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Fear still guiding my senses, I place the roses in water and grab my phone. On it is a text already from Max.
Hulk: Carl works for me. I promise he won’t hurt you.
Works for him? Taking a deep inhale, I blow it out, releasing the tension in my shoulders and grab my purse. I peek out the front window and Carl is leaning against the jeep, hands in his pockets, waiting. Max wouldn’t send just any guy after what happened last week. He’s having a hard enough time not taking the blame for leaving me.
“So, you work for Max?” I say, holding onto the handle so I don’t bounce and hit the roof. I sit up front, afraid I’ll get sick being in the back.
“Yes, ma’am. Hold on,” he says, hitting a small dip in the road. Hold on? I haven’t let go. I grit my teeth so I don’t squeal.
“What do you do for Max?” And why does Max have employees in Hawaii?
He glances over and his white teeth flash bright against his tanned skin. “I watch over his house. Among other things.”
“His house?” I look back at the hill in surprise, pointing back to it. “That’s Max’s house?” His eyes widen as he keeps his gaze straight forward.
“You didn’t know?” His words come out slow. He mumbles something, not in English.
A weight settles on my chest wondering why Max didn’t tell me. “He didn’t say it wasn’t his. I guess I just assumed it wasn’t.” We make the rest of the trip in silence. I feel bad for Carl. He’s beating himself up for telling me something Max might not have wanted me to know. I chalk it up to Max assuming I knew it was his.
When we pull into the restaurant, Max strolls toward the jeep. “Mmm,” I whisper, staring at the gorgeous confident man wearing white linen shorts and an ice blue button-up shirt. He flashes a wicked smile, making my toes curl. Carl laughs, interrupting my gawking. My cheeks flush. “Sorry,” I blush, looking away from him.
“Stay here,” he softly commands, getting out. He walks up to Max and they speak. Max chuckles, slapping him on the back, shaking his head. I already know how that conversation went. Max walks over to my door, opens it and takes my hand.
“Hey, beautiful. Red is definitely your color.” His gaze trails over my body and he bites his lip. I’ll never grow tired of him looking at me like he wants to devour me. “Let’s go before I change my plans.” The unmistakable alpha side of him shows as he ushers me in the front door like he owns the place. Hell, maybe he does.
We’re led to a table with two round cushioned wicker chairs on the beach. Wicker lanterns hang above us creating a romantic ambiance, but it’s the purple and pink sunset that catches my eye. Between us and the beach are tikis lined in a semi-circle.
“There will be a show in a bit,” Max says, linking his fingers with mine on the table. There’s always a sense of ease when I’m with Max, even though he’s the most intense person I’ve ever been around.
As I bring the wine to my mouth, a tiny voice says, “Are you Sky Owen?” Placing the glass down, I turn and smile at the young tween standing by our table, terror in her eyes as she squeezes a small journal against her chest.
Max removes his hand from mine, sitting back in his seat and I crinkle my nose from the loss of touch before turning back to the girl. “I am,” I say. Her eyes light up. “What’s your name?”
“Sadie. I’m sorry to bother you. My mom said it wasn’t you, but I knew it was. I was just hoping you would sign my journal for me.” She holds it out, and it shakes from her nerves.
“Oh my gosh, I’d love to.” I take the journal. No pen. I glance up, looking for a waiter. Instead, Max holds one out. I blow a quick kiss to him as I take it. “Ok, Sadie, what song is your favorite?” I ask as I sign it and hand it back to her.
Her words fall from her mouth faster than I can keep up, telling me about how her friends all dance to one song, but sing another song. How a boy texted her another song, and that one is probably her favorite. I just smile and nod, listening to her excitement.
“I’m sorry,” the mom intervenes, coming up behind her. “Sweetie, we should let them eat.” Sadie takes a breath.
“Okay,” she sighs.
“Sadie, it was great meeting you.”
“I can’t wait to tell everyone,” she squeals. “Can I get a picture of you?”
I glance at Max wondering what he’s thinking. He winks at me, flashing a reassuring smile. “Of course, I love pictures.” Sadie pulls a phone out of her pocket handing it to her mom and stands next to me. Her energy vibrates through her body.
She wraps her arms around me for a quick hug. “Thank you so much!” She runs off showing everyone in her family the picture.
Silence hangs between Max and I. Breaking it, I say, “Don’t tell me you’re afraid to touch me in public.”
He leans on the table, lowering his voice. “This is uncharted territory so I’ll need you to guide me, here. The one thing I didn’t plan for tonight was fans. We talked about telling our friends, but…” His words trail off, not wanting to bring up why we didn’t go through with our plan. Getting kidnapped kind of puts a halt on things.
“Obviously, we’ll still tell our friends. I mean, unless you plan on keeping our marriage a secret?” I bite my lip to hide my smile.
“That smart mouth is going to get you in trouble,” he rasps. I lean forward, an inch from his chiseled face.
