Thelma from the gift shop? The lady in her late sixties with a knee replacement?”

Annie rolled her eyes, and suddenly Max noticed how expressive they were. “I know. But it’s true. All the seniors in my complex are in great shape. They take Mike’s self-defense classes. And they’re constantly organizing dance marathons. I’m not even sure they sleep; that’s how someone noticed the smoke in the clubhouse. Me? I was totally out. Anyhow, now I find myself in the middle of a rather massive renovation, throwing up all the time.”

“You can’t be sick day in and day out.” He had no clue about pregnant women, but barfing her guts out nonstop couldn’t be good for her or the baby.

“Yeah, I know. I’m going to get a room in the motel. My place should be ready in a month and a half. Two months tops.”

The hell she would. Two months in Alden’s only motel was too long. The place was clean but not really comfortable. It was located outside of town, close to Bottoms Up, a strip joint in a deserted lot, and it saw a lot of action of the dubious kind. Annie there? No fucking way.

Alden’s cute B&B was temporarily closed, so the only other option was the upscale club resort several miles away, but that hotel was always booked to the max with conventions and other activities for clients from Boston who wanted to escape from the city without being too far away from its amenities. Not to mention that a couple of months there would cost a mint. Scratch that. Two months there would make four years’ worth of student loans look like a joke.

Annie, oblivious to his thoughts, kept talking. “Christy asked me to move in with her and Cole, but no way am I going to be a third wheel. Sophie’s trying to reconcile with her ex-husband, so that’s a no go, and Holly lives in my complex too. She’s moving in with her cousin and asked me to go with her, but Holly, bless her heart, is a total slob. After two days I’d be ready to hang myself.”

“How long does this morning sickness last?”

“Supposedly only the first trimester. I’m two months pregnant, so just one more month.”

“I may have a solution for your accommodation troubles.”

She scowled at him. “I’m not moving in with your aunt. She’ll smell my condition a mile away.”

Probably. Max shook his head. “Move in with me.”

“What?”

“In a couple of days, I’ll be off filming, first at the studio and then on location. After that I plan to go to the Rocky Mountains for several weeks. I miss the action. I spent the whole summer here. I’m getting itchy.”

She frowned. “Weren’t you somewhere just a couple of months ago?”

“Yes, ma’am. I was in Pamplona, Spain. Running in front of the bulls for the San Fermín festival.”

Annie lifted her eyebrows. “What?”

“
Los Sanfermines
is a festival that lasts a week starting July seventh. Every morning at eight o’clock sharp, they let six bulls loose in the city. You run in front of them and try to reach the bullring before getting overrun by them. Or horned. Or crushed under a mountain of guys when someone falls. Plain old fun. My dad did it. My bros too. In my family, being chased by bulls is a rite of passage.”

Her shoulders shook with laughter.

“Of course, after the
encierro
—that’s what running with the bulls is called—everyone spends the day partying and drinking. The night too. Imagine how difficult it is to run next day at eight. Damn complicated to pinpoint six angry bulls chasing you when you’re seeing twelve.”

Annie was now giggling wholeheartedly. He loved to make her laugh.

He watched her. She was very pretty, in an understated sort of way. Brown hair, huge hazel eyes. Killer lips. She never wore flashy clothes and wasn’t big on makeup. Nor did she put her boobs out there for everyone to gawk at, like most of the girls he hooked up with. Nevertheless, once you looked at her face and she granted you one of her sweet smiles, you did notice her. Big-time.

“You’re kidding me,” she got out between gasps.

“Nope. By the end of the week, if you haven’t been hospitalized from alcohol poisoning or lost your balls from a goring, you’re a man.”

Of course, it wasn’t like that. The people who came to Pamplona to drink and party saw the encierros from behind protective fences or from the local bar. And one of the strict rules for running was not to be under the influence, but making Annie laugh was worth a few exaggerations.

“Somehow I don’t see Cole doing something that crazy.”

“Well,” he conceded, “I heard Cole ran once and then went to the city committee with a list of security concerns and how they should implement changes. I believe the city authorities declared him persona non grata permanently. All Bowen men travel to Pamplona when they’re of age. I’ve already gone several times.” Annie looked at him questioningly, and he shrugged. “What? I might have issues about becoming a man.”

“You’re nuts,” she concluded when she got her giggles under control.

Max grinned. “I keep busy. Anyhow, I’ll be away two months all in all. More than time enough for your morning-afternoon-evening sickness to go away.”

“It’s very nice of you, but I couldn’t—”

“Sure you could. You’d have the place all to yourself.”

She was shaking her head, her smile apologetic. “Really, thank you very much, but—”

“Besides, I need someone to look after my pets.”

She stopped shaking her head. “You have pets?”

“Yep.”

He didn’t elaborate, and she cringed. “What kind?”

“The fun kind, of course.”

She didn’t seem that convinced. “I don’t do well with reptiles, Max. Or bugs. As a matter of fact, I don’t do well with fish either. I think they’re creepy. The way they look at you and open their mouth hypnotically. It feels like they know something we don’t and the ones inside the bowl are us.”

Max laughed. Jeez, Annie was funny. He wasn’t sure why he’d offered her his house. The thought just formed in his head, and once it was there, he hadn’t wanted to let it go.

“No reptiles. You’ll love Tango and Cash. And you’d be doing me a huge favor.”

“I’m terrible with animals. Can’t you leave them with your aunt?”

“Nope. Last time I did, her cat upset them.”

“And your brother?”

“Cole isn’t too crazy about them.”

“A neighbor?” she fumbled desperately.

Max snorted. “Excuse me. Have you met my neighbor Wilma, Original Grandma extraordinaire?”

He wiggled his brows and she laughed at his antics. “True.”

“So you see, I do need you to stay at my place and watch Tango and Cash,” he lied. He could actually leave his pets with any number of people, all of whom would be happy to have them or to stop by and keep an eye on them. But Annie struck him as the kind of person who wouldn’t agree to living in his house for free. And no way in hell was he asking her for money. “By the time I return, the renovating at your place will be done and you’ll be ready to move back there. No biggie.”

By the look in her face, it was the mother of all biggies. “Thanks, Max. But I have to decline. It’s too much. And I’m sure you can find a better-qualified pet sitter than me.”

“I don’t leave Tango and Cash with just anyone. Think about it. There’s a big plus: the whole house smells like me. You would get the benefit of a throw-up-free zone without having to put up with me. What do you have to lose? It’s a win-win situation.”

“This is extremely sweet of you, really, but I can’t take you up on your offer.”

She might have been sick, but easily swayable she wasn’t, at least not in this matter, so he decided not to push the issue. “Okay. If you change your mind, let me know. Now, first things first: you done?” he asked resolutely, standing and signaling toward the toilet, which she was still hugging.

She pondered for a second. “I think so.”

“Good.” He helped her up. “This is what we’re going to do. We’ll gather your things and close the shop. I’ll go home, take a quick shower, and come back to open this place so your kids won’t be disappointed and we can contribute to expanding Mike’s ulcer. I just need a crash course on how to work your cash register, and we’re on.” Although if he could manage the one at Tate’s restaurant, which was a relic her father had inherited from his father, he was sure this would be a piece of cake.

Annie wasn’t moving.

“Come on. If you don’t want to go home, you’re welcome to stay at my place. Either way, you’re out of here. Unless, of course, you want me to rat you out to Christy?”

She shook her head. No, he bet she wouldn’t want that. “Max, you can’t spend your morning—”

“Are your workers allowed to sample the products while in the shop?” he interrupted her.

Annie assented.

“Then I can spend the morning here, I assure you. A dream come true. Let’s get cracking.”

As he walked out of the bathroom to the cash register, he heard her heaving. “Ace, you okay?”

No answer. He’d left the door open. Guess his smell had worn off.

He’d better bring the cash register to the back.

* * * *

Annie was lying on a lounger in the yard of her complex, near the pool, her work papers on her lap, when she saw Christy approaching.
Damn
. “He ratted me out, didn’t he?”

Christy frowned. “Who?”

“Max.”

Christy dragged another lounger to where Annie was and sat beside her. “There was no need for it. You haven’t been checking your cell, have you?”

She hadn’t. She’d forgotten it inside her condo, and she hadn’t felt like braving the smells to go get it. Especially now that the workers had left and silence reigned. Besides, Max had assured her he’d have everything under control.

“No. Why?”

Her friend fished her own phone out of her pocket and handed it to Annie. At that very moment, the chime of a message came in. Then another. And another. “It hasn’t stopped the whole day. It’s crazy.”

It took Annie a while to understand what she was looking at. There were hundreds of tweets on the shop’s Twitter account. She scrolled all the way down. She normally received notifications of clients tweeting or Facebooking to get the discount. Now all the messages had the word “Max” in them.

“Your Twitter’s on fire. Your Facebook page too. Instagram and Pinterest are in ashes already.”

“What—”

“Halloween has come early, my friend. Your shop is full to the brim. People are all but fighting to get in. Not sure about Alden’s policy, but Sweets and Tweets is way over its capacity. Expect a visit from the sheriff soon. Oh, and be ready for Facebook jail because of the obscene remarks.”

God, and she’d told Max there wouldn’t be too many clients aside from the kids.

He’d been such a sweetheart. He’d plugged an extension cord into the cash register and brought it to the bathroom—not the back office, which was currently doubling as storage and reeked of sweets to high heaven. Then he’d sat with her on the floor and learned to use it. He’d even managed to make her laugh, which, given the circumstances, had been a miracle.

He’d turned broody when she refused to let him take her to Christy and Cole’s or to his place. He hadn’t liked it at all, only relenting when she promised him she was going to be in the yard and that the workers would be stopping early for the weekend.

“What’s going on? Is Max giving my candy away?”