15. Chapter 15
fifteen
W illow gently knocked on the outside of the metal fermentation tank that Jer had been working under for the last hour. He slid from under it and glanced up at her.
“Time for a lunch break, Jer,” she said. “You’re working too hard.”
He glanced at the colourful watch on his wrist. “It’s already noon?” he asked, then rubbed his stomach. “I guess I am pretty hungry.”
Willow reached out her hand to Jer, then helped pull him up from the floor. “I can’t say the same,” Willow said, her stomach still iffy from the hangover she’d woken up with.
They sat together at a table in the corner and Willow took a sip from her water bottle. Across from her, Jer pulled a tuna salad sandwich from his lunch pail and took a giant bite, making her stomach roll .
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so hungover.
“I’m just going to step outside for a minute,” she said, deciding that some distance between her and the smell of fish and onions would be best for everyone.
“Sounds good, boss,” Jer said with a salute.
She smiled as she walked out the back door of the brewery and into the parking lot. Jer had proven to be a great worker. He’d shown up on time that morning, ready to work. And although at his last job he’d been more of an assistant, he had great taste, and she knew he was ready to take on more. Plus, he was strong enough to lift big sacks of grain while also being small enough to fit into the tanks.
But even if he wasn’t, she’d still have hired him. Something about him made her feel at peace. Probably because he wore his heart on his sleeve. One glance at his face and she knew exactly how he felt.
Unlike the other men in her life.
She took a few steps before sitting down on a curb and pulling her phone out. She’d missed a call from Shane early that morning, and she’d called him back but never heard from him again. When she realized she might have paid with their credit card at the bar while being extremely drunk, she had a moment of panic, thinking that maybe he knew about her being in Mapleton. But when she checked her statement, there weren’t any charges, so she assumed she’d paid cash and he still believed her lie.
She would have kicked herself had she done something so careless, but she couldn’t be mad at herself for going out. Cara was so much fun. After Natalie, Chelsea, and Ben had left, Cara decided they needed a shot, then another.
Her memories after the third shot were fuzzy.
Except for when Max showed up.
Maybe she’d sobered up a little on that bench while they’d been waiting for him, or maybe he was just unforgettable, but she could clearly remember everything. How he didn’t want to know Shane’s name, how jealous he’d sounded, and how pleasant his chest was when a deep laugh rumbled through.
She’d passed out before he left, but she knew he was responsible for her photo being flipped down.
Unlike Jer, Max seemed to be a master at managing his emotions. But he hadn’t even tried to hide them last night with her. He probably thought she was too drunk to remember and it wasn’t worth the effort.
But she remembered. And worst of all, she liked it.
Like, a lot .
There was something about him being open after being so guarded. As if she’d finally broken the lock on a treasure chest and glimpsed what was inside.
She sighed, dropped her head in her hands. She knew she shouldn’t be thinking about what was behind Max’s firewall protection, which was why she’d avoided seeing him all day. But then she wondered whether he was doing the same.
There seemed to be a deeper connection between them. At least, there was for her. But it was probably because they were business partners now and had a vested interest in each other’s success. Which automatically put them on the same team, rooting for each other. And with no one in her real life, besides Nana, even knowing about her new business, it was nice to have someone—even a grumpy someone—in her corner.
Maybe that was why she felt good when she was with him. Because they were in this together. Not because he was impossibly attractive.
She shook her head, ridding her mind of the image of him.
It would probably be a lot easier to ignore Max if she and Shane had been on the same side. But he’d somehow become more like an opponent to her than a teammate. Someone who she had to dance around because she was uncertain how he would react to things.
Max was easier to be around. She already knew how he would respond to her. Grumpily. Or sarcastically. But at least not in a mean way. She always believed actions spoke louder than words, and Max’s actions were admirable. How many twelve-year-old boys would take care of their four-year-old sister?
And do such a good job of it?
Would Shane have?
She shook her head and walked back to the door, silently yelling at herself to stop comparing Max and Shane. She was engaged to Shane. She loved Shane.
Max was just some guy.
A hot-as-fuck guy, but nobody of any consequence in her life. The world was filled with attractive men, but she’d already chosen her husband, and she was content with that choice.
She pulled open the door and walked back in, and found Cara sitting with Jer, laughing and eating a chip out of the bag in front of him.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey!” Cara said, swallowing the chip. “How are you feeling?”
Willow put out a hand and tipped it from one side to the other .
Cara nodded. “Same,” she said. “I would still be in bed, but I had to talk to you. And Max.”
Willow raised a brow. She had to talk to both of them? Why?
She was about to ask when Max walked through the door. His eyes immediately grabbed Willow’s and held. She struggled to look away until he smirked and asked, “How are you feeling?”
Willow rolled her eyes. “Excellent,” she said, refusing to show weakness. “Never better.”
No one bought it.
“I feel like a truck hit me,” Cara said. “Why do I have all these scratches on my arms?” she asked, holding her arms out and lifting the sleeves of her jacket. Tiny red slashes covered her skin.
Willow snorted a laugh. “Rose bushes.”
Cara’s eyes went wide. “I was in rose bushes?”
“You remember that?” Max asked.
Willow nodded, and Max shook it off.
“You dragged Willow in with you,” he said to Cara as he crossed his arms and a smile tugged the corner of his lips.
Jesus, he looked incredible with a smile. His eyes looked brighter, kinder, and his mouth looked softer.
He narrowed his eyes at her, and she realized she was staring, so she blinked back toward Cara.
“I landed on top of you, so you spared me.”
“Antonio said to monitor the scratches,” Max said. “Make sure they don’t get infected.”
Cara’s eyebrows drew together. “Who’s Antonio?”
Max rolled his eyes. “My friend who carried you and put you in bed. He’s a doctor. You screamed at him.”
“Oh God,” Cara said with a cringe as she dropped her head into her hands.
“Why are you here instead of in bed, Cara?” Max asked.
“Right,” she said, sitting up straight. “I got an email this morning with ticket confirmations for a comedy show tonight. Apparently, we booked tickets while we were drunk.”
“Oh yeah,” Willow said with a laugh, remembering Cara throwing back a shot, then declaring that she was buying tickets. Willow hadn’t given it much thought, since Cara was too drunk to see clearly. She’d been peering at her screen with one eye to stop the double vision as she entered her credit card number, and Willow figured it wouldn’t have gone through.
“So, what’s the problem?” Max asked.
“Well, I forgot about plans I’d already made, and I can’t break them,” Cara said. “I was hoping you could go with Willow instead. ”
Max spared Willow the tiniest of glances before turning back to Cara. “What plans?”
“None of your business,” she said. “Don’t make Willow go alone.”
Willow shook her head. “It’s okay,” she said, feeling like an awkward charity case. “We don’t have to go.”
“But you really wanted to,” Cara said. “And Max never gets out. All he does is work and play hockey. He could use a laugh or two.”
Max stood silent, his expression completely unreadable, leaving her wondering whether he was annoyed with Cara for asking, considering going with her out of obligation, or genuinely wanting to go. It was impossible to tell.
It didn’t really matter, but she didn’t want him to go with her if he didn’t want to. She looked over at Jer, who’d been silent since Max walked through the door.
“Are you busy tonight, Jer?”
She kept her eyes on Jer but could see Max’s eyebrow rise out of the corner of her eye.
“Sorry, boss,” he said. “I have sound bowl therapy tonight. It grounds me.”
What the fuck was that?
“I’ll go,” Max said .
All eyes swivelled to Max, but he didn’t change his expression. She was pretty sure her expression was a mix of excitement and horror.
It felt wrong. As if going to a comedy show with him was akin to cheating on Shane. She knew it wasn’t. But why did it feel like that?
“Is that okay?” he asked.
Willow looked up; her eyes connected with his. He was blank, except for a slight roundness of his dark eyes that looked like concern. God, she really wanted to go with him. Which probably meant that she shouldn’t, but instead of saying no, she nodded.
“Great!” Cara said. “I’ll forward you the tickets. Show starts at seven.”
Max gave one nod. “I’ll drive. We’re leaving at six.”
Willow snapped out of the trance. “An hour before?”
“Six,” he said, then turned and walked out the door.
Jer waited for the door to close behind Max before letting out a low whistle. “You just scored a hot date with Max,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.
Willow’s eyes doubled. “It’s not a date.”
Jer ignored her. “The way he commanded you like that,” he said, fanning himself .
Willow looked away with an eye roll, her gaze landing on Cara, who was looking at her with renewed interest.
Willow shook it off. “What are your plans tonight?” she asked.
Cara looked over her shoulder at the door Max had just left through, then back. “Promise you won’t tell?”
Willow and Jer nodded.
“I called Cooper last night. I really shouldn’t have a phone when I’m drunk,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, he wants to hang out.”
Willow raised her brows. “Hang out?”
Cara smiled and nodded. “I’m hoping we can get back together. I think your story about getting engaged to Shane after breaking up inspired me to call him.”
Willow’s face froze. She really didn’t know how to feel about that.
“Wait a minute,” Jer said, shocked. “You’re engaged?!”
Willow nodded. “Is it not obvious?”
“No,” Jer said, a look of astonishment on his face. “I thought you were trying to reel in Max.”
“Oh God,” Willow said as she dropped her head in her hands. “What am I doing? ”
“It’s not that big a deal,” Cara said. “You’re just going out to a show with your business partner. You’re not doing anything wrong.”
“Shane would definitely disagree,” Willow said in a muffled voice, her head still down.
“Well, Shane can go to hell!” Cara said.
Willow looked up at her, shocked at first, before a small smile took over. “Sometimes, it’s incredibly obvious that Max raised you.”
Cara smiled. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said. “I gotta go, but I’ll drop some clothes off for you to wear tonight. Please don’t tell Max about Cooper.”
Willow nodded, and Cara headed for the door.
Jer stood, tossed out his garbage, and gave her a pat on the back. “Don’t sweat it, boss. Going out with Max isn’t cheating. Just because he’s huge, and built, and hot, and has this sexy, scary intensity that really—”
“Jer?”
His eyes snapped out of the daze they were in. “Yeah?”
“Where are you going with this?”
“Sorry, I lost my train of thought,” he said, shaking his head. “Just don’t touch his dick, and you’re good.”
Willow smacked the sides of her face, trying to remove the image of Max taking over her brain.
“I don’t think that’s how cheating works,” she said .
Jer shrugged. “Everyone’s definition of cheating is different.”
He turned to the storage area and left Willow standing alone, wondering whether Shane’s definition of cheating was as loose as Jer’s.
Probably.
He’d brushed off the sexting as if it were no big deal and never even truly apologized for it. He might still have been doing it, for all she knew.
Maybe she was overthinking this. It was just a show.
She shook her head, got back to work. Even if it was cheating, it wasn’t nearly as bad as what Shane had done. And she desperately wanted to go to see a comedy show. She’d done nothing like that before.
She exhaled a deep breath, let it all go, and decided she deserved to have a bit of fun. Besides, she had asked Shane to move there with her and go do things together, and he said no. Did that mean she shouldn’t allow herself to have fun?
No.
She gave a nod and decided that she was going to go to the show with Max. And she was going to have a great time.
And she definitely wouldn’t go anywhere near his dick.