Max stared out the front windows of the Empty Plate Café to the empty lot across the street. Windsor Park had been deserted for the past two days. No people. No food truck. And no Jessa.
He’d been sitting in the same place every day, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. But the woman had completely vanished…and it was all his fault.
God, what had he done?
He’d blown it, damn it. That’s what.
And now he’d lost her forever.
Not only was the food truck gone, but Pops’ customers hadn’t come back either. Max was alone in the vacant restaurant, except for Pops who had just come out of the kitchen with a sign in his hands. “It’s time,” Pops said, his low voice wrought with emotion. “I’ve put it off for as long as I could.”
Max eyed the For Sale sign. “Jesus, Pops. Can’t you hang on a little longer?”
“That’s what I was doing in hopes that a miracle would come along. But I can’t keep lying to myself. I can’t afford to update the restaurant, much less compete with the innovative menu items that your young woman was offering to my customers. Times have changed, and unfortunately I’m not able to change with them anymore. I’m too old to even want to change with them.”
Max had come clean to Pops about his relationship with Jessa, and the old man had gotten a good laugh out of it. It wasn’t exactly the reaction that Max thought he’d get, but he was glad that the old man hadn’t started hating him too. “God, I’m sorry, Pops. I was really hoping something would work out for you.”
“I know, son.” The old man squeezed Max’s shoulder as he passed by him. “But don’t you worry about it. You’ll find another place to eat your lunch every day.”
“Jesus. That’s what you think I’m worried about? After losing Jessa and watching your business go down the drain, I don’t have the stomach to eat ever again. I’m just worried about what you’re going to do now.” And where the hell she is.
“Well, I thought it over plenty the last few weeks, and I kind of liked having all this extra time on my hands. So I think I’m going to use the money I get from the sale of the restaurant to retire on. I’ve put in my years, and it’s about time I slowed down anyway. I’ve got some more fishing to do.”
“But what about cooking? Aren’t you going to miss it?”
“Sure I will. But I’m betting I know a young man who would be willing to stop by my house for lunch on occasion,” he said with a chuckle.
Max grinned. “Anytime you want company, you let me know and I’ll be there. I’d never pass up one of your meals.”
Pops nodded. “That’s pretty much what I thought.”
The door chimed, and Sam waltzed in. “Hey, fellas.”
Pops greeted him with a wave. “You here for lunch, Sam?”
“Sure. Why not? I’ll have the special.”
“All out,” the old man replied.
Sam sighed. “Figures.”
Max smiled. Damn, he was going to miss that. He loved it when Pops rattled Sam’s chains. “Give him a cheeseburger and fries, Pops.”
“Coming right up,” he said, heading to the kitchen.
Sam pulled out a chair and took a seat across from Max. “Ya know, I’ve been calling you for the past two days.”
“I know, but I didn’t feel like talking. I told you that already on the voice mail I left for you the other night. I said I wasn’t coming in for a few days. I had some personal things to attend to.”
“Any of those personal things happen to involve Jessa?”
Max leaned back in his chair. “Like I said, I don’t want to talk about it.”
“She found out that you lied to her before you had a chance to tell her, didn’t she?”
Anger swirled through him. “Do you not understand the meaning of ‘don’t want to talk about it’?”
Sam grinned. “Yeah, I understand it. But since you didn’t listen to me when I said the same thing to you about Leah, then that’s just too damn bad.”
God, had I really been so annoying about it at the time? “Look, it’s over. She’s gone, and she’s never coming back. There’s nothing left to say.”
“That’s what you think,” Sam said vaguely.
Don’t do it, Max. Don’t take a bite out of that bait. “Okay, so you obviously know something. What do you mean?”
Sam chuckled. “Thought you didn’t want to talk about it?”
“You asshole. You better start talking, or Leah’s going to wonder where you got that black eye from.”
“What black eye?”
“The one I’m about to give you. Now spill it.”
Sam laughed but held his hands up in surrender. The dickhead was enjoying this way too much. “Okay, okay. So from what I hear, the reason Jessa left the park and hasn’t come back is because she can’t come back.”
“What do you mean she can’t come back? Why the hell not? Who’s stopping her?”
“The city health inspector. Ya know, the real one.” He grinned again. “Apparently, there’s a city ordinance that won’t allow a food truck to park within a certain distance from a free-standing restaurant. Though she didn’t know it at the time, Jessa had been violating a code—a real one—the whole damn time.”
“Christ. Did she get a fine?”
“Nope. The new inspector seems to be a pretty fair guy. He actually let her off with a warning and asked her not to park across the street from the Empty Plate Café anymore.”
“How in the hell do you know all of this? Have you been talking to the inspector or something? Who told you that?”
“Jessa did.”
Max sat in stunned silence for a moment before rolling his eyes. “You’re full of it, buddy. She left town. I went by her place this morning and looked through the windows. Her things have been cleared out. The house is completely empty.”
“Yep, it is. Logan and I helped her load all of her stuff. It’s now sitting at the bakery. Well, above it, technically. Since Valerie moved in with Logan, Leah offered the apartment to Jessa. She moved in yesterday.”
What? He’d expected her to get as far away from him as humanly possible. “Sam, if you’re bullshitting me…”
“I’m not, I swear. If you don’t believe me, you can go by the bakery and see for yourself. The other night, after the two of you had it out, Valerie found her in the bar’s kitchen, washing dishes while she was crying her eyes out. She was talking about leaving town, but Leah and Valerie rallied around her and wouldn’t allow it.”
Max ran a hand over his face. “Thank God for that,” he said, letting out a huge sigh of relief. “I was afraid I’d never see her again.”
“Well, I wouldn’t get too comfortable with the idea of seeing her quite yet. From my understanding, she’s still pretty pissed about the whole health inspector thing. You really messed with that girl’s head.”
“Up yours, Sam. I didn’t mess with anyone’s head.” Except maybe my own. “Yeah, I lied to her about being the health inspector, and that’s on me. But everything else between us is real.”
“Oh yeah?” One curious eyebrow lifted. “So what exactly is between the two of you?”
“That’s none of your damn business. Why don’t you quit pestering me and find something better to do? Don’t you have a wife at home waiting on you at the door naked with a chocolate soufflé or something?”
Sam chuckled. “Damn, I wish.”
Pops came out of the back, carrying a plate with Sam’s burger and fries. He set them down in front of him, along with a glass of iced sweet tea. “Need anything else?”
Sam shook his head. “Nah. Thanks, Pops. It looks great.”
Once Pops returned to the kitchen, Sam pointed a French fry at Max. “So what do you plan to do now?”
“I’ve got to go find her and try to win her back.”
“Or maybe you’ve done enough damage and should just leave the poor girl alone.”
“What? You’re kidding, right? I can’t just let her go.”
Sam shrugged. “Why not?”
Damn him. He just wants me to say it out loud. Well, that was fine by Max. Because he planned to shout it from the rooftops when he finally found Jessa anyway. “I’m in love with her, you moron.”
Sam gave him a shit-eating grin. “Yeah, I know. But it’s about damn time you caught on to what the rest of us have known for a while. Now why don’t you quit sitting here pouting like a baby, man up, and go get your woman back?”
Max laughed. “Yeah, I think I will. But I…well, I have something else I need to do first.” He knew what he needed to do. And after he did it, the first person he was going to see was Jessa.
Confusion took over Sam’s face. “I thought you just said you were in love with her. What in the hell could be more important right now than winning your woman back?”
Max glanced at the For Sale sign in the window and then gazed back at Sam. “Winning back her trust. Because without that, I don’t have a leg to stand on with Jessa. I’m in love with a woman who doesn’t even know who I really am. For once, I’m going to put it all on the line and show her that she can trust me.”
His buddy nodded his approval. “Smart move.”
“Yeah, I thought so too. Of course, I’ll still have to convince Jessa of that.” Max slid his chair out and stood.
Without a word, Sam continued eating his lunch.
Max started for the kitchen but only made it halfway before he paused mid-step. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he almost hadn’t caught the mysterious gleam in Sam’s eye.
God, I’m an idiot. “You sonofabitch. You know where her truck is parked right now, don’t you?”
Sam grinned again. “Maybe. But before I tell you where you can find her, you might want to know who’s looking for you.”
“Jessa’s looking for me?”
“No, but her brother is.”
Max shook his head. “I think you’re confused. Jess doesn’t have a brother. She’s an only child.”
“That’s what she thought too…until she found out differently. Apparently, all those years ago when her mother passed through town, she slept with a married man who already had a child. A boy. Jessa’s brother.”
“Oh man, she must’ve read her mother’s journal. Is she okay with it? I mean, finding out something like that had to be upsetting.”
Sam grinned. “Oh no. She’s happy as shit about it. Her brother is too. They already knew each other. He welcomed her to his family, and now he’s looking for you. You’re probably lucky you’ve been holed up here and he hasn’t found you yet.”
“So let me get this straight. She knew her brother the whole time she’s been in town? And now he wants to kick my ass?”
“Yep.” Sam chuckled.
“For what?”
“What do all older brothers want to kick someone’s ass for? For messing with their little sister and breaking her heart.”
Max sighed. “Okay, fine. Who’s her older brother?”
* * *
The last person Jessa wanted to see strolling across the parking lot to her food truck was Max Hager…if that was even his real name. Actually, she knew it was since she’d already asked Valerie and Leah that question, but she wasn’t feeling the least bit charitable toward him at the moment. She’d heard enough of his lies to last her a lifetime.
Jessa had figured he would eventually find the Gypsy Cantina parked on Sam’s construction site. How could he not? Max was a freelance electrician who did a lot of work for Sam. Not only that, but they were also best friends. So of course he would locate her and show up to grovel his way back into her life once again. But that didn’t mean she was going to make it easy on him.
She reached over and locked the truck’s door, which made Lisa and Mary both giggle. At least that would keep him at a bit of a distance for the time being. The last two times she’d had it out with him, he reached for her. She couldn’t handle him trying to touch her right now. Not after being away from him for several days. And judging by the determined look on his handsome face, that was probably exactly what he would try to do.
But she was surprised when he didn’t come to the door at all. Instead, he did something even more irritating. He got in line and waited his turn.
Damn him.
Max was taller than most of the men in line, so he had a perfect shot of her. And since the food truck’s platform wasn’t exactly on ground level, she had a clear view of him too. Though he watched her calmly from the back of the line, the way he stared at her was so intense, so fierce, that it threw Jessa into a tailspin.
Flustered and unable to concentrate, she turned away from the order window and grasped the steel counter with a white-knuckled grip. God. Why was he doing this to her? And why had she stopped Logan from going after him and killing him? The jerk deserved to be strangled in a choke hold right about now.
Lisa, who had been cooking on the grill, gazed outside at Max standing in line and then patted her shoulder. “Are you okay, honey?”
She nodded. “Of course. He’s…an idiot.”
Mary handed an order out the pick-up window and nodded. “That he is, but maybe you should just go talk to him and get it over with.”
“No, I’m just going to pretend that he isn’t here. He’ll eventually go away.”
Jessa pulled herself together and got back to work. She could ignore him, couldn’t she? Especially since they were so busy. It was lunchtime, and Sam had a huge construction crew that was relying on the women to feed them before they headed back to work. So that was exactly what she set out to do. Though every order she took and completed brought Max one step closer to her, making her heart pound harder in her chest.
And he looked good, damn it. He wore a blue plaid button-down over a white undershirt, but he hadn’t bothered to button it up or tuck it in either. The tight pair of jeans stretched across his powerfully built thighs would probably show off his fine, muscular rear end nicely too. If she wasn’t so pissed off at him right now, she would’ve gotten in line behind him just to admire the view.
When he finally reached the front of the line, he smiled wide, as if that sexy little grin of his was going to work magic on her. Okay, so maybe it did send butterflies fluttering in her stomach, but she could ignore her traitorous body just as well as him.
She didn’t greet him. Didn’t smile at him. Instead, she picked up a black permanent marker and a piece of paper and began writing.
Lisa started for the window. “I’ll get this one, Jess.”
“No, that’s okay. Thank you, but I’m taking care of it.”
Jessa put down the black marker, grabbed a piece of tape, and then headed back to the order window where she hung her new sign. It read, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE SERVICE TO ANYONE. ESPECIALLY TO MAX BECAUSE HE’S A JACKASS.
He read the sign, and his face fell. “Jess, I just want to talk to you for a moment. I didn’t come here to send you over the moon by pissing you off more.”
“Well, too late. You’ve achieved liftoff.”
“Just give me five more minutes of your time. If you don’t like what I have to say, then I’ll go away and leave you alone.”
“Yeah right. You said that last time.”
“True, but I also warned you before I left that I was coming back for you. Well guess what, baby? I’m here, and the time is now.”
“I’m not the least bit interested.” Now who was the liar?
He leaned against the order counter on the truck, one of his brows rising in challenge. “Then I guess I’ll just have to stand here all day and wait for you to change your mind.”
She glanced at all the hungry men standing behind him. Damn it. She didn’t want to listen to his explanation as to why he was a big, stupid moron who told her a dumb lie and tricked her into believing he was something he wasn’t. But it wasn’t like she had much of a choice. He was holding up the line.
“Fine. You get three minutes of my time,” she snapped, pulling her gloves off and throwing them into the trash. “And then you’re leaving.”
“Okay, but first you have to open the door and come outside. I don’t want to do this through a window.”
“Max, you’re pushing your luck with me.”
“Please, just come out here. I have something I want to give you.”
She rolled her eyes. “What? Your penis? Because if so, then I can tell you where you can shove it.”
Laughter sounded from the men behind Max, and he turned and glared at them until their chuckles died out. “No, it’s not my dick. Because we both know it wouldn’t fit in this,” he said, holding up a large brown mailing envelope held closed by a metal clasp.
Okay, he had her there. It was a big envelope, but she doubted his penis would fit inside. “Well, whether it’s your penis or something else, I don’t want anything from you,” she said. But she headed outside anyway. At least that would get him out of the order window area and allow Lisa and Mary to keep working. Not that it mattered since everyone in line was now more interested in watching them than ordering lunch.
She was probably going to lose money today all because of Max.
He stepped off to the side and waited for her to reach him. He looked uncomfortable, queasy even. Good. Maybe he should’ve thought about that before he started screwing with other people’s heads. The liar.
As she neared him, she caught a glimpse of Sam standing nearby with a huge grin on his face. “Is this your doing, Sam?”
He shrugged lightly. “He would’ve eventually found out where you were camping out. Besides, I told you that I wouldn’t keep it from him if I ran into him.”
“That you did,” she said with a nod. “But somehow I have a feeling you made sure you ran into him, you meddler.”
Sam only grinned wider. She couldn’t really be upset with him though. She knew he was friends with Max well before he’d ever met her. Of course he was going to take his buddy’s side. But couldn’t the guy give her a little warning?
She shook her head. Of course not. Because then she would’ve made sure to avoid the place to keep from setting eyes on Max. And Sam had already told her that he was rooting for his buddy to win her back. Sam was a jerk too, but a very sweet one.
Jessa stopped in front of Max and scowled at him. “Okay, what do you want?” she asked, crossing her arms.
“For starters, your trust. I know I hurt you, sweetheart, and I’m sorry about that. It won’t ever happen again. I swear that to you on my life. I know I can’t force you to forgive me and that it’s going to take some time, but I want you to know that I only want the best for you.” He opened the brown envelope and pulled out a small stack of papers. “I wanted to repair some of the damage I caused.”
“And just how do you think you’re going to do that?”
“Well, I know you have dreams of opening your own restaurant some day, and I want to help you make your dreams a reality.”
“What are you talking about? Help me how?”
He handed her the stack of papers and waited in silence as she glanced them over.
Her eyes lifted to his. “This is a title of deed for the Empty Plate Café.”
“I know. I just bought it…for you.” He reached into the envelope and pulled out a set of shiny new keys. He pressed them into her hand, closing her fingers around them. “These are yours. I bought you a restaurant.”
Jessa’s head snapped up. “You did what?” Huh? Why would he help her after trying to get rid of her? Was the guilt too much for him to handle? Otherwise, it didn’t make any sense.
“It was the one thing you’d always said you wanted, and I wanted to help you achieve your goal. I cashed in some old stocks and bonds I had and bought the Empty Plate Café for you. I know it’s not much to look at right now and needs a lot of remodeling, but I’ve already hired Sam’s crew to come out next week and go through it with you. Whatever you want changed or updated in the building will be taken care of immediately…at my expense. Either way, it’s yours to do whatever you’d like with it.”
Her mind was reeling from the shock of it all. He bought her a restaurant? She shook her head. “I…I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything, Jess. Just please accept this gift as a sign of how sorry I am and how much I want you to stay in town. I never meant to hurt you, I swear.”
His sincere words had moisture pooling in her eyes, but it wasn’t happy tears clogging her lashes. “I don’t want it.”
Max blinked rapidly at her. “What do you mean you don’t want it? You have to take it. I already bought it for you. It’s yours.”
She shook her head furiously. “No, it’s yours.”
“Is that what’s bothering you—that I paid for it? I bought it for you, sweetheart. My name isn’t the one going on the deed. Only yours. The restaurant is yours to do whatever you wish with it.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. I just thought—never mind. It doesn’t matter anymore.” She turned away from him.
He reached for her. “Jess, please…”
Damn it, she knew that would happen if she got anywhere near him. She shrugged his hand off her shoulder. “No, you just don’t get it. For a second, I thought you did…but you clearly don’t.”
“Okay, then tell me what it is that I don’t get.”
Although her dream of one day owning a restaurant was important to her, Max had completely missed what mattered most to her. Her hands fisted at her sides as she spun on him, anger washing over her like a volcanic wave. “Me, damn you. You don’t get me. If you did, you would know that a restaurant isn’t what I care about. I thought you…” Her words trailed off, and she shook her head, trying to push away the hurt bubbling up inside of her.
“Go on. Say it.”
Her heart squeezed so tight in her chest that it was hard to breathe. She swiped at a stray tear trailing down her face and let out a heavy sigh. “I had hoped you were here to win me back.”
Max grinned. “What makes you think I’m not?” Then he gestured to her hand that held the keys to the restaurant.
Jess opened her palm. She hadn’t noticed it when he’d first handed the keys to her, but there was a sparkling solitaire diamond ring linked to the silver key ring. A very pretty one, at that. Her eyes blurred with more tears. “I…I don’t know what to say.”
“You already said that,” he told her, his grin widening. “But let me do the talking right now.” He took her hand in his, rubbing circles on her palm with his thumb. “I may have pretended to be something I’m not, but nothing about our relationship has ever been a lie, Jess. I never faked how I felt about you, how much you mean to me, or how much I loved having you in my life, my bed, and my heart.”
Her teary gaze held his. “Oh, Max.”
“I’ve fallen for you, Jess. I’m pretty sure I started my descent from the first moment I laid eyes on you. Now I have an important question for you, but I want you to know that this is in no way a stipulation. As I said before, the restaurant is yours. I believe in you and know you’ll do amazing things with it. I just hope that you’ll allow me to be at your side through it all.”
“Max, wait a minute. I—”
But he didn’t. He knelt down in front of her on one knee, his hand still holding hers. “I love you, Jessa Gibson. I want to spend the rest of my life showing you just how much. Will you marry me?”
Jessa expelled another tear as she squeezed her eyes shut tight. She shook her head firmly. “No. I’m sorry, Max, but I can’t marry you.”