16. Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Sixteen
W as she seeing someone else?
Owen was kicking himself the rest of the evening and into Wednesday morning for not making their fake relationship exclusive. He’d thought that it was implied, but apparently he was wrong.
Now, he didn’t know how to act around her. Did he pretend that her going out with someone else didn’t faze him? Or did he ask her about it? Did he clarify that their arrangement was exclusive?
He stopped pacing in his living room. He realized he had given this whole situation way too much thought.
Buzz.
He moved to the kitchen counter and picked up his phone. It was his mother. Immediately worried about her early morning call, he pressed the phone to his ear. “Hey, Mom. What’s wrong?”
His mother sighed. “Good morning to you too.”
“Sorry. Good morning. So, nothing’s wrong?”
“It depends.” There was a pointed pause that let him know she wasn’t happy with him. “Is there a reason I had to let Maxi into the garage this morning? When she asked where you were, I didn’t know what to tell her.”
“Uh…” He hadn’t realized it was so late. The truth was that he was dragging his feet when it came to seeing Maxi again. The fact that she had plans with another guy had bothered him, and he hadn’t been prepared for that. “I’ll be right there. I, uh…slept in.”
“You slept in?” Her voice took on a surprised tone. “Are you feeling all right?”
“Yes.” He didn’t elaborate, and for once, his mother was quiet.
Five minutes later, he entered the garage and wasn’t the least bit surprised to find Maxi with her head under the hood of the car. He still wasn’t sure what to say to her about the prior evening, so he decided to say nothing at all.
“How’s it going?” he asked.
She jumped before she straightened. “Oh. Hey. I didn’t hear you come in.”
He held up a bag. “I got some tape to piece together the light cover, since we can’t get a replacement in time for the race.”
Maxi nodded. “Good thinking.”
“If you don’t need anything, I’ll get to work on it.” He didn’t know what else to say to her. He just wasn’t in the mood to make light chit-chat.
“I’m good.” She retrieved a wrench and then leaned back over the engine compartment.
Once he got to work on taping the turn signal cover followed by adding auto filler to various areas of the damaged fender, time seemed to fly by. When he looked over at Maxi, he found her on a creeper under the front end.
“Hey, it’s lunchtime,” he said.
She didn’t move. “I’m not really hungry.”
“You have to eat if you’re going to keep up your stamina.” The words crossed his lips before he realized he shouldn’t care if she ate or not.
She rolled out from under the car and sat up. “I guess you’re right. I’ll just order something.”
“We should go out to lunch.”
Her eyes briefly widened. “What’s wrong with eating here?”
He shrugged. “We did make an agreement. And it’s not like we’ve been out in public much.”
He expected her to put up a fuss, but instead, she sighed and said, “You’re right. You’ve been working really hard on the car, and I haven’t been holding up my part of the agreement. Just give me a moment to wash up.”
She got to her feet and turned off the trouble light hanging from the hood.
She moved to the doorway and shrugged off her overalls.
Her hair was up in a messy bun, and she didn’t have much makeup on, but she didn’t need any.
Her beauty radiated from the inside. He inwardly sighed. He was in big trouble.
After Maxi made her way into his parents’ house to use the guest bathroom, he raked his fingers through his hair. He had to get a grip on himself. It was for the best if she was seeing someone else because he had no intention of getting serious with her or anyone.
Fifteen minutes later, they rode in his cart on their way to the Purple Guppy.
It was situated on Surfside Drive just across from Beachcomber Park, so it was a popular spot for tourists.
And the owner made sure the pub stood out with its purple exterior paint.
There sure weren’t many purple buildings on the island; in fact, this might be the only one.
The front of the pub was lined with big plate-glass windows. They allowed the passersby a glimpse of the purple, black, and white décor as well as the massive aquariums that were placed throughout the dining room.
By the time they arrived, lunch was in full swing. They would be lucky to get a seat. As he looked around for an available parking spot, he found those were also hard to come by. He looped the park twice until he spotted someone pulling out, and he timed it just right to snag the spot.
Once inside the restaurant, he was relieved to find they had a couple of booths available, and they were seated right away. Maxi seemed intrigued by the restaurant.
“Have you ever been here before?” he asked.
“Once. It was a long time ago.” She pointed to the wall where cartoon fish were painted. “I remember those. They are so cute. I can’t even imagine how you would go about painting a wall-sized mural.”
“I don’t either. I don’t have any artistic talent. But I have an eye for it, and you’re talented.” The conversation paused when the server brought their iced teas. “Do you draw anything besides cars?”
Maxi nodded. “I have notebooks full of sketches from flowers to animals.”
“So, you like nature settings?”
She nodded. “If I had more time here, I’d love to sit on the beach and do some sketches.”
“That’s a great idea. You should do that.”
She sighed. “When would I have time to do that? I’m either working on the car or volunteering at the Welcome Booth at the carnival.”
“Wait. What? You’re volunteering at the carnival?”
She nodded again. “I wanted some way to say thank you for the community’s support after the accident, and my aunt mentioned that they were looking for some help at the booth, so I volunteered. It’s only a couple of nights.”
“So, you didn’t go to the carnival with anyone?”
She shot him a strange look. “No. Why?”
He shook his head as he breathed an easy breath. “No reason.”
It was in that moment Owen realized how ridiculous he’d been, thinking Maxi was hanging out with someone else. He felt bad about being late that morning to work on the car and for his grumpy mood. He needed to find a way to make it up to her.
They ate their cheeseburgers and fries while making small talk. Suddenly, he was in the mood to talk. He felt as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
When the meal was over, he insisted on paying the check. He didn’t want this moment to end. And then he had an idea. “Would you like to get some ice cream?”
She hesitated long enough that he thought for sure she was going to turn him down, which he couldn’t blame her. But then she said, “I would like that.”
“Then we’re off to Dips.” He turned in that direction and started to walk.
“What is Dips?” Maxi’s eyes filled with confusion.
“The real name is Whippy Dippy, but most of the people on the island call it Dips. Have you been there?”
“Oh. Yes. I just didn’t recognize the nickname.”
The walk was short, as the ice cream shop was at the end of the block. The building was shaped like a giant ice cream cone. As usual in the summer, there was a long line of people. With a lot of teenagers on summer break working the window, the line moved swiftly.
While they waited, they talked about the car. There was still a lot to do. And there were still parts they needed. Some were already ordered and supposed to be delivered by Friday. It didn’t leave them any wiggle room, but they’d come too far to stop now.
When it was their turn to order, Maxi got a vanilla cone with sprinkles. He ordered a chocolate cone with no sprinkles.
After receiving their cones, he stepped off to the side so the next people in line could order. “Would you like to walk?”
Maxi was quiet for a moment. “I don’t know. There is a lot of work to do.”
“But we have ice cream to eat first. The walk won’t be far, and I promise to work late to make up the time.”.
She glanced at him. “You really want to take that walk.”
“I do. Ice cream cones taste best when you’re strolling along the beach.”
“Really? I hadn’t heard that.” She turned toward the beach. “Let’s go.”
He fell in step with her. The sun was warm that day, but the sea breeze made it comfortable. And for a time, they walked in a comfortable silence.
They crossed through the park, across the road and down the steps to the beach. He didn’t know how much time had passed, and he didn’t care. He would stay up all night, working on the car if necessary.
He glanced over at Maxi as she lifted her face to the sun. Her neck was long and slender, just right for kissing. Her chin was small and dimpled. Her cheeks had a slight rosy hue, perhaps from the bright sunshine.
When she lowered her chin, she glanced his way. When their gazes met, the breath caught in his chest. His gaze lowered to her lips. It was so tempting to kiss her.
As though she could read his thoughts, she turned her head. In that instant, the moment had been snatched away from him. It was only then he finally acknowledged to himself that he was starting to fall for her.
The startling thought caused him to stop in his tracks. I’m falling for Maxi. How was that possible? He had sworn off relationships after his last disastrous one.
He searched for all the reasons this was a bad idea. Maxi wasn’t the person he should fall for. She didn’t live on the island. She didn’t even live close to Bluestar. How were they supposed to maintain a relationship after the race?
Maybe that was it. Maybe that was what would make this okay. It would be a short summer fling. No expectations. No commitments.
“Owen, what’s wrong?” Maxi had stopped a couple of steps ahead of him and looked back at him with a concerned look creasing her brow.
“Uh. I just thought of something I should do.” His gaze lowered once more to her very kissable lips.
“Do you want to go back?”
“Not yet.”
And so they resumed walking. He wasn’t sure what to do with his idea about their summer fling. It wasn’t like he was just going to outright ask her.
“Oh, look.” Maxi stopped and pointed at the sand. “What is it?”
He followed her finger and saw a bit of blue in the sand. He bent over and picked it up. “It’s sea glass that has been sanded smooth by the sand.”
“It’s so pretty.” When she reached for it, he smiled as he lifted it over his head. “Hey. Give me.”
“You have to get it,” he teased as he continued to hold it over his head.
Her rosy lips were too tempting to resist. He didn’t take time to consider his next move. Instead, he just acted in the moment. As she lifted up on her tiptoes, he lowered his head and captured her lips with his own.
At first, she didn’t move. His heart stilled. Was she going to reject him?
Then she leaned into him. His heart resumed beating—more like hammering against his ribs. With the summer sun shining down on them, he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close. Could she feel the way she made his heart pound?
They stood in each other’s arms as the ocean lapped at the shoreline. If it was possible to make time stand still, he would have done it. This moment felt perfect to him—she felt perfect for him.
She jumped back. As his arms fell to his sides, her wide-eyed stare landed on him. “We shouldn’t have done that.”
Oh no . That was not what one wanted to hear after a kiss. How had he read the signs all wrong? Disappointment consumed him.
Thinking fast on his feet, he said, “I thought it would make our charade more realistic.”
She arched a brow. “But there’s no one this far down on the beach.”
He glanced around until he spotted someone off in the distance. He pointed to them. “Yes, there is.”
She frowned at him. “I don’t think they were even paying attention.”
She was right, so he had to come up with a backup explanation. “Okay. I thought we should have our first kiss in private.”
“First?”
He nodded. “We have to make this relationship believable. Right?”
She looked at him in disbelief. “I think it’s time to get back to work.”
Without waiting for him, she turned on her heels and headed back along the shoreline. He raked his fingers through his hair. He couldn’t let that happen again—even though he wanted to repeat that kiss, she obviously didn’t feel the same way.
He rushed to catch up to her. It was only then he realized he was still holding the piece of sea glass. He held it out to her. “Here.”
She glanced down at his hand and quietly took the sea glass. He thought of asking what she was thinking about, but then again, maybe it was best he didn’t know. He felt as though the kiss had shifted the ground beneath his feet and now he didn’t know where he stood.