Page 24 of Love Like Ours

“I’ll have to wait eight months to find out. The sunsets, though, are spectacular.”

She glanced around the room, peeling her eyes from the view. The large bulb in the middle of the space was currently off.

“Do you have to flip a switch or something to turn it on?” she asked.

He chuckled. “I asked the same thing. Apparently, it’s all controlled by computers and is set up for nights and bad weather. I only have to ensure that the power doesn’t go out. If it does, a massive generator kicks on. I have to make sure that it’s gassed up.”

“Cool.” She walked over and took in the vastness of the Pacific. “Wow.”

“Yeah. Now you know why I had to get this place.” His hand moved to her shoulder and turned her slightly. “I was hoping there would be other benefits to moving here.” His eyes moved to her lips and she felt her nerves kick in.

There had been a time when she’d dreamed of being this close to him. Dreamed of him wanting to kiss her again.

Now, however, all she could think about was Palmer’s kiss last night. The way he felt. How he made her feel.

“Max,” she started, but she stopped when he swooped in and laid his lips over hers.

She held still, realizing that whatever spark had been there before was completely gone.

“Okay.” Max pulled back with a frown. “Am I crazy or did that feel different?”

“I…” She shook her head and bit her lips with worry as his eyebrows rose.

“I see.” He smiled slowly and ran his hand over her arms. “Hey, it would have been a perk, but it wasn’t the reason I moved here,” he assured her.

“You… you’re not mad?” she asked, and he chuckled.

“No, like I said, it would have been a bonus. Whatever we had in the city obviously stayed in the city.” He shrugged. “I left a lot of things behind. I hope that our friendship wasn’t one of them.”

“It’s not,” she jumped in. “It’s just…”

“Is it the guy? The one from the bakery?”

She nodded slowly. “He… We used to…” What? Date? No, that wasn’t right. They hadn’t. “We used to be close.” There, that was sort of true.

“He’s the town’s contractor, right?” he asked. She nodded. “I was hoping to hire him and his brother to do some work around here.”

She pulled Palmer’s card from her pocket. “He was hoping you’d say that.” She smiled as she handed over the card.

Max chuckled and slid the card in his pocket. “How about we finish this tour and then grab some food? I bet you know all the best places to eat in town.”

She wrapped her arm through his and chatted about all her favorite restaurants while he finished showing her around the property.