THEY’D HAD AN amazing dinner.
Then they’d walked on the beach under the stars.
And at the end of the night, Max had kissed Ellie goodnight and left her breathless at her door.
Now as Ellie made her way across the lobby toward her office, she couldn’t help the smile on her face. It had been a perfect night and when she climbed from her car just a few minutes ago, Max appeared with a smile of his own and her heart melted. With a whispered hello and a promise to see her later, he kissed her and walked with her toward the building before heading off to check on the grounds.
She made her way through the office and to her desk and saw the girls were already busy. Within minutes, she was going through her own emails and double-checking her agenda for the day – most of which had to do with overseeing another part of the weekend’s events. This time it was food.
Her stomach growled as if it knew what was ahead for them and Ellie grinned. Apparently, she’d mastered the art of equipment and grounds inspection and she was ready to move on to the next phase. According to the schedule, it meant spending several hours in the hotel’s kitchen working – or rather, watching – the chef and making sure they went over all of the menus for the weekend. They had another full weekend of weddings – one on Friday night and one on Saturday afternoon, a second one on Saturday evening and one on Sunday for brunch.
That meant she was working all weekend and her new shift in schedule, she’d have to go for four days without seeing Max – unless she invited him over Monday after work. The mere thought of having him over to her place and making him dinner and just…being alone…sent tingles down her spine.
“Note to self – invite Max to dinner,” she murmured and then went back to scanning the menus for the weekend.
The morning flew by and when Willow came over a little before lunch, Ellie was more than ready to hit the kitchens.
“Are you ready to do a little tasting and a lot of sitting around and watching people cook?” Willow asked with a grin.
“Absolutely!” Ellie agreed. “I spent about an hour looking over all of the menus for the weekend and I’m surprised there isn’t a puddle of drool on my desk!”
Willow laughed. “Trust me, they’re all even better than they sound.”
Standing, Ellie followed Willow out of the office and down the hall to the lobby. “Any run-ins with Harry and Monica?”
“A close encounter yesterday, but I managed to duck out of the way in time.”
“They asked to come in and ask some questions today so I set up their appointment for after lunch and Ari’s going to handle them. Guests aren’t allowed in the kitchen so you won’t have to worry about dealing with them.”
“I really am sorry about all of this, Willow. This was not the first impression I wanted you to have of me. I’m kind of embarrassed.”
Willow stopped and waited for Ellie to face her. “I’m a fairly decent judge of character and let me tell you what I see. I see a strong and intelligent woman who clearly dodged a bullet and she’s doing a damn fine job of creating a new life for herself.”
“Thank you.”
“And I see a rather shallow couple,” she went on, her voice slightly lowered, “who are really rubbing a lot of people the wrong way. While I don’t normally agree with having to alter your life in order to avoid an awkward situation, in this case it’s completely warranted.”
Ellie breathed a little sigh of relief at her boss’s kind words. “I’m just glad all couples aren’t this demanding.”
“I don’t think this has anything to do with them being demanding. I think Monica knows you’re here and she’s just trying to find you so she can try to rub it in that they’re getting married. She’s little more than an over-indulged brat.”
“Willow!” Ellie said, giggling.
In response, Willow simply shrugged. “Come on, let’s go take a quick look at the new arbor we’re setting up and then we’ll head over to the kitchen.”
“Sounds like a plan!”
Together they walked outside and Ellie shielded her eyes for a moment to block out the sunlight. There was a small crew off to the right setting up the tent and beside them another crew was putting the arbor together.
“I can’t believe how many different kinds of arbors there are or how specific people can be when they request one, but I have to admit, I think this new one is going to be my favorite,” Willow said as she walked toward it.
Ellie was about to follow when she saw Max heading her way. She gave him a small wave and a smile and sighed at the sight of him. His hair was mussed and his dark t-shirt and khakis shouldn’t be the least bit sexy – but they were. He had on sunglasses and yet she knew he was looking at her in that way he had – and as usual, it left her tingly.
“Inspecting the work again?” he teased when he got close. Ellie wished she could kiss him but with so many people around, she didn’t think it would be appropriate.
“Willow and I are on kitchen duty today. I’m going to learn how to oversee the menus and the kitchen for our events.”
“Will you get lunch out of it?”
“And dessert,” Willow said as she walked over, smiling. “Hi, Max.”
“Hey, Willow. So kitchen duty today, huh?”
She nodded in response. “We’re hoping to have Ellie well-versed in all areas of the business so she’ll be able to step in wherever she’s needed. And to see where she’s the best fit. It works best when we’re all well-rounded in our skills. Of course we all have our strengths and weaknesses, but in a pinch, we all pitch in where we can.”
“You have an amazing system, Willow. Everyone here thinks so,” Max said.
“Thank you,” she replied, clearly pleased with the praise. “So I was wondering if…”
When Willow stopped talking, Ellie turned and looked around. She heard the voices too and groaned. “I’ll just go around the long way to the kitchen,” she said quickly and then squealed with shock when Willow gave her a hard shove into the tent. She stumbled and almost fell, with one of her shoes coming off in the process. Bending over, she slipped off the other one since she was on the sand and was just about to straighten when Max slammed into her. His arms immediately banded around her waist to steady them both. Reaching out he pulled a cord that closed part of the opening in the tent and guided her toward the corner.
“Not our most gracious escape,” she whispered.
Max chuckled, resting his forehead against hers. “No, but the end result is just as good,” he murmured, placing a soft kiss on her lips.
“Mmm…when I saw you walking toward me, I was thinking how I wish I could kiss you. I didn’t want to do it in front of everyone.”
“There’s no one in here right now.” His voice was low and gruff and delicious.
“It would seem that way…”
Looping her arms around his neck, she went up on tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. As far as kisses went, it was fairly chaste. There were a lot of people milling around on the outside of the tent and really, she wanted to know when the coast was clear.
“…Ariel is expecting you both at one,” she heard Willow saying. “Have you had a chance to explore the resort? Maybe check in at the front desk and see if any of the villas are available for you to tour? Maybe you can even pick one for your wedding night!”
“Well…we were going to…” Monica began.
“Or maybe go on a hot air balloon ride! The view from one of those is spectacular! And it’s a great way to see the island! I’m sure I can get you a complimentary tour since you’re a future Barefoot Brides wedding,” Willow went on.
“Actually,” Harry interrupted, “I was hoping to get Monica an appointment at the spa. One of those packages where she gets a massage and pampered for an afternoon. Do you think you can help us arrange that for this afternoon?”
“Absolutely! Follow me inside and I’ll help you get set up with an appointment and then I need to head off to one of my own.” Willow’s voice began to fade and Ellie and Max waited a solid minute before he poked his head out of the tent to make sure the coast was clear.
He gave Ellie the thumbs up signal and she stepped outside with him. “Maybe I should just let them see me and get it over with,” she said. “It’s going to happen eventually.”
“And miss out on all the fun we have every time you hide?” he teased. “No way! I look forward to moments like this!”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re crazy. You know that, right?”
“Nah. I just like any excuse to get you alone and kiss you,” he said, his tone light.
“Speaking of being alone…I was wondering if you wanted to come to dinner on Monday. I’ll have off and I thought I could make us some dinner and we can just…stay in and relax.”
Why not just wear a sign that says “This is an excuse for sex”? Ellie silently mocked herself.
“I’d like that a lot, Ellie. Thank you.”
“Good,” she smiled and then looked around and saw Willow heading back toward them. “I guess she got them settled and it’s time to hit the kitchen. I’ll see you later.”
He nodded, sliding his hands into his pockets. “Yes you will.”
****
The next day was borderline chaos as far as Max was concerned. There was a weather system moving in that everyone had hoped would be a non-event. It meant the outdoor ceremony needed an indoor alternative. He lent a hand where he could – moving plants and flowers and doing whatever grunt work was needed to help everyone stay on schedule.
It wasn’t something new and it wasn’t simply because of Ellie. It was what they all did at Casa Blanca. Everyone helped out and it didn’t matter what department you were in or what your job title was. He’d seen Clay and Lacey planting shrubs and even caught them washing dishes a time or two. And if the owners were going to roll up their sleeves and pitch in, they all could.
“What’s going on here?”
Max didn’t have to turn to know whose snooty voice he was hearing. Plastering a pleasant smile on his face – she was a guest after all – he turned and faced Monica. “We’re moving things inside for tonight’s wedding. Rain is in the forecast and we don’t want to take a chance of the guests getting rained on.”
“Isn’t that what the tent is for?” she asked, her voice more than a little condescending.
“Guests would still have to get from the main building to the sand,” he said, continuing with his task and hoping she’d just go away.
Harry stepped up beside her. “What’s all this about?”
“It’s going to rain so they’re moving everything inside. I know I’d be pissed if that happened to us. If I’m paying for an outdoor wedding – a ceremony on the beach! – then that’s what I want!”
Harry sighed and for a minute, Max actually felt bad for the guy. “Monica, no one can control the weather. Not the wedding coordinators and not you. This seems like a perfectly fine alternative.”
“How do you know?” she snapped. “You haven’t seen where they’re moving everything to. For all you know it’s a tiny, cramped room!”
Another sigh from Harry. “Excuse me?”
Crap. Unfortunately, Max knew he was talking to him. “Yes?”
“Is there a way we could get a look at the room where the wedding is going to be?”
“’Fraid not,” Max said firmly. “There are a lot of people trying to get everything set up on short notice and we can’t allow guests to come wandering in.”
“But we’re going to be getting married here!” Monica cried. “We should be allowed to see what’s going on!”
Even though he knew it wasn’t his place, there was no way he was going to give in to these two. If Willow or Ari or Gussie ended up having a problem with the way he handled the situation, he’d talk to them about it. Later.
“I’m sorry, but no can do. If you have a problem, you’ll have to contact one of the owners of Barefoot Brides yourself. Now if you’ll excuse me…”
“You can’t stop us,” Monica said, her haughty tone back. “You’re no one who has any bearing on what goes on around here. You’re a gardener and how dare you tell us we can’t go inside and look around. When I find your boss, I’ll make sure you’re written up and punished for this.”
Was this woman for real? Punished? What was he, twelve? Putting the two potted plants down he’d been holding, Max took a step toward them and liked the fact that he towered over them both. “You go right ahead and do that,” he said, his voice deadly calm. “But if you go in there and get in anyone’s way and cause any issues where we can’t have the room ready for tonight’s wedding, I don’t think that will look so good for you having your wedding here.” He paused and glared. “But that’s your call. And you just think about how you’d like it if someone got in the way when it’s your wedding being set up.”
He left them both with their mouths open and stormed into the main building in hopes of finding one of the girls and giving them the heads-up.
“Such bullshit,” he murmured, stalking across the lobby and down toward the banquet room. It didn’t take long for him to spot Gussie. “Hey,” he said as he approached her. “You got a minute?”
She was a little breathless and harried-looking, but she forced a smile and said, “Sure. What’s up?”
He gave her the abbreviated version of what happened outside and then sighed. “I know I probably should have just kept my mouth shut, but…”
She held up a hand to stop him. “Don’t give it another thought. You handled it perfectly. We don’t allow guests to come around while we’re setting up – especially with an extenuating circumstance like this. We’re already crunched for time and we don’t need a bunch of nosy-bodies walking around asking questions.” She let out a breath and shook her head. “I swear those two are going to be the death of me.”
“And Ellie,” he said.
“I know. Poor kid. I hate that they’re making things difficult for her. But, on the plus side, she’s pretty determined to do the right thing if need be. I say let her keep avoiding them for now. With any luck, they’ll realize they’re making a huge mistake and cancel the wedding.”
Max couldn’t help but laugh. “No offense but…wouldn’t that be a bad thing for you? For business?”
Gussie shook her head and gave him an angelic smile. “Are you kidding? There are some couples I’d gladly pay to take their weddings elsewhere.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Worse,” she said and giggled. Behind them, there was a loud crashing sound and she jumped. “Thanks for the heads up, Max. I’ll spread the word around. If you wouldn’t mind, can you go and tell Ellie too? She may want to work in the kitchen for a little while.”
“Will do,” he said agreeably. He’d gladly take any chance he got to spend time with Ellie.
He found her in the far corner of the room arranging flowers. When she spotted him, she gave him a tired smile. “Hey, you.”
Without thought, he came up beside her and began helping her. She was doing a great job but he figured they could use another set of hands here too. “Kind of crazy here tonight, huh?”
“That’s an understatement. We met with the bride and her parents and the plan is that we’re leaving the arbor and tent set up outside and it’s going to be a last-minute call on whether or not the ceremony is held out there. They definitely wanted the reception moved inside but they really wanted to be married on the beach at sunset.”
“It is an amazing view out there when the weather cooperates.”
“Mmm-hmm,” she purred. “That’s my dream spot.”
She sounded a little distracted and Max had to wonder if she even knew that she’d spoken them out loud. They worked in silence for a few minutes and when she took a step back and smiled, he knew he needed to tell her what he’d originally come to tell her.
“I ran into Harry and Monica outside. They’re trying to crash the setup and see what’s going on in here.”
“Oh good grief…”
He told her about his conversation with them and was glad she could find humor in that too. “I saw Gussie on my way in and she said maybe you’d want to work in the kitchen for a little while. You know, until the threat of invasion is over.”
Ellie laughed out loud. “This is all just so ridiculous.” Then she paused. “But you know what, I could use a little something to drink and maybe Chef Ian will take pity on me and let me snack on a crab cake or two.”
With a quick kiss on her forehead, he sent her on her way.