“I know.” Max dug into her purse and pulled out the two handwritten notes from Treat. “I was an idiot. I didn’t really react to what he told me. I think I was too shocked. When I got home, these were in a bag on my doorknob. He’d put them there before we had dinner, and he showed up to take them after dinner, but I was already there.” She shrugged. “And then he said goodbye before I read them. Only I didn’t realize he meant goodbye, goodbye.”
Kaylie read the notes. “Oh, Max. Where is he now?”
“I don’t know. He left town in the middle of the night.”
“You broke his little heart,” Kaylie said. She must have noticed the hurt in Max’s eyes about the realization of Treat’s hasty departure. “We have to find him. You have to go to him.”
Max shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m sort of thinking about going away for a few days to figure things out. He told me that his favorite place was Wellfleet in Cape Cod, and I’ve never been. So I was thinking I’d go there, and…” She shrugged. “Maybe fate will step in, maybe not.” Fate? Had she really said fate? She had, and the more she thought about fate, the more she wondered about it. Maybe it was fate that had brought them together in the first place, at the gates of the festival, and maybe fate could step in again. Max hadn’t even been thinking about going to the Cape until the words left her lips, and now, the more she thought about going, the more right it felt. Even if she didn’t see Treat, it would help her to figure out where her heart stood on the whole matter—though now that she knew where she was heading, every bit of her hoped fate would step in and show her the way.
Kaylie groaned. “Has my sister gotten to you? Danica is all about fate and destiny.” She rolled her eyes. “I believe in lusty love and creating your life. Listen, you have to make this happen. Find out where he is first and then go see him. Don’t chance it, counting on fate. Otherwise, you’ll never know what could have happened. He’ll always be the one who got away.”
Max wasn’t listening. She’d already moved on to the romantic notion of the Cape. “Do you think Chaz will give me the week off?”
“What? You’re seriously considering this? Are you going to call him?”
She’d almost forgotten that she had his number. “Nope. Something tells me that I need to do this on my own. If fate doesn’t step in, then it doesn’t, but at least this time I’ll be following my heart without anything holding me back.”
“Who are you and what have you done with my Max?” Kaylie asked.
Max’s eyes grew wide. “Do you think Chaz would mind? It’s only four workdays, since we’re closed today. I haven’t taken a sick day in…well, I’ve taken three in the eight years I’ve worked there, and I never take vacation, except a few days here and there to visit my parents.” Her mind spun with hope.
“Who are you kidding? Chaz is a romantic. If I tell him why you’re going, he’ll drive you there himself. In fact, here.” Kaylie dug her wallet out of her purse and handed Max her airline frequent-flyer card. “Use our account and you can fly practically free with Chaz’s frequent-flyer miles.”
Max’s eyes lit up. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, of course. We have too many to ever use anyway. Just log into our account, and make sure when you book it that the actual ticket is in your name. If they need me to call and confirm the purchase, just let me know.”
Max hugged her. “You’re a saint! Thank you! I’ll call Chaz as soon as we leave here, just so he also hears it from me. I need to ask him, even if he tells you it’s okay, right?” She didn’t wait for Kaylie to answer. “Of course I do. It’s the right thing to do.” Just like going to Wellfleet. It feels right.
They paid the bill and headed out of the restaurant.
“Kaylie, do you think I’m being stupid? I mean, the guy owns a zillion resorts. He could be anywhere in the world.”
“Yes, I think you are one hundred percent wacked out of your mind, but if I were Danica, I’d be gushing and telling you how you are doing the right thing and that the spirit gods are all on your side!” She shook her head. “Or some crazy shit like that.”
AFTER CHAZ APPROVED her time off, confirming Kaylie’s suspicion that he would do anything for love, Max had a hell of a time finding connecting flights into Hyannis, Massachusetts. She booked her flight for the ungodly hour of three in the morning and packed her bags. This trip is about fate and love and nothing more. There would be no planning or scheming. No worrying about what others thought or pretending to be something she wasn’t. She turned off her cell phone and tucked it into her purse. Three days. She’d give herself three days to figure things out without any disruptions, including phone calls. Treat hadn’t called her since he left, and she didn’t need the added stress of wondering if he ever would. For the next few days, her phone—and Max herself—were on hiatus. If fate didn’t step in, then it wasn’t meant to be. With that decided, she spent the rest of the afternoon napping and reading and trying not to think about the romantic fantasy she was wrapping herself up in like a security blanket.
Chapter Seventeen
TREAT HAD THOUGHT about calling Max at least a million times since he’d woken up Monday morning, but he’d promised himself that he wouldn’t pressure her into a relationship, and he was sticking to his guns, no matter how hard it was proving to be.
He ate breakfast on the deck and called Savannah as he drank his coffee.
“I’ve left you at least a dozen messages,” she said when she answered the phone.
“Fifteen, to be exact,” he said with a smile. “I’m sorry I didn’t call right away.”
“Sure you are.”
“Vanny, I just needed some time.” He hadn’t called his sister by her nickname since she was a kid, and he had no idea why it had come out of his mouth right then.
“Are you okay? Where are you?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m okay.” He heard the lie in his own voice. “I’m at the Cape.”
“Did you listen to my messages?”
He hadn’t listened to them because he wasn’t in the mood to hear her begging him to call her, but he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. “Yeah.”
“You’re a liar.” Her tone was matter-of-fact, not angry. “Wanna know how I know?”
“Because you know me better than I know myself sometimes?”
“Oh, Treat. You sound so…empty.”
More than you know.
“I know you didn’t listen to my messages because if you had, you’d have been on the first plane back here.”
What is she up to now? Treat had a startling thought. “What happened? Is it Dad?”
“No, it’s not Dad, you idiot. If something happened to Dad, I would have tracked you down instead of sleeping at night. It’s Max.”
Treat sprang to his feet. “Something happened to Max?” No. Please tell me no. He’d never forgive himself for leaving the way he had if something had happened to her.
“No, relax. Jesus, you really are on edge, aren’t you?”
“Just tell me what happened to Max, Savannah.”
“She came to Dad’s looking for you.”
“She what? When? What did she say?” He cringed at what he was about to ask, but couldn’t stop himself. “Was Dane there?” He hated the competitive feeling he had toward Dane, but the idea of Dane flirting with Max for even a second sent fire through his veins.
“We were all here, and she came to see you, so I’m not sure what she really wanted to say to you, but you know Dad. He took her under his wing and had her stay for lunch.”
The thought of Max alone with his family sent conflicting emotions coursing through him. He pictured her sweet face as she might have watched them act like fools, teasing one another and flirting with her. He wondered if she thought any of his brothers were better looking or nicer than he was. Oh no, nicer. Damn it. Of course she thinks they’re nicer. Why did I have to give her that one look, and how can that one look have led to all of this?
“Are you still there?”
“Yeah, I’m here,” he answered. “Just tell me this: Do you think I should stop thinking about her now? Did one of those lugs hit on her?”
“You’re such a softie, Treat. She was like a deer caught in headlights. She’s really sweet, you know. The boys were, well, they were who they always are, but Dad wouldn’t let them ask too many questions or pry too much.”
“Thanks, Savannah. But what did she want? She didn’t even have Dad’s address.”
“Didn’t she call you?”
“No. My number’s restricted, and we never exchanged numbers. Well, she gave me hers, but I never gave her mine.” I’m an idiot.
“Given that, then my guess is that she wanted to see you and did the only thing she could think to do. Treat, if you’re just messing with her, I think you should back off. I mean, she had that look about her.”
Not for the first time, Treat wished he understood women a little better than he did. “What look is that?”