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“I’m glad. I’ve felt a little guilty about this.”
“You didn’t know. I’m perfectly happy.”
Max presses his lips together, looking ahead at the folks packing up their beach bags and chairs to head back to their rentals or into town to Betty’s Café or even our brewery. Tilting my head towards him, I ask, “Are you happy?”
“I don’t know,” he says. Wind picks up, kicking up dust into our eyes and mouths, causing us to gag. I think the topic is done before Max says, “Sometimes I feel like I don’t have any control over my life. Like, do I live in San Diego because I love it, or is it because I grew up there? Am I a dentist because of my stepdad, or would I have chosen it? Even Noelle. We finally broke up, but I tried to break up with her once and she refused.”
I laugh, thinking how easy it was to break up with Burke. It’s like he knew I wasn’t one-hundred-percent committed. It’s tough to date someone who had their heart broken in a devastating way. We’re tougher to get through.
“Why did you try to break up with her?”
“She started pulling me toward jewelry stores every time we went to the mall, telling what kind of diamonds she liked and the type of settings. I wasn’t ready to get married, and I never knew if I could ever be ready to get down on one knee for her one day.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, so I tried to break up with her after dinner one night. She kept coming over and eased up on the marriage conversation. Then, a year passed, and the marriage talk started up again, even worse than the first round. She finally gave me an ultimatum, and we took a break so I could figure out that she was the one.” Max doesn’t look at me, and thank God, because my face must be beet-red.
“I was so single before I met Burke. I had zero interest in dating. I had my house, I had my daughter, I had my business, my family’s business. I was good. Burke came to town and would keep showing up at the brewery, asking my brothers about me. Cam was the one who convinced me to give him a chance. He said he didn’t find Burke ‘that terrible’ and said I should go for it.”
“’Not that terrible,’” Max says with a laugh, and I chuckle too. That’s not how you start a love story. Max tilts his head to one side and purses his lips. “At least Burke got his approval. Cam looked at me like he wanted to murder me. I doubt I’ll ever get the go-ahead from your brother, so you’re safe.”
“Thank God,” I say sarcastically. Max glares at me for a split second then smiles. I nudge him and say, “It never felt right with Burke.”
“Hence, why you dumped him.”
“Exactly.” I bite my lip. Does Max feel something? I feel like he’s flirting. Is he flirting? I’m so out of practice. “So, what are we going to do?”
“I think that’s a tomorrow problem,” Max says.
“You’re leaving tomorrow.”
My heart sinks. I may never see him again, no matter what he tells me. Max senses my thoughts and touches my arms.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back. Hey, hey, come here.” He pulls me to his chest, and I melt into him, pressing my hands into his strong upper back. Max gives the best hugs.
“I’ll book your ticket.”
“I can book my own ticket, but I plan to buy one immediately once I have an idea of my schedule. I will have serious Olive withdrawals.”
“That is totally a thing. I get those.” I pull myself away from his grasp, and Max’s arms are still outstretched, like my body is still against his.
“She’s the best. I hope she wants to talk to me every night because we’ll have FaceTime dates.”
“She’ll love that. Just wait until she’s back in school. Her stories about the most mundane things are classic. She’s a gossip, and once you get her going, there’s hand gestures and everything.”
“I can’t wait,” Max says. “I’m really sad I haven’t seen the raccoons.”
“Ever since I got rid of the free cat food, they don’t come around very often. I see them from time to time. It’s like a nice surprise.”
“That’s one of Goldheart’s attractions, right? The raccoons?”
“If you’re lucky. Or unfortunate, if you get on their bad side. If you have food, though.”
“Maybe I’ll see them before I leave. Or when I come back to visit.”
We’re quiet as we reach the snack bar near my car. Max takes one last sweeping look over the lake and then looks back to me. We must look like a cinematic shot, my hair blowing all over the place and the wind billowing Max’s shirt.
I don’t want this night to end. If I invite him into the main house, it doesn’t mean anything, right? We can be two people catching up. Not talking about what really needs to be talked about. The truth about his stepdad sits in the pit of my stomach like a boulder.
