TWO DAYS LATER, Ellie was still smiling about Max. He had been the perfect distraction to her miserable morning. And while she had thought she wanted a pity party, she found that just talking to a nice guy worked out even better.
She knew who he was – had remembered him from school even though he was two years older. Football player, popular and pretty much all-around good guy. Everyone at Mimosa High seemed to know who Max Santos was, but he was a senior when she was the sophomore new girl and they did not run in the same social circles. That didn’t stop her from seriously crushing on him for a while though.
Not that she was going to share that information with him – or anyone – any time soon.
It hadn’t taken long for her to recognize him – even before he said his name. He still had the same dark hair he tended to keep a little long, dark eyes and dimples that made you want to smile every time he did.
Yummy.
And definitely a nice way to deal with an icky situation.
Now she was sitting at her desk – which was really just a second-hand one that had been stuck in a corner for Ellie’s temporary use – when she heard Ari walk in. Ellie had been working on designing a seating chart for a wedding they were doing next month – graphic design was a little side hobby of hers – when Ari appeared next to her desk.
“What up?” Ellie asked, smiling.
Ari looked around and then spoke in hushed tones. “Okay, I totally don’t condone what I’m about to do but…I didn’t want you to get upset.”
Her stomach sank. “Why? What’s going on?”
“Your ex is on his way down here to meet with Willow about the food for the wedding. She tried to keep him and his fiancée up in the dining room, but they were pretty insistent about speaking someplace more private.”
“Oh.” Great. Even though she knew this was a possibility, Ellie had hoped it wouldn’t happen quite so soon.
“So what I’m trying to say is…go! Run! Get out of here for a while. Give us about thirty minutes and they should be gone,” Ari said hurriedly.
“Really? Are you sure?”
Ari nodded and they each turned when they heard voices near the doorway. “Go out the back door! I’ll stall them. Go!”
Ellie did not wait to be told again. She quickly made her way down the back hallway and slid out the back door that led to the gardens as quietly as she could.
And found herself looking directly at Max Santos.
“Oh!” she cried. “You scared me again!”
He chuckled. “Do you normally scare this easily?”
She shook her head. “Nope. Sorry. I wasn’t expecting anyone to be right out here.” She looked at him and saw he was dressed similarly to the way he was the other day – khakis, a dark t-shirt that read Casa Blanca Properties on the upper left section and a pair of work boots.
Very rugged.
“Well you’re not screaming or cursing this time, so I guess that’s a good thing. Just taking a break?”
“Um…yes. Sure,” she said vaguely. The door was glass and there was a large window next to it and she needed to keep moving and get out of sight. “Anyway, have a good day!”
She’d gone no more than five feet when Max caught up with her and began walking with her. She had no idea where she was going to go to kill time, but she figured it really didn’t matter as long as she wasn’t in the Barefoot Brides offices.
“Where’s the fire?” he asked.
“Excuse me?”
“You seem in a hurry. Do you only have a short break?”
Maybe talking with Max – a little bit further away from the building – wasn’t such a bad way to kill the time. “I have about a half hour,” she replied as she kept walking.
Max kept up with her but she noticed him glancing at his watch. “Wow. Your bosses are generous.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a little after lunch and you already get a second break? That’s kind of nice.”
“Oh…well…”
It took her a few seconds to realize he had stopped walking. Ellie turned and looked at him. “What? What did I say?”
“Look, maybe it’s none of my business – again – but…” He shrugged. “This is the second time I’m seeing you and you’re skittish and I can tell you’re clearly looking to get away from your office so…what gives?’
Ugh…so not the conversation she wanted to be having right now. But when she looked at Max, she kind of felt bad. “Okay. Fine. My ex and his new fiancée are getting married here in a little less than two weeks. I had no idea about it since I was just hired and so…”
“So you’re avoiding seeing them,” he finished for her, nodding. “Got it.”
“Arielle gave me the heads up and sent me on my way, otherwise I would have had to see them in the office while they met with Willow.”
“And what about on Monday? They were here then too?”
“No. But I had just found out about it and needed a moment to vent. Sorry about that.”
He shrugged again. “Like I said, not a big deal.” Then he studied her for a minute. “So what are you going to do? Do you have to help him plan his wedding or be one of the people working it?”
“I wish I knew. I think that’s what we’re all trying to figure out – the balance. Gussie told me I didn’t have a choice – that there was a good chance I’d be doing one thing or another for it. But then Ari gave me the heads up so I could leave before they got there today.” She sighed and hugged herself a little. “It’s just awkward.”
“How long ago did you break up?”
“Three months ago.”
“And he’s getting married already?” he asked incredulously.
“Don’t ask…”
They started walking again and Ellie was more than happy that Max seemed to take her literally and stayed quiet. They reached the end of the path and she wondered which way she should go. The path to the right led to the beach and the left…
“I’m pretty sure you don’t want to tour the storage shed again,” Max said, his tone teasing and Ellie couldn’t help but smile.
“Oh, I don’t know…I might need to get the lay of the land in case I need a different place to hide.”
Laughing, Max shook his head. “So this wedding is definitely a go?”
She shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’m guessing that’s what the meeting was all about today. If they’re already talking food, it’s a sign they’re wanting to get on the schedule.”
“Hmm…”
“What?”
“I’m thinking if it does happen, you’ll end up playing an epic game of hide-and-seek around the resort!”
They both laughed at that and Ellie hated to admit that he wasn’t that far off. “The only problem is it’s going to be a very one-sided game of hide-and-seek. Mainly because I don’t want to be found!”
After a moment they both grew silent and as much as Ellie was enjoying talking to Max, she didn’t want to keep him from his work – which she mentioned to him.
“I was actually just finishing up a little weeding over by the offices when you came out,” he said. “My plan was to go and put these mini shears away and then go get something to drink.” Then he hesitated a moment – almost as if he were contemplating his next words. “Would you like to get something to drink with me?”
There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that she was blushing and yet there was no way she could turn down his offer.
“I’d love to.”
****
Max led the way back over to the tool shed and quickly put his work gloves and shears away before locking it back up. Then he motioned for Ellie to follow him over to his office, which was a small building near the back of the property.
“Your office is all the way back here?” she asked and then shook her head. “Sorry. That was sort of a stupid question.”
“Not really. It’s just easier for me to be a little off-the-grid. Most of the time the crew and I are sweaty and dirty and we don’t need to be trekking through the resort lobby like that, so I have the storage buildings and the garage bays back here for the bigger equipment. All in all, it’s a good setup.”
Once inside his office, he walked over to his mini-fridge and pulled out two bottles of water.
“Thanks,” she said and turned to find a seat. Max might have a dirty job, but he had a clean office. He watched her look around a bit before sitting and then he wished they had gone somewhere else or that he’d simply grabbed the drinks and they’d kept walking around outside. It just seemed a little…awkward.
“So…” he began.
“So…” she said and then laughed. “I’m usually much better at conversation than this!”
That had him relaxing. “I am too.” He sat at his desk and looked at her. “I know you mentioned the other day that you moved here when you were a sophomore – so that means you graduated in 2006, right?”
She nodded. “And you were in the class of 2004.” Her hand immediately flew over her mouth like she wanted to take back that statement.
“Did we…did we know each other back then?”
Her blush was completely adorable and he had a feeling she really hadn’t meant to say what she had.
“I…I knew who you were,” Ellie finally said. “Obviously I was the new kid but…everyone knew who you were.”
“I wouldn’t say everyone,” he replied lightly, still trying to comprehend that she remembered him from high school.
“Trust me. It didn’t seem to matter where I went or who I hung out with - your name came up. You were considered the nicest guy in school. Everybody’s friend.”
“Well…clearly not everybody since you and I weren’t friends,” he said reasonably.
She sighed and then let out a small laugh. “Anyway…”
He took the hint. “Anyway, how do you like being back in Mimosa Key?”
“There’s a lot more stuff going on here now than when I was younger, but I came back to visit my folks often enough that it wasn’t such a shock. Still, it’s good to be back and I’m thrilled to be working here at Casa Blanca. It’s a great place. So beautiful.”
Max heard everything she said, but it was what she wasn’t saying that stood out more. He stared at her for a long minute until she started to squirm. “Okay, that was the Miss America version of an answer, I believe,” he said finally.
“What does that mean?”
“It means it was all very politically correct. Trust me, Lacey and Clay Walker don’t have the place bugged. You don’t have to give the ‘go team Casa’ speech.”
“That wasn’t what I was going for,” she said, her tone a bit defensive.
He quirked one dark brow at her in disbelief.
“Okay, fine. This was not my first choice of places to live. If I had gotten married, we were going to be living over in West Palm Beach. Actually, we were living just outside of it and already had our house being built for when we got back from our honeymoon. I loved it there. It was close enough where I could still come and visit my parents without having them right in my backyard.”
“Is that really such an issue for you?”
Ellie sighed. “No. Not really. But it was a bit of a blow to my ego to have to move back home after…well…after.”
Now he understood. It wasn’t that she had anything against Mimosa Key, just the circumstances. "Are you staying with your folks?”
She shook her head. “I did for the first month, but it got old fast. I enjoy my independence and my privacy and so do they. It was better for everyone.”
“So let me ask you something,” he began cautiously. “If you and your ex were going to be living in West Palm Beach – and essentially already were – why is he here on the East Coast looking for a place to get married?”
“That’s the million dollar question,” she murmured and quickly finished her water. Max watched as she glanced at the clock on the wall and stood. “I should probably start heading back. Hopefully, they’ll be gone and I can get back to work. And I’m sure you have other things to do, rather than sit here and listen to my tale of woe.”
He couldn’t help but smile. “Tale of woe? That’s a new one for me.” Walking around the desk, Max took the bottle from her and put it in his recycling bin, then led her from the office.
“You really don’t have to walk with me,” she said as he did just that. “I’ve monopolized enough of your time.”
“I have some areas to check out over this way,” he reasoned. Actually, he didn’t but he was enjoying talking to her and he wanted to make sure the coast was clear for her to go back to work.
Along the way he pointed out areas of interest. “Over there is the employee entrance to the laundry facility. And if you look over there, that’s where we store all of the tents and larger equipment for outdoor events – during the day there’s a side door that’s almost always unlocked. To the right is a fairly private path that is far enough off the beaten path where you can hang out there without being bothered.”
Ellie stopped in her tracks. “So essentially you’re pointing out some alternate hiding places.”
Nodding, he said, “Guilty as charged.”
But rather than being offended or arguing with him, she laughed. “Oh, Max, you are certainly a wealth of information that I never thought I’d need.”
He playfully nudged her shoulder with his – or tried to. He was easily six inches taller than her. “Stick with me, kid, and you’ll know every escape route in the place.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she replied, still laughing.
They approached the rear entrance to the lobby and walked inside. The air was cool and fragrant and Max realized he didn’t have any reason to be inside except to walk her back to her office.
“Thanks for the escort,” she said as they got closer to the office area. “I appreciate the company.”
“You sure he’s gone? Wouldn’t want you to go back in there and feel ambushed.”
“They should be. I know Willow had another appointment coming in and she doesn’t like to keep anyone waiting. I can’t imagine she’d let anyone monopolize her time or cut into another client’s time.”
“Okay,” he said. “So…I guess I’ll see you around.”
Ellie nodded but didn’t seem in any hurry to leave. “Yeah. I guess so.” She turned and looked over her shoulder toward her office and he immediately noticed her stiffen up.
“Ellie?” He looked beyond her and saw a couple walking toward them. They were in a fairly open area with tile floors that would certainly echo if she ran across them in her heels, which he took a brief second to admire.
She began to look around wildly for a way to get away and rather than watching her run, he did the only thing he could think of.
He hauled her into his arms and kissed her.