12. Chapter Twelve
Chapter Twelve
S he couldn’t have heard him correctly.
She must have misunderstood something.
It didn’t make any sense for him to ask her to be his girlfriend.
Maxi sat there on the seawall, watching the waves roll in.
If she was smart, she would get up and walk away.
But she had witnessed Owen’s obvious discomfort when he was approached by all of these women vying to win a date with him at an auction.
If the roles were reversed, she’d do anything to get out of the situation too.
Owen seemed to be a good guy. The people of Bluestar certainly seemed to think so. It seemed like every few feet they had walked, there had been someone either sharing a friendly greeting or flirting with him about the auction.
Still, without a functioning car for the race, she wasn’t going to hang around the island. She was sure he would find someone else to help him. He was certainly handsome enough and nice enough to get another woman to play the part of his girlfriend.
“I’m sorry. I can’t help you. Now that I’m out of the race, I’m seriously considering heading home.”
“I only told you part of the deal.”
She cast him a puzzled look. She was dying to ask him what the other part would be, but she hesitated. Maybe she was better off not knowing.
He took the decision out of her hands when he said, “In exchange for you acting as my girlfriend, we can use my family’s garage and tools to repair your car.”
Oh. He only wanted her to play the part of his girlfriend. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Owen looked at her. “Wait. You didn’t think I was asking you to legitimately be my girlfriend, did you?”
Color rushed to her cheeks. “It’s what you said.”
He paused as though to recall his exact words. “You’re right. It was a poor choice of words. Anyway, if you help me, I’ll help you get your car back on the road."
She’d been taught to be suspect when something sounded too good to be true. “Why would you do that?”
“I already told you. It’s part of the deal.”
She paused as her mind raced with all of the reasons this was a bad idea. They were quickly followed by the flicker of hope that she might still have a chance to help her aunt. But at the cost of acting the part of this guy’s girlfriend? That was a pretty steep price.
“Come on,” he said. “I can tell that you’re tempted. Just say yes.”
Her gaze searched his. “You must be really desperate.”
“I am.”
His immediate response stung. She didn’t want to be anyone’s girlfriend out of desperation. It really pricked her ego.
She refused to let him see how his words had hurt her. “I’m not sure my car can be repaired.”
“It won’t be easy to get it ready for the race, but with us working together, we can get it done in time.”
She studied him. “Are you a mechanic?”
“No. But I know enough.”
She didn’t know if she agreed with his assessment. She’d have to give the car a more thorough review. Still, she wondered why he was making her this offer. “Why would you do that? Aren’t we supposed to be competitors?”
He shrugged. “I guess we will be on the racetrack, but I thought when we’re away from the track, that we could be friends.”
This was a lot for her to digest. “But you hardly know me.”
“I know your aunt. I’ve known her my whole life, and I trust her opinion. She thinks you are amazing. So, why wouldn’t I want to be your friend?”
Well, when he put it that way, it was hard for her to argue. Plus, he was offering her the only chance for her to win the race and help her aunt. Her aunt’s house just kept aging, and the repairs kept piling up. She knew her aunt didn’t have the funds to do it on her own.
Her gut told her to turn him down and head home, but her heart said that her aunt would do anything to help her, so the least she could do was to take hold of this opportunity. After all, that was what family did—take care of each other.
Maxi tilted her chin upward until their gazes met, and then she straightened her shoulders. “You’ve got a deal.”
He held his hand out to her. She looked at it, then gazed back at his blue-gray eyes. “Go ahead. We need to shake hands to make it official.”
She placed her hand in his. Her hand easily fit in his. His grasp was firm but not painful. She could definitely imagine feeling safe in his arms.
The skin-to-skin contact sent a wave of awareness pulsing up her arm. It settled in her chest, causing her heart to skip a beat. She’d never felt something like that before. She abruptly yanked her hand away.
When she saw the unspoken questions in his eyes, she glanced away. She hoped he wouldn’t question her about the way she’d pulled away from his touch.
“Hey, Owen.” A young woman with long brown hair, a flawless complexion, and dark sunglasses that hid her eyes flashed him a sunny smile. “Looking forward to Friday.”
“Hi, Tracy. This is my girlfriend, Maxi.” He reached over and took Maxi’s hand in his. “Maxi, this is Tracy Johnson.”
“Hi.” Maxi pasted a smile onto her face.
The smile fell from the woman’s face when she took in the sight of them holding hands. “Uh, hello.” She looked back at Owen and smiled. “I’ll be seeing you around.”
The woman walked off. Maxi could only imagine how quickly word would spread about her being with Owen. And then she thought of her aunt hearing the news and gasped.
“What’s wrong?” Owen sent her a concerned look.
“It’s my aunt. I don’t want her to know about us.” She lowered her voice. “About this fake relationship.”
“Relax. She’ll be fine with it.”
Maxi sent him a frown. “I know. She made that obvious back at the house. But I can’t mislead her. It’s not right.”
“But you can’t tell her the truth. She’ll tell one of her friends, and then everyone will know that you and me…that this is all for show.”
“But…”
“Maxi, you can’t tell her. After all, it’s only for a week. And most of the week, we’ll be working on the car. So, how bad can it be?”
He did have a good point, but she still had an uneasy feeling in her gut. This was going to be the longest week of her life. She looked down at their clasped hands. What exactly had she agreed to?
Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
Owen held Maxi’s hand as they walked back to the Lighthouse Café where he’d left his cart. The skin of her hand was smooth and soft. It was all he could do not to stroke the back of her hand with his thumb.
It’d been almost a year since he’d held a woman’s hand. Only last summer, his relationship had been kept totally private. At the time, he’d thought it was romantic. It wasn’t until the end of summer that he’d learned the real reason his ex didn’t want to be seen in public with him.
He pushed away those unwelcome thoughts. It was all in the past, and it needed to stay there. And this relationship was completely different because this was just for show, and both of them knew the relationship wasn’t real.
On the way to his cart, not one passerby mentioned the bachelor auction. A smile played at the corners of his lips. His plan was already working. There were a few—okay, more than few—raised eyebrows. He was okay with that.
However, when his family heard about this, he was certain they’d pounce on him with a million questions—questions he wasn’t ready to answer. But this arrangement would only last a week at most. The bulk of the time they’d be in the garage, working on the car. It shouldn’t be that bad. He hoped.
When they reached the cart, he said, “Would you mind if we make a quick detour? I have something to pick up.”
“Uh… Sure. That’s fine.”
“It won’t take long.”
She nodded in understanding.
Luckily, Bluestar was a small town, so it didn’t take long to get anywhere. However, the large crowd of summer tourists could cause congested roadways. As was the situation on that sunny day.
At last, he reached his destination: Seaside Bookshop. “We’re here.”
Maxi glanced over at the shop. Was that a frown on her lips? But in a blink, the expression was gone, and he was left wondering if he’d just imagined it.
He got out and moved to the sidewalk. He expected Maxi would be already waiting for him, but she was still in the cart. “Don’t you want to come inside and look around?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine here.”
He found her response strange, but he didn’t argue with her. Maybe she didn’t feel good after the accident. Or maybe she was still getting used to their fake relationship. She wasn’t the only one.
He turned and glanced at the bookshop. The owner, Melinda, always had such creative displays in the picture window. She was on the other side of the window. It appeared she was creating a new scene. If he had to guess, he’d say it was a teddy bears’ picnic.
Just then Melinda glanced up from where she was positioning a brown teddy bear on a red and white gingham blanket. When her gaze met his, she smiled and waved. He waved back before stepping up to the front door.
His hand grasped the old brass door handle. He swung open the wooden door with a large glass window. As he stepped into the air conditioning a little bell jingled above his head.
“Hey, Owen.” Melinda came walking from the front of the shop to the checkout counter. “Who’s your pretty passenger?”
“That’s Maxi Daniels. She’s Bonnie Walters’s niece.”
“Oh. She’s the one who was in the accident at the racetrack.” When he nodded, she asked, “Is she okay?”
“She’s doing really well, considering how much worse the accident could have been.”
“So, you two are hanging out?” When he nodded again, Melinda grinned. “Just wait until the rest of your family finds out you have a girlfriend.”
He rolled his eyes and then glanced around to see if anyone was in listening distance. “It’s not anything serious.”
As though she hadn’t heard a word he’d said, she continued. “You should have brought her in. I would love to meet her.”
“We’re in a hurry.” He hoped Melinda would get the hint and grab the book he’d ordered.
Her eyes widened as though she just realized the reason for his visit. “Oh, you’re here to pick up the book. I have it in back. Hang on a second.”
While he waited, he glanced around the shop. He wondered what sort of books Maxi liked to read. He’d pick her up something, but he didn’t have a clue what genre to choose from. He had a lot to learn about his fake girlfriend.
His gaze moved about the shop, from the people in the reading nook area to the shoppers browsing the rows and rows of bookshelves. It wasn’t overly busy. It certainly wasn’t crowded like it was at Christmastime.
As he turned back around, his gaze strayed across a display rack at the end of the counter.
It was then that he spotted a book about Bluestar Island.
It caught his attention. He picked it up and looked at the back cover.
It told the history of the island and explained the more recent changes to Bluestar.
He checked the copyright date and was pleased to find that it had released in the current year.
“Did you find something you like?”
He glanced up to find Melinda stepping up to the counter with the book he’d ordered in hand. “Actually, I did.” He slid the book across the counter toward her. “I’ll take both.”
Melinda’s eyes lit up with curiosity, but to her credit, she didn’t vocalize it.
When he returned to the cart, he was surprised that Maxi wasn’t surfing the internet on her phone, messaging friends, or watching videos.
Instead, she was just sitting there, taking in the surroundings.
Not that there was anything wrong with that.
He was just used to people his age spending their spare time on their phones.
“I got you something,” he said.
Surprise flickered in her eyes. “Why would you do that?”
It was not the reaction he had expected. “It’s not a big deal.”
He reached into the bag and pulled out the book. He handed it to her. “I thought you might enjoy reading about the history of the island.”
She looked down at the cover. “Thank you. It was very thoughtful of you, but I can’t accept it.” She held it out for him to take it back. When he didn’t reach for it, she said, “Please take it.”
He shook his head. “It’s yours. After all, for the week you’re my girlfriend. I’m allowed to get you things.”
She frowned at him. “We’re not really a couple.”
He glanced around to make sure she hadn’t been overheard. “Shh… We don’t want anyone to know about that part.” Then he reached into the bag and pulled out a fantasy book that had just been released. “See. I have a book too.”
She glanced at the book in her hand. “Thank you. It was very thoughtful.”
“You’re welcome.” He started the motor.
As they drove away, she didn’t say anything else. He thought maybe the gift would cheer her up. It hadn’t worked. Maybe his idea for them to spend the week together wasn’t such a good idea after all.