“He’s not.” She flashed him a mischievous grin.
Two and a half hours later, they set their work aside.
“I’m so glad you closed the office Monday,” Max said. For the past three years, Chaz had closed the office the Monday after the festival.
“We work so hard over the weekend, it just makes sense. Go relax. Have some fun,” he said.
Max checked her cell phone several times and was surprised not to have heard from Treat. She assumed he was spending time with his family, relaxing after two very stressful nights. She couldn’t wait to erase some of that tension.
On her way back to her apartment, she realized that she didn’t have Treat’s number, which meant she would have to wait for him to call her. Or…
She punched his father’s name into her cell phone, followed the links to obtain his address, and then plugged it into her GPS. With a confident smile on her lips, for the first time in days, she headed out of Allure and toward Hal Braden’s ranch.
TREAT AWOKE TO a knock at his door. With nothing but embers left in the fireplace, he shivered as he answered it.
“TB!”
His childhood friend, Charley “Chuck” Holtz, stood before him. More gray than brown up top and more belly than muscle in the middle, Chuck beamed with the same vibrancy he’d always possessed.
“Chuck, how are you?” Treat waved him in.
“Smitty told me he opened the old place up for you. Saw the rental parked out front and thought I’d stop by. Haven’t seen you in a year. What brings you out?” Chuck had a thick New England accent. The word “parked” came out sounding like “pahked.”
“Just needed a break.”
“Bonnie’s having a bonfire tomorrow night. Wanna join us?”
Treat rolled the idea over in his mind. He had no plans. It might do him good to spend time away from the bungalow, and Chuck and Bonnie were such a nice couple. “Sure.”
“Great. I’m heading into town to meet her now. Wanna come along? We’re having dinner at the Pearl.”
Treat hesitated. Tomorrow night he’d be rested and more able to deal with being civil around company. His mind was still mourning Max. God, he missed her.
“Come on, TB. It’ll be fun. Bonnie would be so upset if she didn’t get to say hello to you. She tells everyone she knows about you. You know how that goes. Around here you’re a big deal, a big fish in a small pond.” He winked.
The last thing Treat wanted to deal with was to be shown off like a trophy. “I’m a little tired. I just got in a few hours ago.”
“Come on. I’ll make sure we don’t stay out too late.”
It was hard to ignore Chuck’s enthusiasm. “Why not.”
“Great. Let’s go,” Chuck said with a wave.
“Now?” Treat looked down at his clothes. He desperately needed a shower. He touched his chin. And a shave.
“You’re at the Cape. No one looks at what you’re wearing. Up here, jeans and T-shirts are dressing up.”
“All right then. Just give me a second to wash my face and brush my teeth.” He picked up his bags and went upstairs to the bedroom. “Make yourself at home,” he hollered down. He heard the refrigerator open and the clink of beer bottles. Good old Smitty.
“I already am,” Chuck called up.
Chapter Fourteen
SHOWING UP AT Treat’s father’s house had seemed like such a good idea when she’d first thought of it, but the sight of the sprawling brick home and several expensive cars around an enormous circular driveway had her second-guessing her plan. She parked behind a black Mercedes SLS and looked down at her clothes. Sneakers? What was she thinking? She nearly jumped out of her skin when someone banged on her window. She tried to smile when she saw Savannah waving, but she was too nervous to quite pull it off.
“Max! Hi!”
Left with no choice short of restarting the car and backing out of the driveway, she opened her door.
“Hi. Savannah, right?” What am I doing here?
Four of the most gorgeous men she’d ever seen were heading in her direction, each one more striking than the next. Behind them followed an older clone of Treat. OhGodOhGodOhGod.
“Yeah. We met at the festival.” Savannah waved at the dark-haired men.
Do they run a modeling agency here? GQ headquarters? She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the car window and quickly took her hair out of her ponytail and shook it free.
“What are you doing here?” Before Max could answer, Savannah said to the others, “This is Max. Treat’s Max.”
One of the men stepped forward. “Hi, Dane,” the man said.
Dane? The one who slept with Treat’s girlfriend? Max already didn’t care for him.
“We’re Treat’s brothers,” he said.
You mean GQ genes run in the entire family?
“This is Rex, Hugh, and Josh.” Each of the men stepped forward and shook her hand with a ready smile that lit up their handsome faces. Even with their good looks and fine physiques, none of them struck the same fluttery chord in her heart as Treat had. Where is he?
The older man stepped forward. “Max, it’s a pleasure to meet you, my dear. Welcome to the Braden ranch.” He stepped forward and embraced her.
“Oh, um…” She put her arms around him, feeling awkward and strangely comforted at the same time.
“We were just going to barbeque. I hope you’ll join us,” Hal said.
He put his arm around her and guided her toward the backyard before she could say a word. She didn’t miss the coy smiles and nods from the others as she was shuttled away. She wondered where Treat was.
“Thank you, sir. I actually—”
“Hal. There are no sirs on the Braden ranch unless you’re here to piss one of us off.” He smiled and continued walking toward the backyard, as if Max was an invited guest.
“Thank you. Hal, I actually came to see Treat. Is he here?”
Josh, with his tightly shorn hair and slimmer build, wearing slacks and a polo shirt, tended to the barbeque pit with jeans-clad Dane, whose dark eyes danced with mischief and curiosity as he snuck peeks at Max.
“Treat was called away,” Hal said.
“Called away?” she asked. “Do you know when he’ll be back? I could come back later.”
Hal was already on his way to Josh’s side. He slung an arm around his son’s shoulder in an easy, comfortable fashion. Max watched Savannah set another plate at the table as Hugh headed back inside and reappeared a minute later with a beer in his hand.
“Did you get one for our guest?” Savannah asked with a nip of irritation.
“No, really—” Max interrupted, but Hugh was already on his way back inside.
He came back with an ice-cold beer. “Here you are, Max.”
“Thank you, but I really shouldn’t stay,” she said.
“Nonsense. You don’t have to eat if you’re not hungry,” Hal said just as her stomach growled. “But then again…”
Why do I keep forgetting to eat?
The family moved so quickly that Max was a little overwhelmed, which was not a feeling she experienced often. She should be helping, organizing, doing something other than standing around with her jaw hanging open; instead she was letting them guide her from one place to the next. Hell, she should be running for her car. She had no business being at Treat’s father’s house. Especially without him.
Before she had a chance to make her feet and mind work in unison and escape the backyard, she had a plate full of food and was laughing at a joke Dane had made.
“How did you and Treat meet?” Josh asked.
“I can answer that,” Dane said.
“Let the lady speak,” Josh said.
Hugh reached across the table in front of Max. She leaned back, giving him room to retrieve the condiments. It struck her how different each of Treat’s brothers were. Treat had impeccable manners, and he’d never sneak peeks at anyone—at least she couldn’t imagine him doing so.
Savannah narrowed her eyes at Hugh, and after a moment of confusion, he finally took the hint.
“Excuse me,” Hugh said, withdrawing his arm.
Max raised an eyebrow at the way Savannah jumped in just as a mother might have done. She loved watching Treat’s family in action. It was so different from her own family’s silent meals. “That’s okay,” she said with a smile.
“Max?” Josh asked again.
She’d been surveying the family so intently that she’d forgotten that Josh had asked her a question. “Oh, sorry. We met at a friend’s wedding.” I could just bolt. Not say a word and take off running for my car.
“Cousin Blake’s wedding. Remember? You were all too busy to attend.” Dane glared at Hugh.
“What? I had an award ceremony.” Hugh lifted his palms toward the air as he explained. He was much more demonstrative than his brothers were. Max watched his eyebrows draw together, as if he didn’t understand what the issue was.
“Don’t you always?” Dane said.
“Oh, please. You ran off to some shark-infested area and missed it, too.” Josh folded his napkin in his lap, crossed one ankle over the other leg, and leaned back in his chair.
“At least I made an appearance first, which is more than I can say for any of you,” Dane said with a smirk.