17. Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Seventeen
H e’d kissed her.
Maxi couldn’t believe he’d kissed her. Just the memory made her heart flutter and her lips tingle. She resisted the urge to run her fingers over her lips.
It had been so romantic. A walk along the beach, picking up sea glass and then their gazes had locked. Her breath had caught in her throat when his head had lowered, and he’d pressed his lips to hers. Even the memory caused her heart to pitter-patter.
She hadn’t been expecting the kiss. He’d totally caught her off-guard. And when it was over, she’d panicked. It felt as though it had changed everything between them.
She knew he’d mentioned the kiss was just for show, but she wasn’t sure she believed him. She’d been kissed before, and she’d like to believe she knew a real kiss from a pretend one. That kiss was genuine and made her heart pitter-patter.
Now she didn’t know what to do about it. If she was honest with herself, it was the best kiss she’d ever experienced. It made her feel as though she were floating on a cloud. She hadn’t wanted to be anywhere but in his very capable arms. And that was the part that scared her.
She didn’t want to like him, because once he found out the truth about her—that she had problems reading and that she hadn’t finished high school—he would look down on her like her ex-boyfriend had done.
She remembered how her ex had told her that she wasn’t worth his time.
If Owen said something like that, it would be devastating.
As they retraced their steps along the water’s edge, neither of them spoke. She kept trying to think of something to say, but she didn’t know if she should pretend the kiss never happened or address the great big elephant sitting on the beach between them.
In silence, they reached the top of the steps leading up to the road in front of Beachcomber Park.
A couple of young women were walking toward them.
When they noticed Owen, they both smiled.
In that moment, Maxi felt Owen take her hand in his.
His fingers laced with hers. Just the simple touch caused her heart to once more pitter-patter.
“Hey, Owen,” the blonde said—and did she just bat her lashes at him?
“Hey.” They kept walking with their fingers laced together.
Maxi told herself it was no big deal. The hand-holding was part of their agreement. So, why was her heart racing?
When they’d made their way back to the Purple Guppy, she needed a chance to slow her pulse and get her head back into preparing for the race. She stopped and turned to Owen. “I need to make a stop on the way back to the garage.”
“No problem. Just tell me where, and I’ll drive.”
She shook her head. “Thanks, but this is something I want to do on my own.”
“Oh. Okay.” He got into his cart. “I’ll see you later.”
She nodded, and then he drove off. At last, she could take a full breath. She turned in the opposite direction and headed toward the Lily Pad.
It didn’t take her long to get there. Then again, it didn’t take long to reach any place in Bluestar.
Soon she found herself glancing up at a big wooden sign, which had a lily pad and a dragonfly painted on it with the words: The Lily Pad scrolled out in black paint.
A smile pulled at the corners of her lips. She definitely liked the sign.
She stepped up to the bright red door. She pulled it open and stepped inside to find a number of people exploring the shop. There was no sign of Lily. She was probably busy with a customer.
The aisle ways were narrow, as there were so many shelves with craft supplies. Off to the side, there were shelves holding completed works of art. She found the shop fascinating.
Sadly, she didn’t have time to explore it all, but she made a mental note to come back.
When she found the aisle with drawing supplies, she picked up a drawing pad and some colored pencils.
Being on the island had brought back her love of drawing.
She wanted to sketch a picture for Owen as a way of thanking him for helping her with the car—even if, in the end, the car wasn’t ready for the race, she still wanted to say thank you.
When she made it to the checkout, she was greeted by Lily’s warm smile. “You made it to the store.”
“I did. This place is fabulous. I want to come back when I have more time to explore it.”
“Please do.” Lily leaned forward and whispered, “And maybe then I’ll be able to give you the grand tour. Not that I’m complaining about the crowd.”
“I totally understand.” She placed the items on the counter.
As Lily rang them up, she said, “Glad you’re returning to your art.”
“Me too. I’m going to draw a picture for Owen to thank him for all the help with the car.”
“Uh-huh. And am I to believe that’s the only reason you’re drawing it for him?”
“Yes. Of course.” When Lily arched a disbelieving brow, Maxi said, “It’s just a summer fling. It’s not a big deal.”
“It sure seemed real when I saw you two at lunch.”
“At lunch? You were at the Purple Guppy?” When Lily nodded, Maxi said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you or I would have said hi.”
“It’s okay. You only had eyes for one person.”
After Maxi paid for her purchase and walked away, she wondered if what Lily said was true. Was she falling for Owen?
After all, it wouldn’t be hard. He was dreamy handsome, but more than that, he was a good guy—the best man she’d ever known. And that was saying a lot.
Were her growing emotions written all over her face?
Maxi pondered that question all afternoon as she installed the new engine parts that had been overnighted. Owen was sanding the putty he’d used on the fender. It would never look the way it did before the accident, but with the putty and some fresh paint, it would look passable for the race.
Thankfully, there were no points for appearance. Well, that wasn’t quite true. There were some fun trophies like best-looking car, car with most original parts, and some other competitions. She wasn’t worried about those.
Her focus was now split between getting ready for the race and figuring out what to do about her feelings for Owen. She chanced a glance over her shoulder at him. At the same moment, he turned to her. Her heart launched into her throat.
“How’s it going?” he asked.
She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “So far, so good. It’s the missing parts that have me worried.”
“You know that some of them will be here in the morning.”
She nodded. “But not everything will be here.”
“I’m working on it.”
She meant to ask him what he was doing that she hadn’t thought of doing, but before she could utter the words, his mother entered the garage.
“Hey, you guys,” Patty stepped into the garage. “I just wanted to check in and see how things are going.”
“Good,” Owen said.
Patty turned to Maxi. “Do you concur?”
Maxi felt as though she’d been called on in front of her high school class to read an excerpt.
Her gaze darted between Owen and his mother.
Should she admit the truth that she had serious doubts about whether the car would be operational in time for the race?
Or should she just give the same answer that Owen had given her?
Maxi nodded. “Owen has been a huge help. I wouldn’t be able to do this without him.”
Patty beamed. “I’m glad he was able to help you.”
“We’re getting ready to go out to dinner,” Owen said. “Do you need anything before we leave?”
Still smiling, Patty shook her head. “Have a good evening.”
After his mother left, Maxi asked him, “Why did you tell her that?”
“Well, we do need dinner, right?” When she nodded, he asked, “Will you go get dinner with me?”
As he stared deep into her eyes, she found it absolutely impossible to turn him down. “Where are we going?”
“How about I surprise you?”
She shrugged. “Fine by me.”
“Okay. You’ll want to dress up.”
Her eyes widened. “How fancy are we talking?”
“Don’t worry. No matter what you wear, you’ll look beautiful.”
Heat rushed to her cheeks. Did he really think she was beautiful? Her heart pitter-pattered. “I…I’ll figure something out.”
He smiled at her. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Suddenly, she realized this felt like a real date. She was about to ask him if it was, but he was already heading for the door. She rushed to put her things away and follow him.
An hour or so later, she was spiffed up, her hair was styled, and she was wearing a teal-colored summer dress. They were being guided toward their table at the Bluffs restaurant. When they reached it, she was struck by the amazing view of the ocean.
Owen pulled out her chair for her. She thanked him as she sat down. When he took a seat across the table from her, she found the very best view as she stared into his blue eyes. Owen had cleaned up nicely in a light-blue linen shirt with khaki pants.
“This is really nice,” she said.
“I was hoping you hadn’t been here yet.”
“I haven’t.” She turned her head to take in the view of the ocean. “It’s a gorgeous view.”
“Yes, it is.”
When she glanced over at him, she found he was looking at her and not the ocean. Heat swirled in her chest. The heat rushed up her neck and settled in her cheeks.
His gaze continued to hold hers. The next thing she knew he was reaching across the table, placing his hand over hers. His touch sent her heart skidding into her ribs. It took her a moment to catch her breath.
She tried to tell herself that he was just putting on a show for the other patrons, but as she continued to stare into his eyes, this felt like a genuine date.
She wondered if it would include another spine-tingling kiss.
Realizing her thoughts were spiraling into dangerous territory, she halted them.
She lowered her voice. “What are you doing?”
His hand still covered hers. “Would it be so bad if this was real?”
So he’d been having the same thoughts as her. Was he saying he had real feelings for her? Or was he just casually flirting with her?
“Just relax and enjoy the evening,” he said.
The meal passed quickly because all she could focus on was Owen. When it was over, she honestly couldn’t remember what she’d ordered or whether she’d eaten it or not.
When their server showed up with the dessert menu, Owen looked at Maxi. “Do you want something, or are you ready to get out of here?”
“I’m good. We can go.”
He grinned at her as he asked the server for the check. They exited the restaurant hand in hand. And she noticed they’d turned quite a few heads.
When they reached his cart, he said, “I hope you had a good evening.”
She turned to him. “I did. Thank you for bringing me here, but you have to stop paying for all of our meals. I’m picking up the check next time.”
“I like the way you think.” When she sent him a confused look, he said, “About there being another date.”
The next thing she knew, he was lowering his head. Oh my! Her heart pounded. Her eyes fluttered shut. And then his lips were pressing against hers. The breath caught in her throat.
For the slightest moment, she didn’t move. But as his lips moved over hers, she gave into her desire. She was drawn to him as if by magnetic force.
The part of her that said this was a bad idea got drowned out by the pounding of her heart. As his arms wrapped around her waist and drew her close, her hands slid up over his broad shoulders and wrapped around the back of his neck.
As she leaned into him, she wondered if he could feel the rapid beating of her heart. Their first kiss had been fantastic but this one… It was off the Richter scale.
The sound of voices had them jerking apart. How was it that every time she was with him, she ended up doing the exact opposite of what she’d promised herself?
Now that things were starting to spiral out of control, she needed to be bluntly honest with him. “We need to talk.”
“Not here.” He helped her into the cart, and then they drove off into the evening.
All the while she struggled to figure out what exactly to say to him. Her stomach shivered with nerves because she didn’t want him to look at her differently when she told him the truth about herself. But she knew she had to put things right before they got in any deeper.