AFTER ALMOST TWO weeks of working at Casa Blanca, Ellie still had a hard time remembering where anything was. And now when she really needed a place to hang out where guests weren’t allowed, she really wished she had a better grasp of the lay of the land.
Harry and Monica had shown up unannounced and Ari agreed to handle them – quickly – and told Ellie to take a break before they had to be down on the beach for tonight’s wedding. Maybe she should have just gone down to the beach instead of trying to find a place inside to hide, but she didn’t want to be in anyone’s way down there.
“Aha!” she murmured, spotting a supply closet. She knew she could just slip in there and check her email on her phone or text her mom to kill some time. With a quick peek over her shoulder, she slipped into the closet and shut the door.
It was dark in there and she was started to feel around for a light switch when the door flew open. She gasped and was just about to scream when…
“Ellie, shh…it’s me.”
Max.
“Oh,” she whispered and took a step back as he came inside. “I was trying to find the…” The light went on and just the sight of him took her breath away. “Oh.”
He was smiling at her but he also looked a little…nervous. Shy, almost. “I take it you’re hiding because that was your ex I saw heading down toward your office?”
“Yup. As usual, Harry has no consideration for anyone’s time. They didn’t even call first. They just showed up. Arielle told them we were getting ready for an event and they swore they just needed a few minutes of her time.”
“Yikes.”
“Exactly.” Unable to help herself, Ellie drank in the sight of him. He may have been a bit sweaty and his clothes were dusty from a day working on planting and keeping the grounds manicured but he looked…yummy.
She hadn’t been able to wipe the thought of their kiss from her mind and as much as she had wanted to seek him out, she was utterly embarrassed by how…enthusiastic she had been with the whole thing. Poor Max was only trying to be nice and help her out in an awkward situation and she had practically mauled him.
And right now, she wanted to again.
She felt a little nervous, a little excited and somehow they moved around each other – as if their steps were choreographed – and when Ellie’s back was against the door, Max moved in close. Her heart rate picked up as she slowly lifted her gaze to his.
Max cleared his throat. “I saw you walking across the lobby and turn down this hall. Then I thought I saw your ex. I wanted to make sure you were okay.” His voice was low and a little gruff and damn if that wasn’t a turn-on too.
So he was just being a good guy again.
Damn.
Looking down at her shoes, she did her best not to let her disappointment show. A small part of her had been hoping he’d followed her in here because he wanted to see her again, kiss her again.
Clearly, she was wrong.
Then he reached out and cupped her chin in his hand. God…his hand was so big and the skin was so rough and…she was a complete mess.
“Ellie?” he said softly. “Look at me.”
She knew if she did he’d be able to see – he’d be able to tell she wasn’t looking at this as just a casual, friendly thing. All her life people had told her that her eyes always gave her away.
Max repeated her name.
And it looked like they were going to do it again.
Tilting her head back slightly, she looked at him. And was surprised to see the same heat and desire she knew she was feeling. His name was barely a whisper on her lips when he ducked his head and kissed her.
There was no time to think about asking him why, she was too anxious for the feel of him, the taste of him. Ellie’s arms immediately looped around his neck just as his banded around her waist. With the door at her back and Max at her front, she was exactly where she wanted to be.
Well…maybe not exactly, but it was pretty damn good.
There was no rush this time. Last week in the lobby it had been a quick and frantic pace – clearly a distraction. But this? This was slow and sweet and oh-so-sexy. She relaxed against him and sighed. Over and over his lips claimed hers and now that her head was clear and she knew he was kissing her because he wanted to, it really did diminish every fantasy she’d ever had about Max Santos.
He was sweet.
He was sexy.
And his kisses were better than any sex she’d had in…well, ever.
Wow.
Her hands raked up into his hair and as if of one mind, she hummed and he growled. Nice. Max lifted his head but immediately took a breath and began kissing her cheek and her jaw – softly whispering her name as he moved. His breath on her skin along with his hands which were now moving up and down her back and stopping just shy of cupping her bottom had her on total sensory overload. Another minute and she’d be tempted to lock the door and take this up a notch.
As his hands began to move a little lower, she was about to say a prayer of thanks when a door down the hall slammed shut. They both jumped and Max instantly took a step back. Their breathing was ragged. Ellie took a step away and turned when Max cursed.
Not a good sign.
“Damn, Ellie…your dress…”
She looked down and sure enough, her yellow dress was now slightly stained with the dirt and grass from his clothes. Her first thought was to try wiping it off, but that only served to smear some of the stains and therefore, made them worse. “Oh no…”
“It’s on the back too…”
A quick look at her watch showed she had seven minutes to get down to the beach to help with tonight’s wedding. Showing up with a stained dress was so not the way to make an impression on her bosses or how she wanted their clients to see her.
Max looked just as panicked as she felt. “Okay, okay, okay,” he began, “tell me what we need to do? Do you have a change of clothes in the office?”
Ellie shook her head. “Dammit, that’s something I should always have in case of emergencies! Why didn’t I think of that?” She said it more to herself than him but her mind was racing with how she was going to fix this problem.
“Text Ari and see if she has something you can wear,” he suggested.
“And how do I explain this to her?” she cried. “Honestly, I’m beginning to think this job is jinxed! I’ve had nothing but bad luck since I started here!” Immediately she realized what she said and saw the small look of shock on Max’s face. “Max…I…I didn’t mean…”
He quickly shook his head. “It’s okay. I know you didn’t. We need to get you fixed up. That’s the priority here. Text Ari and make sure the coast is clear and if there’s something you can change into back at the office.”
Phone in hand, that’s exactly what she did and luckily Ari had several options for her – because they all knew to keep a change of clothes on hand – and Harry and Monica were gone. “Okay,” she said with a sigh. “Crisis averted.”
“Good. That’s good.” He paused and looked at her, seemingly unsure what to do or say.
“I really have to go, Max. We’ve got a wedding tonight, two tomorrow and two on Sunday.” Reaching behind her, she opened the door and stepped aside. “I…I’m sure I’ll see you around.” She had one foot out the door when he stopped her.
“Ellie, wait!” When she stopped and looked at him, his expression had gone serious. “We’re okay, right? This wasn’t…I mean…I don’t want you to feel like I’m pressuring you or…”
“Oh, good heavens,” she said with a small laugh, “no! I don’t think that at all! But…I really have to go, Max. I’m sorry. Have a good weekend!”
And then she quickly dashed back to her office and prayed she wouldn’t have to explain how she managed to get dirty handprints all over the back of her dress.
****
Normally weekends were like a welcome retreat for Max. He enjoyed having the time to relax at home and have the time to himself. His social life normally consisted of going off the island and over to Naples to visit his now-retired parents and hang out with his siblings while he was there. He had two brothers and a sister and they’d all left Mimosa Key. For the life of him, Max couldn’t understand it. This was home. He couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
Landscape design had started out as a hobby back in high school and he was fortunate he was able to make a career out of it without having gone to college. Some people might look down on him for what he did because it was a lot of manual labor, but he loved it. Nothing made him happier than working outdoors and watching the transformation of the grounds.
Casa Blanca was a damn dream. And even though they’d pretty much landscaped every inch of the place, it was always going to need maintaining and every couple of years, they’d change things up. It wasn’t rocket science but it challenged him in its own way.
It was Saturday night and he was sitting alone on his back deck enjoying a beer. It was peaceful – just as he liked it. There was a standing invitation to hang out at the Toasted Pelican – it’s where everyone seemed to hang out on Saturday nights – but he rarely went. And tonight, more than any weekend in the past, it held even less appeal.
He wanted to see Ellie.
Be with Ellie.
Just…get to know Ellie.
Twice the woman had knocked him on his ass with a simple kiss. Then he snorted with disbelief. There had been nothing simple about either of those kisses. He took a long pull of his beer and put his feet up on the small wooden table that matched the rattan sofa he was sitting on. Looking up at the sky, he could see a blanket of stars and wondered if Ellie was looking up at them too. Was the wedding a full outdoor event? Or did she slip outside to get a break from the hustle and bustle of it all?
He shook his head. He was losing it. Seriously losing it. When was the last time he’d gotten so twisted up over a woman that he was fantasizing about them looking at the same stars? Maybe he should have gone out. It would have been a welcome distraction.
But in the next instant Max realized he didn’t want a distraction.
He liked Ellie. And from what he could tell, she seemed to like him too. So…there really wasn’t any obstacle here. Come Monday, there was no reason he couldn’t seek her out and ask her to dinner and then they could see where this could go.
Feeling like he’d lifted a huge weight off of his shoulders, Max relaxed in his seat and looked up at the sky again, feeling nothing but peace.
****
It was – of course – short-lived peace.
Apparently Ellie had Monday and Tuesday off because she’d worked the entire weekend. On Wednesday, Max ended up having to spend the day off the island – first going to Naples and then up to Fort Myers in an attempt to get a new motor for one of their mowers. It had been a painfully long day and by the time he got back to Casa Blanca, Ellie was gone for the day.
Luck was finally on his side on Thursday. He spotted her walking along one of the paths in that determined way she had and he jogged to catch up to her. Today she was wearing a deep coral colored sheath that hit mid-thigh with mile-high matching stilettos.
Damn.
Her hair was pulled back in that sleek ponytail she seemed to favor and all Max could think about was how she’d look with her hair loose around her shoulders. His fingers almost twitched with the need to find out – to slip the little silver clip from her hair and then feel for himself if her hair was as soft as he was imagining.
Stargazing and hair clips. Yeah. He was losing it.
“Hey,” he said, slightly breathless, when he was beside her. “Are you heading somewhere specific or looking for a place to hide out?”
Ellie stopped and laughed softly, a slow smile crossing her beautiful face. “I’m actually heading down toward the beach to look at the setup for tomorrow night’s wedding. The girls are trusting me to do the first round of inspections.”
“Inspections? Really? The crew could probably do this sort of thing in their sleep with all the weddings we’ve had here in the last year alone.”
“That may very well be, but I’m feeling kind of jazzed that they’re trusting me to come down here and look it all over on my own. It means they trust me.”
He nodded. “Mind if I tag along?”
Her smile grew. “I would like that very much.”
“How has your week been?”
“Busy,” she replied. “I swear those girls are all amazing and like Energizer bunnies, but this pace is somewhat new to me. I majored in hospitality and hotel management – that’s what my degree is in – but I never held a position that kept me running quite like this. If this keeps up, I’m going to have to switch to sensible shoes.”
There was humor in her voice and Max did his best to keep his own horrified reaction off of his face. It would almost be a crime if she had to lose the stilettos!
“Don’t do anything drastic,” he said teasingly. “I see Ari and Willow and Gussie running around here in similar shoes. Maybe you just have to build up a tolerance to it.”
Please let that be a thing! Please let that be a thing!
“Hmm…maybe.” They turned and were almost on the sand. Stopping, Ellie rested a hand on Max’s arm as she reached down to take off her shoes. “I hate sand in my shoes,” she said with a grin. When she straightened, he noticed how much more petite she looked beside him.
“So…what are you looking for here?” he asked casually, noticing there wasn’t a whole lot going on.
“For starters, the tents are getting ready to be assembled along with the arbor the bride and groom requested. The weather is going to be mild tonight, no rain in the forecast, so we’re good to get these things done today. The chairs will come out tomorrow. But I need to inspect that everything has been cleaned since the last use and that there are no obvious issues or marks on them.”
“The crew does a great job of cleaning everything before it goes back into the storage building,” Max commented.
“It still needs to be checked. You never know if anything shifted while it was in storage or if it got damaged in transit,” she said, making her way around the equipment that was scattered in the sand. “There are so many pieces…”
Figuring two sets of eyes were better than one, he made his way around inspecting things too. Within minutes, Ellie seemed satisfied that everything was coming along and looked fine. “Will you come out again later and check it again once everything’s together?”
She nodded. “And I’ll be doing it all weekend long. It’s another full schedule.”
Well there went his plans for asking her out over the weekend. Maybe. “So you’ll be here all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday?”
She nodded again. “Eventually we’ll get to a point where the schedule will lighten up again and we could possibly be on a rotation so we’re all not giving up our weekends. Although really, that’s one of the reasons I was hired – so Willow, Gussie and Ari can have some weekends off. It may be a while before I actually get into that rotation.”
“Does that mean you’ll have off Monday and Tuesday again?”
She looked at him – slightly perplexed – until he realized he basically just admitted he’d noticed her work schedule. He hoped she didn’t find it creepy. “Uh…yes. That’s the plan right now.”
“It’s just that…you know…I noticed you weren’t here earlier in the week. I was actually looking for you. To talk to you. To um…to make sure we were okay and all. And…”
“Max?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s okay,” she said softly, smiling.
Her smile did it for him every time. “So, I was thinking…”
They were interrupted when someone called Ellie’s name and said there was a problem with the arbor. With a quick apology, she was gone.
And so was his chance to ask her out.