Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Carissa stared at her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her graying hair back into a clip. Her cheeks appeared permanently flushed, though that might have had something to do with the fact she couldn’t get Max’s kiss out of her mind.
“Lanie will be here any moment,” she told herself. “Focus.”
If only she’d had the forethought to postpone the meeting with Lanie, but her mind had been a chaotic mess, and she’d barely slept the night before. She feared Lanie would see right through her thin grasp on her emotions and know what Carissa and Max had done.
All day, Carissa had vacillated between calling Max and pretending the kiss had never happened. They were supposed to be keeping their distance from each other, and she’d assumed, foolishly, that lunch would be safe.
Absolutely careless. They’d had several close calls previously, but something had always interrupted them at the perfect moment. The day before, they’d been alone in Max’s house with little chance of anyone or anything drawing their attention away from each other.
Talk about the perfect storm. Still, despite her fears about Lanie learning the truth and how she might react, Carissa couldn’t quite bring herself to regret the kiss. She’d wanted to kiss him since things between them had started to change. And now that I know, I want more.
A knock at the door sent Carissa’s heart racing. She took a deep breath and one last glance in the mirror. Other than the flush on her cheeks, her face didn’t betray her guilt.
When Carissa opened the door, Lanie greeted her with a smile. So far so good. Carissa led them into the dining room, where she’d set up the piles of cardstock and envelopes that made up Lanie’s wedding invitations.
“These look amazing,” Lanie said as she lifted an invitation. The design was simple with a white background, dark-green lettering, and a poinsettia at the top of the card.
“I’m glad you like them. I’ve got my calligraphy pen set up as well as an assortment of pens for writing the addresses on the envelopes.”
“Thank you for agreeing to do this.” Lanie stared at the table with wide eyes. “I love calligraphy, but I lack the skill.”
Carissa waved a hand. “It’s no problem at all. I do this as a regular service for all my clients if they request it.”
They sat down to work, and Carissa was relieved to have something to focus on. The silence made her uncomfortable, and she wished she could think of something to say.
“Did you enjoy the fall festival?” Lanie asked.
Carissa carefully wrote out a name in her fancy script before responding. “It’s my favorite event of the season.”
“It’s one of mine too.” Lanie took the finished inner envelope and slipped the invitation and RSVP card into it. “Though I haven’t been in a while due to school.” She cleared her throat. “I was glad my father was able to join us.”
Warmth rushed to Carissa’s cheeks, and she kept her eyes on the next invitation. “You two seem to be getting along better.” She snuck a glance at Lanie. “At least, as long as the conversation stays far away from the wedding.”
Lanie snorted. “The wedding is only one of many topics we seem to avoid. I can’t wait to move in with Nate and get some distance from Dad.” She gave Carissa a rueful smile. “It sounds odd, but I’m hoping not living together anymore will give us the space to improve our relationship.” Her face darkened. “Though he doesn’t agree.”
“Why do you think it’ll help?” Carissa chose her words carefully.
“I can’t explain it.” Lanie shrugged. “But I guess I’m hoping having my own space and not seeing him every day will give me some breathing room to come to terms with what has happened between us in the past. Sometimes, I feel like I’m suffocating in that house with him, and new resentments start to build on top of the old.”
Carissa set down her pen and studied Lanie. “Have you tried to explain that to him?”
“At this point, I’m trying to keep the peace as much as possible. And besides, whenever we have a conversation that starts to get too deep, he bails.” Lanie rolled her eyes. “He’s not exactly the picture of emotional maturity.”
A couple of months ago, Carissa would have wholeheartedly agreed, but since she’d started spending more time with Max, she’d seen a different side of him. Her heart broke for both him and Lanie. It was clear he didn’t want to be that vulnerable with his daughter, though Carissa couldn’t quite understand why. It seemed like the key to repairing the hurts of the past and building a strong foundation for the future of their relationship.
“He relied a lot on my mother to communicate with us kids on his behalf,” Lanie continued when Carissa didn’t say anything. “And I suspect it’s a struggle to figure out how to connect with us, especially now that I’m an adult.” Her eyebrows pinched together, and she looked so much like Max, Carissa almost laughed. “Well, I should rephrase. He connects with Steven just fine. Which means I must be the problem.”
Carissa leaned across the table and put a hand on Lanie’s arm. “It takes two to make and two to break a relationship. I believe you two want the same thing, but it sounds like neither of you are sure how to go about it.”
“Well, I can tell you, arguing with me about every little detail of my wedding is definitively not the right way to connect with me.”
Carissa laughed. “Agreed.”
“I appreciate that you’ve been able to mediate between us, though I hate you have to.”
A laugh bubbled up in Carissa’s throat. “That’s a bit of an understatement, but I’ve grown accustomed to telling your father no. It seemed to be my go-to word during your brother’s wedding.”
“Rose said as much, and to be honest, I’m amazed at your fortitude.” Lanie chuckled. “It takes a strong person to put up with my father’s antics.”
Carissa hid a smile. While Lanie wasn’t wrong about Carissa’s ability to handle Max’s outbursts, the method she used had drastically changed between Steven’s wedding and Lanie’s event. “This isn’t my first rodeo, and if at any point you feel like your father is overstepping, let me know.” She snuck another glance at Lanie. “Though I would like to be clear on something as well.”
Lanie blinked. “Oh?”
Carissa set her pen down and folded her arms on the table. “From now on, if you have a problem with how I’m handling something, I would appreciate it if you would come to me yourself.”
To her surprise, Lanie rolled her eyes. “I told Dad I would talk to you about the flowers myself, but in true Max McAllister fashion, he didn’t listen to me.”
Carissa chuckled. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? Have you ordered the silk flowers yet?”
“No. I was hoping to get your opinion on them.”
As she addressed another envelope, Carissa smiled. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
The next day, Carissa’s phone rang bright and early. Jacob’s name flashed on the screen, and for a moment, she debated not answering. She’d been avoiding the men in her life since her kiss with Max, and she was in no mood to put up with Jacob’s antics first thing in the morning.
But she refused to act unprofessionally despite how much the CEO deserved it. “Good morning, Jacob. How can I help you?”
“We need to get eyes on the site,” he said, for once jumping right to business. “The pictures on the cabin’s website aren’t enough. I need someone to go up to Deep Creek this weekend and scope out the cabin.”
“All right.” She bit back a sigh. “I’ll call Colin tomorrow. Perhaps he can meet me there?—”
“Colin has other work to attend to,” Jacob cut in. “Book something for yourself. Leave no later than Friday.”
The phone beeped three times, indicating Jacob had disconnected. Heat rushed to her face as she tossed the phone on the bed. The nerve of that man. Who did he think he was, demanding she drop everything and drive across the state with no notice? Not to mention, it was already Wednesday. What if the cabin was already booked for that weekend? With the fall foliage reaching its peak earlier in the month, she wouldn’t be surprised if they were booked solid through the entire month of October.
But what could she do? If she didn’t visit the cabin, she risked him firing her. After all, she’d done much of the legwork, researching various activities and setting up the meeting with the cabin rental office. While Colin likely wouldn’t fully integrate her vision, he had enough information to make the event happen with a degree of success.
Muttering, she opened her laptop and clicked through to the site. To her surprise, a couple of cabins were available that weekend. As she clicked through to book one of them, her phone rang again. Her stomach knotted as Max’s name flashed on her screen.
“Not now.” She hated ignoring him after what had happened between them, but she wasn’t ready to discuss the kiss. Besides, until she’d established herself in the corporate world, her client had to come first.