Chapter 6 Unplanned Chemistry
#UNPLANNEDCHEMISTRY
MADDOX
How was it possible to be both proud of your work product and also horrified by it?
I sat in my studio above the gallery, rewatching the reels I’d sent Adrian for the fourth time, ignoring the morning light that filtered through the large windows and the usual clutter in my crowded workspace.
Photos lined the walls, mostly candid shots from around Legacy: Ravi Menon teaching his wife to ski, Jade Cleary and her prized tomatoes in the summer sun, Maya laughing at last year’s Christmas parade.
But right now, my attention was fixed on my monitor where Adrian Hayes sat bathed in firelight, his perfect face animated as he described the “notes of complexity” in the orange and dark chocolate cocoa.
The way the light caught his features was almost unfair—all elegant angles and warm shadows that made him look like he’d been designed specifically for cameras to love him.
There’d also been moments I hadn’t noticed until I’d gone through the footage.
Like the odd little moment in which he tugged nervously at his sleeve cuff after I’d mentioned family tradition or the curious way he’d stared at my eyes when he’d mentioned the specific mossy-green option for the sweater.
“Fuck,” I muttered, replaying it to analyze our interaction again.
The chemistry was undeniable. Even through the lens, you could see the spark between us—the way our banter flowed naturally, how his polished persona cracked whenever I managed to genuinely surprise him, the brief moments when his mask slipped to reveal something more real.
Like when he’d reached out to wipe that damn whipped cream off my nose.
I paused the footage on that moment, cursing under my breath. His expression had been completely unguarded then—warm, amused, almost tender. It was the kind of authentic moment he claimed to want… and exactly the kind of footage that would have our small town’s matchmakers working overtime.
My phone buzzed with another text from Maya:
Maya
You’re seeing it, right? Holy shit, Maddie. You two look amazing together. The way you smiled when he—
I didn’t bother reading the rest. My sister had been insufferable since yesterday, alternating between teasing me about Adrian and asking if she could come to our next date—er, shoot.
My phone buzzed again before I could set it down.
Maya
You can’t ignore me forever. I saw those lingering looks. The TENSION. Even Rosie says—
I switched my phone to silent and tossed it onto my desk.
The last thing I needed was the Legacy gossip network analyzing every interaction between Adrian and me.
Since shortly after Mom and Dad died, they’d been convinced I needed someone to “take care of.” As if I hadn’t had my hands full taking care of Maya and myself.
And the store. And my photography career.
As if I needed one more damned thing to take care of.
I grumbled and turned back to the footage with the intention of organizing the files and closing out of the program. Focus on the files, shithead. Not the way Adrian’s eyes crinkled when he laughed or how they glinted when I managed to ruffle him.
I cursed again as I picked up my phone to check Instagram.
The door downstairs chimed, scaring the fuck out of me.
Alex Marian called up the stairs. “Maddox? You here?”
“Yeah,” I called back, dropping my phone and quickly minimizing the computer window showing Adrian’s face. “Come on up.”
Alex appeared at the top of the stairs, looking suspiciously hale for someone who’d been “violently ill” yesterday morning. He carried two coffees from the Pinecone.
“Peace offering?” He held out one of the cups.
“Depends.” I accepted the coffee but fixed him with a hard stare. “Want to tell me what really happened yesterday?”
Alex had the grace to look sheepish. “Would you believe food poisoning?”
“No. And if you insist on it, I’m going to question your role as a restauranteur…”
He winced. “Fair enough. Migraine?”
“Try again.”
He sighed, dropping into the spare chair. “Fine. My cousin may have convinced me to cancel.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Lennon?” The gruff rancher wasn’t the type to meddle or matchmake, so that was surprising.
He shook his head. “Rosie.”
“Ahh.” I rolled my eyes. Lennon’s sister had been Maya’s babysitter once, but she’d become more like Maya’s unofficial big sister since our parents’ deaths. The two were thick as thieves… and just as cunning when they got an idea in their heads.
“It wasn’t for the reason you think—”
“Sure,” I interrupted, sarcasm present and accounted for. “It’s too bad, you know. Because this guy is totally your type.”
His eyebrows winged up. “Model-pretty, charming as hell, and looks good in fancy sweaters?” Alex continued with a teasing grin. “Nah. I don’t deserve such riches. You, though…”
I held up a hand. “Don’t jump on the matchmaking bandwagon. This guy’s going straight back to LA where he came from.”
Alex studied me with his usual calm demeanor. “The post I saw on Insta was fire.”
I turned back to my monitor, trying to hide my reaction. “The post shows two people drinking hot chocolate, nothing more.”
“Right. Because everyone looks at their videographer like they want to devour them instead of the lodge’s famous cocoa flight.” Alex leaned forward to watch the screen. “Come on, Maddox. When’s the last time you sparked with someone like that?”
“Sparks aren’t always a good thing,” I reminded him, though the lie felt hollow even to me. “They cause forest fires, you know.”
“Uh-huh. It was some kind of fire alright. How’d the date really go? Deny it all you want, but just know there were witnesses to that fire, my friend. Everyone who saw you two together said there was something there.”
“Not a date,” I corrected, jabbing the keyboard a little harder than necessary to close the editing program. “A shoot. And even if there was… a… spark… it doesn’t matter. I’m not interested in being anyone’s vacation fling before they fuck back off to their real life and leave Legacy far behind.”
Alex’s expression softened. “Not everyone leaves, Maddox.”
The words hit closer to home than I wanted to admit.
Mom and Dad hadn’t meant to leave either, but that hadn’t stopped the black ice that had taken them both in one horrible moment.
Or the man I’d been dating at the time who’d quickly taken a job back in his hometown of Seattle to escape the weight of my grief.
Since then, I’d focused on what I could control—the store, Maya’s future, my photography.
Getting involved with someone like Adrian Hayes, whose entire life was built around moving on to the next perfect location, was asking for heartbreak. Not to mention frustration.
“What was the real reason you canceled on me?” I said, running a hand through my hair. “Because I’d love to stop talking about Adrian Hayes for a solid five minutes if at all possible.”
Alex hesitated, then shrugged and grinned a little self-consciously. “My life is complicated enough right now without throwing this high-profile fake-dating thing into the mix.”
I opened my mouth to ask what was so complicated when my phone buzzed again. This time, it was a text from Marco about tomorrow’s scheduled date. Shoot.
Marco
Hey man, really sorry but I got called for a last-minute training thing at the station. Rain check on the Christmas tree thing?
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I growled. “Fucking fire chief is ruining my plans for tomorrow’s shoot.”
Alex’s eyes widened in horror. “You were sending Adrian on a date with Chief Kincaid?”
I frowned at him. “No. I don’t have a death wish. Although, now that I think of it… I should see if he’s available. Kincaid wouldn’t put up with any fancy-pants flirtation bullshit. He’d put Adrian Hayes in his place.”
“Don’t do that to Adrian,” Alex said, nostrils flaring. “No one deserves to be set up with Chief Bullshit-Fire-Code-Infractions.”
At the reminder of Alex’s ongoing feud with the fastidious fire chief and his no-nonsense fire inspections at Timber, I let the subject go.
“You’re on the hook, I’m afraid. A little tree chopping never hurt anyone.”
“Not it,” Alex said cheerfully. “Seriously, I can’t. I have a large group coming in for a holiday lunch. Why not just admit you’re attracted to the guy and save us all a lot of trouble?”
“I’m not—” But the lie died in my throat as I glanced at my monitor, where I’d minimized the video. Even the thumbnail showed Adrian mid-laugh, his head thrown back, completely unguarded. Beautiful.
I gritted my teeth. Fuck.
“The guy flaunts his pretty feathers for a living,” I said instead. “He’s empty as a pocket. And he’s leaving in three weeks. I have milk in the fridge that will last longer than this guy.”
“Wasn’t suggesting a marriage, Maddox.” Alex stood, clapping me on the shoulder. “Fuck him and get out from under this funk.”
Before I could squawk in indignation, Maya burst through the door, practically vibrating with excitement.
“Maddox!” Her cheeks were pink, and her eyes sparkled. “Have you seen the numbers? Your hot chocolate date is going viral!”
Maya thrust her phone in my face before I could respond. The screen showed Adrian’s Instagram story—clips from our “date” set to some trendy song, with the caption “When your videographer becomes your emergency date… #LegacyMontana #TwelveDatesOfChristmas”
The view count was astronomical.
“Twenty thousand views in the first hour,” she announced triumphantly. “And the comments are gold. Everyone’s shipping you two.”
“Shipping isn’t a real thing,” I muttered, though my stomach did an annoying flip at seeing one of Adrian’s responses to a comment asking if he had a new boyfriend…
“Just friends. He’s definitely talented right?” he’d written with a winky emoji, followed by a fire emoji.
The fire emoji made my face heat, and I forced myself not to think about what it implied.
“Tell that to the Operation Maddrian group chat,” Alex chimed in helpfully.