Page 36 of Written with Love

“Why don’t we head into town and have some breakfast at the Golden Oar?” Max suggested. “The guys can get along without me for a while.”

His mother nodded and then stepped out of the way as the men started setting up for that day’s work. Faye seemed very eager and excited at the possibility of meeting Iian.

“Juliette?” Max turned to her.

“Go, I’ll get started on filming.” She smiled.

He nodded and then, to her surprise and she was sure his mother’s, he bent over and kissed her. “Can I bring you back anything?”

“I wouldn’t say no to a coffee and a sticky bun.” She smiled. “They know how I like my coffee.”

He nodded. “See you soon.”

“It was nice meeting you,” she signed to Faye and his mother.

“You too.” Faye smiled and then followed them out.

Before they had driven out of the driveway, Juliette shot Iian a text message.

“Are you at the restaurant?”

His reply came back quickly.

“Yes, why?”

“VIP guest heading your way. Max’s sister Faye. She’s going through a lot right now. Losing her hearing. She is eager to meet you.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for them and give them extra attention. Sure miss having you work for me. But we’re glued to those videos you keep posting about the lighthouse. Let us know when we can come for a tour.”

“Will do. Thanks.”

She absolutely loved living in Pride. Loved that, with a quick text, she could ensure that Max’s family had a great experience before they set of to what she assumed would be a difficult appointment.

For the next two hours, she followed Palmer’s team as they worked on the backsplash tile in the kitchen. Parker’s team was busy working in the bedroom, replacing the windows with what would be massive French doors that would step out onto the new deck that another team was currently building outside. Yet another team was working on the dining room walls and floors.

She had cameras set up on those locations for time-lapse videos and kept checking them and adjusting them for the best angles.

When Max returned from breakfast with his family, he seemed preoccupied with his thoughts. She assumed it was because of his sister’s health, and so she kept busy and gave him space.

He took over filming the deck work outside while she remained inside.

By the end of the day, she had barely spoken to him alone. On the plus side, they had enough footage that she was thinking of posting the deck scenes later that weekend when the workers had a few days off.

As everyone was packing up for the day, Max disappeared while she sat at his kitchen table and worked her magic with the edits. When he came back, his hair was wet and he was dressed in a clean shirt and pants.

“How’s it going?” he asked, looking over her shoulder at the laptop screen.

“I finished today’s posts. I’m working on this one to post on Sunday.” She glanced over at him. “Have you heard from your mom or Faye?” she asked.

He shook his head. “Not yet.” He sighed.

She laid a hand over his. “Take a walk with me?” she suggested. “The sea air always helps when I’m worried about something.”

He nodded and she shut her computer screen and grabbed her jacket.

Even though it was only weeks away from summer, the nights still had a bite to them.

They walked in silence until they hit the stairs leading them down to the beach.