Chapter Ten
Tyler
I glanced at my phone to see the time. Mae would be here soon, and I couldn’t wait to see her smile. It lit up any room she stepped into and made my heart skip a beat.
She’d changed so much from the awkward teenager she”d pretended to be, but I knew better. Mae was so far ahead of the others her age. She”d carried herself with such confidence and compassion. Of course, she was gorgeous, but that wasn’t what made me fall for her so many years ago.
Mae knew how to make me feel welcome. The entire Evans family did. They never made me feel like a nuisance.
The bartender came over, and I ordered rum and Coke. I hadn’t eaten much today, but a lot got accomplished when I returned to my parents’ house. It was like just seeing Mae gave me the energy and perseverance I needed to make it through. I could at least feel better about leaving Marigold with a house that wasn’t in disarray before I stopped enabling them.
I looked around the hotel’s lounge and smiled at the beach décor. It was so different from the style they had on the opposite side of the country with the pastels and starfish. The Pacific Northwest embraced the ruggedness of the beaches, and I appreciated the tattered canoes turned into tabletops and old fishing nets hung on the walls with brass lanterns and paintings of the rugged cliffs.
The dim lighting set the mood and relaxed me for a change. I stared blankly at the flickering candle on top of the table and took a deep breath as my mind drifted to Mae. She’d occupied most of my thoughts since I ran into her at the coffee shop. It was a mix of nostalgia and desire, but I knew the idea of having her wasn’t fair.
There wasn’t any possible way I’d stay on an island where my parents lived. It didn’t matter how fond of the place I was or how my best friend lived here. I’d built a life far away from here, and it was full in every way possible as long as I didn’t think about relationships.
Seeing the codependency my parents had also rubbed me the wrong way. I didn’t want to wind up with someone where we brought the other person down or spiraled into one another’s vices. I just never saw a healthy relationship and wasn’t cut out for one.
A shudder ran through me as I thought about my father already losing the money I’d given him today. The worst part was that he wasn’t even very good at placing bets. There was an art to horseracing and wagering. He never had the patience to learn, so his ignorance took his addiction to the next level.
The bartender brought over my drink as my pulse rose merely thinking of my parents. I had to put them out of my mind.
Tonight was about catching up with an old friend.
Or I suppose the sister of an old friend.
As I sat waiting for Mae, I heard an infectious laugh float through air, and I glanced up to see her chatting with the hostess.
My pulse spiked, but this time, for an entirely different reason as our eyes connected.
The green in her eyes darkened as she came into the lounge. She looked even more beautiful than when I saw her a few hours ago.
She walked over to the table, and I stood, hugging her as I helped her with her chair.
“Long time no see, stranger,” she teased.
Her eyes connected with mine, and my breath caught in the back of my throat like an eighteen-year-old about to pick her up for a dance.
Only I never got to do any of that.
I’d wanted to, but it was impossible.
Brad might have been younger than me, but I would never disrespect any of the Evans family. I knew how he’d felt about my awkwardly flirting with Mae so many years ago, and I never dared mention anything that had happened between us in the tree house.
“You look gorgeous, Mayflower,” I said softly as the bartender approached to take her drink order. As they spoke, I admired Mae’s ability to bring a smile to anyone who approached.
“You know,” she said, leaning forward, “I secretly love it when you call me Mayflower.”
I laughed, shaking my head and narrowing my eyes on her. “Yeah? I wouldn’t have known.”
She giggled and sat back in the chair, and that’s when I realized she was tipsy.
“Did I keep you waiting long?” she asked.
“Nah. Just ordered a drink and barely got it.” I nodded, unable to hide my smile. I’d never seen Mae drunk, and I wouldn’t call her that even now. But it was cute, whatever it was.
A deeper smile caressed her lips. “I might have had a little too much wine. So, I’m sorry if I seem a little pickled.”
I laughed. “Pickled?”
She hiccupped and shrugged. “That probably makes me sound like a Golden Girl.”
“I like my grannies,” I teased.
Her eyes widened, and she sat up straight. “You do?”
I chuckled and sipped my drink as the bartender dropped hers off.
“So, I spoke to Brad, and we’ll be there around ten o’clock tomorrow. Will that work?”
My stomach knotted, and I let out a deep breath. “I don’t think it’s a great idea.”
Mae cocked her head slightly. “No. What’s not a good idea is to throw you in with the wolves all by yourself.”
“The wolves?”
“I’ve been hearing things,” she confessed. “And I can’t believe how na?ve I was about everything you faced growing up. I just thought all families were lovey-dovery.”
I smiled at her slurred speech.
“I mean dovery… I mean doverly lovely. Lovey-dovey,” she corrected again, more for her sake than anything. “My point is that you don’t want to be here, so we might as well make it better for you. They don’t sound like they’re very nice. I hope you don’t mind, but Brad filled me in briefly, and I don’t think you should have to put up with that.”
“And neither should you,” I pointed out.
She shrugged. “I’ve got tough skin. I work in customer service. I’ve heard it all. Nothing your parents say could hurt me.”
My jaw clenched at the thought of any of this happening, but I could see the determination in her gaze.
“Enough about your parents. We’ll be there tomorrow whether you like it or not. Now…” She smiled. “Tell me what you’ve been up to. You already know what I’ve been up to.”
But that wasn’t true. I wanted to know so much more, like how she decided to open a coffee shop. Had she worked with her parents? What did she do for schooling? Has she ever lived off the island? Every now and again, I’d ask Brad about his sisters, but I never got much out of him.
I leaned back in the chair and took another drink. “I got my degree in finance and went to work in that field right out of school.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh. Wow.”
I chuckled and smiled. “And immediately realized I hated it.”
She grinned and ran her hands through a few pieces of fallen hair. “You don’t remind me of a finance type of guy.”
“Oh, yeah?” I asked, intrigued. “What do I remind you of?”
She pressed her lips together as her gaze glittered with possibilities. “You remind me of 007.”
I almost spat out my drink with a laugh. “A spy? I remind you of a British Spy?”
Mae tilted her chin and slowly moved her hand to cover mine. Her touch was like a livewire on every cell in my body.
“Not just any spy. The best.” Her brows lifted with the compliment.
“Nice. Okay. I can live with that.”
It was impossible not to be captivated by Mae. Her mind had always been fanciful, yet wise. Imaginative, yet logical.
“Okay, in all seriousness.” Her lips puckered. “I think you are probably a personal trainer.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Why’s that?”
“Because anyone with a body like yours would have to be completely vain to look like you do. I know the amount of work it takes to have muscles that have muscles upon more muscles.”
“Ah, vain. Yes, that is me to the core.” I grinned, loving every second of being with Mae.
“No offense,” she added.
“None taken.” I shook my head. “You’re getting closer, though, and I only work out a little bit here and there to keep my heart healthy.”
She rolled her eyes. “You even had muscles when you were like sixteen. I remember it like yesterday. You and my brother in my parents’ garage lifting weights, but you were older than Brad, so you managed so much more.”
“You remember that?”
Her eyes stayed on mine, and I felt that thrill shoot through me again. “I probably remember every single second that you were around.” She had another sip of her drink. “I had a huge crush on you, Tyler Grant.”
It was like she’d knocked all the wind out of me with a singular punch to the gut, a thud to the chest.
She”d always seemed… disinterested.
Sure! On one hand, she’d always made me feel welcome, but that was on my way to see Brad. Never in a million years did I think she had a crush on me.
Even when everything happened in the tree house, I figured it was more of exploration and curiosity, not… because of a crush.
But the thing I knew deep down, more than anything, was that Mae deserved better. She had a great family and deserved someone with the same.
“Mayflower, I don’t believe it for a second,” I said, shaking my head. “There were a million times you could have told me or signaled it.”
“With Brad around?” She laughed. “I don’t think so. And I did. I practically laid my heart and soul out to you more than once.”
Mae looked like she wanted to say something else.
“What?” I shook my head. “No, you didn’t. I promise I’d remember that.”
She laughed. “Okay, fine. I didn’t signal often because you were so much older than me and would probably have laughed in my face.”
My eyes widened, and I shook my head. “That is one thing I never would have done, Mae.”
She smiled and nodded. “Anyway, tell me what you do for a living.”
“It doesn’t define me,” I explained.
“My career doesn’t define me either,” she assured me. “It’s not like I want a coffee bean engraved on my tombstone or something.”
I chuckled. “I’ll have to remember that.”
“Oh, yeah? You think you’ll be around for the occasion?” She looked bemused.
“You never know.”
“Back to your employment.” She eyed me cautiously. I couldn’t tell whether she was sizing me up or giving me a double-take.
“I own an advertising agency. We focus on businesses in the health and fitness segments, and with the explosion of You Tubers and vloggers, our company has tripled in size these last few years.”
She looked surprised. “Wow. That actually sounds… fun.”
I nodded. “It can be. It’s also stressful.”
“But you have two houses,” she chided.
“True.” I nodded. “Our agency is virtual. All of our employees work remotely.”
“Our?”
“I own it with my brother.”
“That’s so cool,” she said, nodding. “And it explains why you’re in such good shape.”
Mae waggled her brows, and I laughed.
“Every client always feels compelled to send us what we’re working on with them. I have a kitchen full of supplements and a basement full of gym equipment.”
She grinned wider. “If that were me, it doesn’t mean I’d actually use the stuff. I bought a treadmill for about fifty bucks from a neighbor when I lived in an apartment. I think I used it once… and only to ensure it worked before buying it. It’s probably why I bought such a tiny house. Just so that thing couldn’t come with me and stare at me, reminding me that I should be on it.”
“It’s not like you need to worry about any of that. You’re perfect the way you are. Always have been.”
She sipped the last of her drink and set the empty glass on the table. “Would you like to wander along the pier with me and stare at all the crazy expensive yachts?”
“I’d love to.”
The bartender came over, and I signed the drinks to my room as Mae stood up.
She held out her arm and looped it through mine, and I was suddenly thrown back to when we were kids. Ever since I’d met her, she’d loop her arm through mine, and I’d suddenly felt like I’d been chosen King of the World.
As we opened the lounge doors leading to the pier, she rested her head on my shoulder and sighed happily.
“I’m glad I ran into you, Tyler. After all these years, it’s nice to see you’re not some one-dimensional figment of my imagination.”
I stopped and looked down at her as she tipped her chin up to see me. “What do you mean?”
She blinked a couple of times, and her cheeks turned rosy. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I had a crush on you. Problem is that I don’t think I got over it.”
“I’m sure you did, Mae.”
Mae’s mouth straightened into a fine line, and she shook her head. “I’m embarrassed to say that I haven’t. I don’t even know you, and I’d still let my mind fantasize about you after all these years.”
I didn’t know if it was the drinks talking or Mae, but I was stunned.
“Anyway, it’s nice to have you here in person so I can put this fantasy to rest.” She frowned. “Wait. That didn’t come out right.”
I chuckled.
“I’ll try again. It’s just too bad you’re leaving so soon before I could really get to know you.” She lifted her head and pulled me down the pier with her fingers linking with mine. “You know what? Forget it. Let’s look at some boats.”