Chapter 6 #2
“So let’s go back to being allergic to commitment. Is that just with careers or with everything?”
“Everything,” I said easily, unapologetically. “There’s too much out there to experience, you know? If you saddle yourself down with one thing, you miss all the others.”
“Like…what?”
“All the things. Like, what do you like to do in your free time?”
He was quiet for a few seconds, which had me looking over at him again to see if he’d heard me. I still couldn’t tell.
“Max?”
“Yeah. Free time. I change diapers, go for romantic jogs in the park…with a stroller, read board books.” He shot a grin at me, a little self-conscious but without apology. It seriously jolted me in the chest.
“Your baby,” I said.
“Technically he’s a toddler now that he’s walking, but yes, my son gets all my free time, which isn’t nearly enough.”
Why was that so…attractive? A man who was so passionate about his son? And if you knew the very basic circumstances of his situation, where the baby was not his biologically but he’d embraced him as his own? I didn’t want anything to do with babies or parenthood, but on Max, it was delicious.
Or maybe just Max was delicious in general.
Delicious but not for me.
It would not suck, however, to have him by my side tonight.
Call me shallow.
“I can’t imagine being a parent,” I said. “Particularly all of a sudden.”
“Do you want kids?”
“Not specifically. They’re kind of commitmenty.”
He let out a gasp of amusement. “That they are. So what kind of things do you do in your free time?”
“Lately mostly art.” I was dedicated to opening the studio as much as possible, so if I wasn’t working, I was there. “But I like stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, swimming, running, hiking.”
“What kind of art do you do?”
“I’ve tried just about everything.”
“What’s your favorite?”
The question made me twitchy, and I knew it was because it felt a little like committing to one thing. I also knew that was screwed up, but that was just the way I was.
“I like metalworking and jewelry making and mixed media. Colored pencils. I did glass-blowing lessons once, and that was fun.”
Grinning, he said, “You were serious about not settling into any one thing, weren’t you?”
“Hundred percent. There’s a little dose of math for your evening.”
We were both quiet for a couple of minutes, and I realized we’d reached the outskirts of Nashville. The drive had passed in a blink.
“I’m curious about something,” he said eventually.
“What’s that?”
“You’ve been working at the diner for quite a while. That doesn’t fit the flitting-from-one-thing-to-the-next way of life. Do you see yourself staying there long-term?”
“I don’t really think about the future. I’m more of a one-day-at-a-time girl. Kind of live for the moment.”
He nodded. “I’ve always been the opposite. I’m a planner. I usually have a plan B and probably a plan C too.”
“It must have shaken your world up quite a bit to suddenly become a father.”
He pressed his lips together, then said, “Yeah. You can’t imagine…” His voice went lower, quieter, and I regretted bringing up what was clearly a difficult subject.
Why wouldn’t it be? His cousins, the baby’s parents, died.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sad. That was a careless question.”
He shook his head. “No need to apologize. Sometimes life throws us shitty surprises, as you likely know too well.”
“For sure.” My thoughts turned back to Naomi, and all lightness was sucked out of the vehicle. “I’m sorry for your loss. For your son’s loss. From where I’m sitting, it seems like he lucked into the best possible new family though.”
“I don’t know about that, but I’m grateful as hell to have a lot of support from my mom and my sister and brother.”
“Dakota’s watching your boy tonight? Daniel, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. I’ll be lucky if she follows a single one of my rules. There’s the hotel.”
Out the front window, at the other end of the block, stood the historic Wentworth Hotel. I’d seen it in photos, but I’d never been inside it.
“This must be Hale Street,” I said. I’d heard plenty about the thriving redeveloped shopping district that was anchored by the century-old hotel but hadn’t yet made a trip to check it out. “A mosaic shop!”
A low chuckle came from Max. “I was fixated on the bakery next to it and didn’t notice.”
The mosaic place, World in Pieces, was small but adorable. “I’ll be coming back here soon to shop,” I said. “Oh, Henry Interiors. That’s Hayden Henry’s—North’s—place.” She was one of ours, or had been. Her brothers owned Henry’s Restaurant and the Rusty Anchor Brewing in Dragonfly Lake.
As we reached the end of the block, I turned my attention to our destination at the T intersection.
The evening sun hit the light-colored stone of the Wentworth just right to give it a peach tint. There was a semicircle driveway in front, full of cars and people and activity.
The building itself had giant arched windows big enough you could drive a car through them. They were bordered by double columns and fronted by low stone balusters. The hotel was elegant, majestic, and more than a little intimidating when I let myself think about our reason for going to it.
It hit me at that instant that I was completely out of my element.
I could dress in heels and a gown, pretty myself up with hair and makeup help, and hold my own with accessories, but I’d never been to something as formal as this. The fundraiser at the Marks Hotel didn’t hold a candle to it.
My gut knotted as Max drove to the parking garage behind the stunning building.
I’d been so focused on the emotional piece of tonight, on readying myself to stay composed when praises were sung to Naomi, that I hadn’t given thought to anything else.
I felt like a small-town girl about to embarrass herself in the big city. In four-inch heels, no less.
I must have made a sound that revealed my sudden nerves, because Max asked, “Are you okay?” as he pulled into a parking spot.
“This is…fancy. Way out of my comfort zone,” I said honestly. I was too nervous to try to hide it from him. “I’ve never been to anything like this.”
He turned off the engine. “I’ll be with you the whole time. I’ll even tell you which fork to use if you need me to.”
“Oh, crap. I haven’t thought about forks.”
“Not worth thinking about. Let’s go do this. You’re going to do great.”
Easy for him to say. I’d bet he’d been to a hundred fancy galas at big, imposing venues.
He came around to my door as I gathered my evening bag and my courage. I slid from the seat with his hand on my arm again. When I glanced up, he met my gaze, and there was a zing through my body at how perfectly handsome he was.
“Thanks,” I said, then preceded him out of the narrow space between vehicles.
I peered around for an elevator. Max put his hand at my waist and said, “That way.”
Because of the cutouts on that side of my dress, his warm fingers were directly on my skin. I had a hard time not being overly focused on the feel of him, the heat of him, and used it to distract myself from the impending gala.
We walked to the elevator in silence, rode down with an elegantly dressed, obviously well-off couple without speaking, then entered the lobby, Max’s reassuring hand still on my side.
The closer we got to the event, though, the less his touch kept my fears at bay.
My nervousness ratcheted up as we made our way across the marble floor toward the ballroom.
Several dressed-to-the-nines people were entering ahead of us, slowing us down, giving me time to freak the hell out even more.
When we reached the double doors, the main thing that registered with me was the enormity of the room, the multitude of people, and the elegance of…everything.
My heart raced as I took it in. I swallowed, my mind screaming with swear words, then looked up at Max, right by my side.
He met my gaze and sent me a reassuring smile.
He took his hand from my waist, and before I could panic, his long fingers entwined with mine, his large hand enveloping my smaller one.
“Let’s go do this,” he said close to my ear. “I think I see someone I know.”
As I let him guide me, hand in hand, into the crowd, the thought hit me that, somehow, though my bid on him had been driven by a dare and a winging-it decision, Max Dawson seemed like the exact right person I needed to have with me tonight.