When I Fall in Love(98)
In the darkest part of her heart, Grace could admit that maybe, despite the hurt ahead for Casper, it would be best for him to let her go.
She hated to think that perhaps the same thing applied to her and Max.
Casper entered the room and Raina fled back to the kitchen.
Grace walked over to him, wanting to hug away the dejection on his face. “Hey.”
He forced a smile. “Mom and Dad are here. I’m headed to the hotel. Anyone need a lift?”
She knew who that anyone meant. “I’m headed back to Eden’s in a bit, but Raina might need . . .”
Her voice trailed off as Max came in behind Casper.
He could stun a girl by just the way he walked, a sort of easy swagger, as if he held the world in his hand. Now he wore black jeans, a black- and gray-striped button-down shirt, a pair of cowboy boots. His hair had grown, and it looked fresh from a shower, spiky on top.
He even smelled good, a spicy aftershave mixed with soap.
“Hey,” he said.
Grace probably wore the same pitiful, hopeful expression as Casper. “Hi.”
Casper turned. “Hey. You’re Maxwell Sharpe. I remember you. Owen’s friend, right?”
Poor Max. For a second, he looked wrecked. Then he met Casper’s outstretched hand. “Yeah. Uh . . . remind me . . .”
“Casper. I’m the middle brother.”
Max pumped his hand. “Nice to meet you. I came to give your sister a ride to the rehearsal dinner.”
And although her brain screamed at her to say no . . . “Sure, that sounds great.” She glanced at Casper. “Raina can drive my car back to Eden’s place.” Sorry, Bro.
She gave the room a once-over, then went to the kitchen to drop off her schedule, talk through tomorrow’s events with the staff, and retrieve her purse.
When she came back, Max stood in the middle of the room, looking at the grandeur. “It’s really pretty, Grace.”
“Thanks.”
“You know how to take something ugly and turn it beautiful.”
“Well, I wouldn’t actually call the space ugly—”
“It’s a warehouse with brick walls and a cement floor and big metal doors. It was ugly. Now it’s breathtaking.”
Oh.
“Ready to go?”
She nodded, and to her surprise, he held out his hand.
She took it, lacing her fingers with his, feeling the warmth. His thumb curled over her hand, caressing tiny circles, sending tingles up her arm.
When they got to the car, he walked around to hold the door open. He’d taken the top down, but the heat of the day lingered. The late-afternoon sun spilled gold around the buildings, glinting on the windows of the warehouse across the street.
Grace got in and watched as Max circled the car, climbed in.
He seemed . . . different. Like the Max she’d seen that last night before the competition in Hawaii. He glanced at her, and she thought she saw something sweet, even hopeful, in his eyes.
He drove them out of the warehouse district, down Hiawatha, but kept going past Eden’s street, heading southeast.
All the way to Minnehaha Park. He parked in the lot and got out.
“Max?”
“I need to talk to you, Grace. And this seemed to be the prettiest place I could find.” He came around to her side, opened the car door. “Will you take a walk with me?”
This was where he told her that they could only be friends. That she needed to get the thoughts about him out of her—
He took her hand again.
They walked along a path lined with towering oaks and elms, cottonwoods that shivered with the wind. Behind it all, the roar of the falls reminded her of Hawaii.
He gripped her hand tighter.
“Are you okay?”
He said nothing, his face suddenly grim.
“You’re scaring me, Max.”
“Sorry.” He took a breath and stopped. The pathway overlooked the falls, the spray rising up to capture the late-afternoon sun. He released her hand.
“What’s going on?”
“I need to tell you something and I know that you’ll want to make it better, but you can’t and it’s going to . . . Well, I wouldn’t even tell you at all, but you deserve to know.”
She rubbed her arms, chilled despite the heat. She should head him off before he made this more awkward for both of them. “Max, if you’re going to tell me that we can’t have anything past right now, I get that. And it’s okay. You always said that you weren’t looking for a relationship. I should have believed you. I know what happened in Hawaii was a mistake. And yeah, I was hurt. I was really hurt.”
“I’m so sorry, Grace. I didn’t mean to hurt you—”
“I know. You had to get back to your real life. It was a fairy tale in Hawaii, and being with you on vacation changed my life. See, when you left me there, something happened.”