Chapter 13
I tossed and turned a bit too enthusiastically for what felt like hours. Thinking about Max and trying not to think about Max. I slept in longer than I meant to the following morning. By the time I hoisted myself out of bed, Max was nowhere to be found. His car was parked outside so I came to the only logical conclusion. I decided he must’ve gone for a run.
By that time, I’d convinced myself that I’d just been in an odd mood the night before. I was single for the first time in a ridiculously long time. I was sure it was perfectly normal to feel so out of sorts. Especially when everyone I knew was out having fun and I wasn’t. That alone was likely to push anyone into a peculiar mood.
Max had tried talking me out of joining his grandparents for their party. He insisted that we’d be the youngest guests by far. He tried to tell me it would be stuffy and boring. I told him I didn’t mind. I was anxious to meet his grandparents. Truthfully, I missed my family. Not enough to go home yet. But I missed them all the same. So I was more than happy to spend the day with his family.
I showered then dressed in a simple, cream sundress. I hoped it was appropriate for a function at a winery. Then I finished it off by spending more time than usual with my hair. And my make-up.
I had been living in flip-flops the last few weeks. Since I was meeting his grandparents for the first time, I decided to dress things up just a bit. I pulled my suitcase out from the closet and sorted through the few remaining things I hadn’t bothered to unpack. I found my cute, strappy sandals.
I told myself it was because I wanted to make a good impression on his grandparents. It would be silly to think I was doing it because of Max. I mean, Max had seen me at my worst. He often saw me in sweats. So how I dressed today really wasn’t important.
That’s what I told myself when I swiped on another layer of lip gloss.
***
“It’s about time Max shared you!” Villette said as she pulled me into a tight embrace.
Her small body felt fragile and her silvery, coiffed, heavily sprayed hair prickled against my face as I returned her hug. I was greeted by the scent of lavender and a feeling of complete belonging.
“It’s nice to finally meet you,” I said.
She released me but held firmly to my hands as she looked me up and down. Then she turned her smiling face to Max. “You were right. She is a pretty little thing.”
I looked at Max and raised an eyebrow. Max told her I was pretty? The way his cheeks immediately turned crimson led me to believe that maybe he had. I smiled and he looked slightly mortified. How or why that had even come up between them was a bit of a mystery.
Collin had told me I was beautiful every now and then. The trouble was that I didn’t really believe him. It always sounded more obligatory than truly complimentary.
“There she is!”
I turned to greet a man I assumed was Charles. Villette released me and Charles pulled me in for a hug as well. “I was hoping he wasn’t going to keep you stashed away all summer.”
“I wasn’t stashing her away. We’ve been… busy… with things… and stuff,” he stammered.
We hadn’t been that busy. I wasn’t going to put him on the spot by pointing that out. It did make me wonder, though, if he just hadn’t wanted me to meet his grandparents. And if that was the case, I had to wonder why not.
“No matter!” Villette chirruped. “She’s here now!” She looped her arm through mine. “It’s such a lovely day. I thought we could sit out on the patio. I’d like to visit with you a bit before we have to leave.”
“That sounds perfect,” I told her.
I followed her through the house. Max and his grandpa were right behind us. Villette led us to a stone patio surrounded by flower beds. The scent emanating from the fragrant blooms permeated the air. It was gorgeous and I told her so. I was sure my mother would be impressed. And possibly a bit envious.
“Oh, thank you,” she said. The wrought iron table had four places set. Two of them had half empty wine glasses in front of them. Villette took one spot; Charles sat beside her, claiming the second glass. A platter of finger sandwiches sat at the center of the table.
I settled in between Villette and Max.
“Are you enjoying your time here?” Charles asked.
I couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, definitely. I’m having the best time. I love the beach house. It’s absolutely amazing. I can’t thank you enough for letting me stay there.”
“Oh, pish-posh,” Villette scoffed as she waved the notion away. “It’s no trouble at all. And it’s certainly keeping Max happy. We know he enjoys the company.”
“Speaking of company,” Charles said, “when are we expecting Mike?”
“In two days,” Villette told him. She turned to Max. “Did you know your brother is coming for a visit?”
I looked at Max. He shook his head and frowned. “He didn’t tell me.”
“Goodness,” Villette said with a little shake of her head. “He should have. He told me he plans on staying at the beach house.”
My gaze flicked to Max again. He gave me an apologetic look. Mike and I didn’t get along. Or rather, Mike simply didn’t like me and I didn’t know why. I usually tried to stay out of his way. If he was staying with us though, staying out of his way could prove to be a challenge.
“I told him he was welcome to stay here but he wants to be on the beach,” she continued. “Hopefully he won’t be too much of a bother for you two.”
“He’ll be fine,” I assured her. He had more of a right to be there than I did.
“It’ll be great,” Max said. He didn’t sound very convincing.
Villette gave him a knowing look. “He’ll be gone soon enough. Then you can have your girl all to yourself again.”
Max started to say, “That’s not what I—”
Villette cut him off by saying to me, “We’ve been so excited to meet you. I don’t know why he’s been such a stinker about it! He talks about you constantly. I thought he’d be a little quicker about showing you off.”
“Gram,” Max grumbled.
She ignored him.
“Oh, he does, does he?” I asked. I wrinkled my face up at him, in a teasing smirk. He didn’t smile back. He didn’t seem to find the situation amusing.
“All the time. Daily. This boy’s got it bad,” Charles said in a conspiratorial tone as he leaned across the table. He tacked a wink on to the end of his comment.
I started to shake my head, ready to protest. Obviously he’d made erroneous assumptions. I had to admit, that would be easy to do. I mean, we were living together. For all intents and purposes, it probably looked like I followed him out here. And now here I was, meeting his extended family. I had to stop the thoughts from tumbling out. Yes, I could see how very easy it would be to mistake our relationship for something it was not.
Or, perhaps it was simpler than that. Perhaps they simply enjoyed teasing their grandson.
Villette placed a gentle hand on my arm. “I was so sorry to hear about your unfortunate situation. An event like that, it could be devastating. However, I have always strongly believed that everything happens for a reason. I think you were meant to come out here with Max.”
My gaze flicked to his, he looked resigned but not at all happy.
“He’s such a sweet boy. And he just thinks the world of you,” she announced.
Gram,” Max said again, “really, a subject change would be nice.”
“Nonsense,” she insisted. “There isn’t a girl alive who doesn’t love a little bit of flattery. If you think the world of your girlfriend, she should know it.”
“Except,” Max said, his voice a little too tight, “she’s not my girlfriend.”
She leaned over to pat his hand. “So you keep insisting. But I think we need to remedy that situation. Don’t you?” she asked me with a wink.
I was momentarily speechless. Max and I exchanged flustered looks.
“I think they’re being shy,” Charles decided.
“You know that you don’t need to be shy around us,” Villette said.
I really didn’t know that. But I nodded and pretended I did.
Max scrubbed a hand over his face. He looked as if he was wishing he was somewhere far, far away.
“Max and I are just friends,” I told them. “He’s one of my best friends, actually.”
She held her hand over her heart and if an elderly lady was capable of swooning, she did just that. “I know,” she said with a wistful look, “and best friends make the best marriages.”
Marriage? Was the dear lady out of her ever loving mind? It hit me then. This was likely the reason Max had been trying to avoid us meeting.
“Oh, my goodness,” she said with a little laugh. Her eyes were twinkling when she continued. “I seem to be getting a little ahead of myself. Back in the day, when I was your age, courtships weren’t nearly as long as they are now.”
I glanced at Max, wishing I knew a quick way to escape this conversational sinkhole.
“So,” Max said and cleared his throat, “can we eat these little sandwiches or what? I’m hungry. Holly, aren’t you hungry?”
“Starving,” I said.
“I’ve always enjoyed a midday snack,” Charles informed us. “Even if it is only these silly little excuses for a sandwich.”
Villette sighed as she passed the platter of sandwiches to Max. “I know an attempt at diversion when I hear one. I also recognize a couple that’s smitten when I see one.”
Max muttered something under his breath.
Smitten? I thought. For some reason, I found myself smiling.
“We’re not a couple,” Max said. He sounded exasperated.
“We’re not,” I confirmed, mentally wiping the smile away. “In fact, Max went on a date last night. His date’s name is Tori.” I added that on, just to avoid any confusion. I didn’t want them to misinterpret and think that Max went on a date with me. His foot collided with mine under the table. I turned to look at him. He shot me a look of disbelief.
Villette gasped. Then she reached across me to smack Max across the chest. “You went on a date? With another girl? Why on God’s green earth would you do that?”
He sliced his gaze towards me. “I have no idea.”
“I hope that nonsense was a onetime thing,” she scolded.
Max cleared his throat and poked at his cucumber sandwich. “It was twice, actually.”
“Twice?” Villette said with disapproval. “There’s no sense in wasting time with the wrong person. Life is too short for that.”
Charles chuckled.
I frowned. “Twice?” How on God’s green earth had I missed that?
“Uh, yeah,” Max said, not looking at me. “We went out for breakfast this morning.”
“I thought you went for a run,” I stated. An unpleasant feeling welled up within me. I ignored it, as I was becoming adept at doing.
He shrugged and pulled his eyes from his plate. “I was just getting started when she called. I couldn’t think of a reason not to go. So she picked me up a few blocks from the house.”
“Oh,” was all I could think of to say to that. Finally I added on, “You were gone a really long time.”
“Afterwards, we went for a walk.”
“Oh.” Again. It was the best I could muster up.
Villette put a comforting hand on my shoulder. “I think you need a glass of wine. Would you like some, dear?”
I was preparing to politely decline when Max nudged my foot with his. This time, it was gentle. I realized it may be rude to decline. “Yes, please.”
She smiled as she poured Max and I each a glass. Then she held up a warning finger. “This is it. No more for you two.”
“Maybe a little more,” Charles offered.
I thought one glass was plenty, thank you very much. It was tarter than I’d anticipated. I had a hunch wine was an acquired taste. One I had virtually no experience with.
“So Grandpa,” Max began with a great deal of determination, “have you thought anymore about branching out into sparkling wine?”
Charles’s expression turned from one of relaxation to downright business-like. I glanced at Max and he winked at me. He may not know how to distract his grandma but distracting his grandpa wasn’t hard at all. I almost lost myself in a fit of giggles because I had to wonder if winking was a family trait.
From there on out, for the next hour, I listened intently as Max and Charles discussed the family business. When the time came to drive down the road to the winery, the earlier conversation had entirely faded away.
I’d been here all this time and I hadn’t been there yet. He always had a reason. He couldn’t bring me during the day because he worked. He couldn’t bring me in the evening because it was closed. He didn’t want to bring me on the weekend because that was his time off.
Now, I realized, his excuses were just that. I decided he’d just wanted to keep me from his grandparents
When we arrived, Max gave me a tour of the vineyards. They had thirty acres, divided into sections, each with their own variety of grape. Next we went to the winery and he showed me around. There was more to it than I ever imagined. A large building held a formal dining room where weddings and other events were held. A smaller tasting room was off to one side and the small gift shop was at the front of it all.
Outside, the aroma of smoked meat hung in the air. The large pavilion was surrounded by twinkle lights. Tables were set up, laden with decorative arrangements of food. A live band was playing. I didn’t recognize the music being played. I couldn’t have even guessed as to which decade the music originated from.
Max had been right when he warned me we would be the youngest guests by far.
He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “Are you sure you want to stay?”
I nodded as I looked around, taking it all in.
“My grandma wasn’t too much for you?”
“I think she’s just playing matchmaker,” I said.
Max rolled his eyes. “Figured that out all on your own, did you?”
I smacked him playfully across the chest. He caught my hand as it bounced off and he entangled his fingers with mine.
“Let’s dance,” I suggested.
He looked at the dance floor with a bit of trepidation. The older generation really had some fancy footwork down. “I have no idea how to dance like that.”
I laughed. “I don’t either.”
The couples out on the floor clearly knew what they were doing. It was a bit fascinating to watch. Some of those older people, well, it was pretty impressive.
I glanced around and saw Villette watching us. She gave us a little wave and then she disappeared. Moments later, the music changed.
“Come on,” I said. He didn’t argue. My hand was still in his and he even led the way. We stayed off to the side, not wanting to interfere with anyone else.
He slid his arms around my waist. I rested my hands on his shoulders, wondering how close was appropriate when you were dancing with a friend.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
I realized then that I was so I nodded. He pulled me into him, closing the small distance I’d left between us.
He leaned down to whisper in my ear. “I have a confession to make.”
My heart took off unexpectedly. I probably had a confession or two of my own. I waited for him to go first. “What would that be?” I asked.
He cringed. “Don’t be mad but I told Tori that I didn’t think I could see her anymore. Not right now anyway.”
I tried to keep my expression neutral because this really shouldn’t be a big deal. I shouldn’t feel as relieved as I felt right then. “I’m not mad.”
“You’re not?”
I shook my head. “I know it’s completely selfish of me but I missed you when you were gone last night.”
“Yeah?” he asked.
I nodded. “Don’t get me wrong, if you really wanted to date her, I wouldn’t try to stop you.” I paused. “But it doesn’t seem like you want to.”
“I don’t,” he agreed.
“Good.”
He let out a little puff of air. A sound that was almost a laugh, but wasn’t. If anything, it was maybe a little scoff of disbelief. “Why is that good?”
I gave him as much of the truth as I could spare just then. “I realized how much I like having you to myself.”
His hands slid from my waist and he did something he’d never done before. He slid his hands along each side of my face, tunneling his fingers in my hair. Then he leaned forward, slowly, so slowly, resting his forehead against mine. Reflexively, I reached up and laced my fingers behind his neck. In that split instant that he was leaning in, I thought he was going to kiss me. For just that split instant, I was shocked.
Not by the fact that I thought he was going to…But by the realization that I was disappointed that he didn’t.
Then he let out a sigh, stepped back and the moment was over. I stood there, wishing it wasn’t. Because my head figured out, right then, what I think my heart had known for awhile now.