Ditched

Chapter 25

I waved at Lanna as Max pulled me into the house.

“It feels really weird to be here with everyone gone,” he said. I followed him into the living room and he pulled me down onto the couch with him. “I’m so sorry about last night. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

“It’s okay, last night, it was just, I don’t want to think about it,” I said. “I’m just so happy to see you.”

“Did you miss me?” he asked. The seriousness of his tone betrayed the teasing look on his face.

I leaned over and kissed him. “That’s a silly question.”

“Good. So, what are we going to do about this? When I thought you were leaving, I mean, I thought you were coming back here for good, I just…I…” he stammered. “I couldn’t take it. After you left, I thought I was going to go crazy, letting you go the way I did. I just had to follow you. And then I was trapped at that damn airport and I didn’t have my phone and I couldn’t even talk to you. I thought for sure you were so pissed at me that maybe you wouldn’t even want to talk to me. I couldn’t even call you to find out. And I thought you were headed back to see Collin and I didn’t want you running off to see him. Especially not right after we’d been fighting.”

“Max,” I said as I put my hand on his arm. “It’s okay. Calm down. Just take a breath.”

He did and he raked his hand through his hair. “I thought for sure I’d blown it, acting like that. I know I asked if you’d consider a long-distance relationship. But,” he shrugged sheepishly, “I don’t know if I can stand that. That whole horrible night in the airport I was thinking…maybe I can come back here and get my degree. Or part of it. Maybe just the business part and then I can transfer later if—”

I put my finger over his lips and shook my head. “I’m not going to drag this out any longer. And I’m not going to let you give up everything you’ve started to build in California.”

“Holly,” he said as he shook his head. “I want—”

“No, let me finish. We should be on our mini-vacation right now. There was something I was waiting to tell you. I wanted to tell you tonight.” I leaned over and plucked my purse up off the floor. I pulled out the folded piece of paper inside and handed it to Max.

He frowned. “It’s a class schedule from the university.”

“Yes, but look closely,” I said. I reached over and ran my fingers across a few very important words.

“Online courses?” he asked. His eyebrows shot up and he turned to look at me. “What does that mean?”

I bit my lip for a second, waiting for him to figure it out. “I think you know.”

“That means,” he paused and a smile began to find its way onto his face, “you can take them from anywhere?”

“So I can take them from Sapphire Bay,” I corrected.

“From…So…Are you staying with me?” he finally asked.

“If you don’t mind, yes, I’d like to,” I said, suddenly feeling nervous. “If it’s okay, I mean. I guess I should’ve asked you first. But I wanted to surprise you. I know you didn’t want Tori following you back to Chamberlain last year. Maybe you don’t want me to stay in Sapphire Bay?”

“Holly,” he said as he squeezed me into a hug. “You are not Tori. I mean, she’s not you. What I’m trying to say is that I want you. Of course I want you in Sapphire Bay. It’s been all I can think about. I just didn’t think it was an option. When did you do all of this?”

I relaxed into him, squeezing him back before pulling away. I hadn’t realized until right then that a small part of me was worried about his answer.

“Not too long ago. To be honest, I called the Admissions Office in Sapphire Bay and found out that there was no way I could get in fall semester. They said there’s a possibility for winter but not fall. So then I thought maybe I could just take a semester off. But then,” I said, “I decided to look into online courses. I had to switch all of my classes around but everything I’m signed up for will transfer.”

His smile was huge now. “So this is really happening? You’re going to come back with me?”

I nodded. “I wanted to surprise you tonight. I had a reservation at a nice restaurant and I’d picked the perfect bed and breakfast right on the coast. I couldn’t tell you much sooner anyway because it’s taken me a few weeks to get everything straightened out. I mean, if you’re sure you want me and if you’re sure your grandparents will be okay with it.”

“I can’t believe you even have to ask if I want you to, because of course I do,” he said. “And I know my grandparents won’t mind. Just have them over for dinner again and they’ll be happy to have you there.”

“I’m sorry about last night. I never should have chosen to come running back after Collin. I only called him because I wanted to make it clear to him, once and for all, that he and I are over. But at the same time, I needed to come back to Chamberlain.”

“To talk to your parents? Or do they already know?”

I shook my head. “They don’t know. I needed to come back to talk to them.” I let out a little laugh. “I also wanted to come back to get a few things. I’ve been recycling my wardrobe all summer. I only have two pairs of flip-flops and a pair of sandals. I need to go to the campus bookstore to get my books. I’d like to drive my car back because if I’m staying, I’ll need it.”

“We’re going on another road trip?” Max asked. He looked excited by the thought of it.

“Do you have time for that?” I wondered. I was relieved. I had assumed I’d be making the trip alone. The ticket my mom had sent, the one pinned to the bulletin board, was a one-way ticket. I’d planned to use it but only because I’d planned on driving back to California.

He nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Everything had changed so much in the last twenty-four hours. I took in the way that he was looking at me. Like I was everything he ever wanted. I hoped he saw that I was looking at him the same way. He was everything I needed, wanted and probably more than I deserved.

My feelings for Max had twisted their way deep inside of me, wreaking havoc on my unsuspecting heart. After last night, I knew without a doubt I never wanted to let him go.

“Did you mean what you said this morning? On the phone?” I asked.

Color filled his cheeks but he didn’t look away. He nodded. “I shouldn’t have just blurted it out like that. I didn’t mean to. I just, I couldn’t help myself.” He cringed. “Was it too soon?”

“Not at all. Not if you meant it,” I said.

He took my hands in his. “I meant it.”

I smiled as I leaned into him. “If you meant it, will you say it again?”

He pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around me. He placed a few kisses on my neck, making his way up to my ear. “I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you, too,” I whispered back.



***



We stayed in Chamberlain four more days. We each caught up with our friends and our families. We’d had dinner with Max’s mom twice. She seemed happy for us. Mike had refused to come to dinner, begging off with other plans. I couldn’t blame him, or his perception of me. He was just looking out for Max and someday, hopefully soon, I’d make him see that Max really did mean everything to me.

My parents’ reactions were mixed. My mother wasn’t happy in the least. My dad raised his eyebrows, wondering if maybe Max hadn’t been behaving after all. Once they realized that my mind was made up and that I’d be leaving soon, they relented a little. I was only home for a few days. We all wanted to make the most of it.

Max felt bad about running out on his grandparents like he had but Villette assured him it was all fine. She found retirement dull and dreary and she didn’t mind filling in for Max since she spent most days checking in on the business anyway.

I had seen Collin while he was still in the hospital. Max had come with but he waited in the lobby. Our conversation hadn’t taken very long. I had told him that I was happy that he was okay. He was surprised that I hadn’t come back to Chamberlain to stay. Despite the gossip he’d been spreading about Max and me, he was surprised when I told him we were actually together. I’d decided he could do whatever he wanted with the information. As Lanna had pointed out to me once, everyone important to me knew the truth.

And the rest? They simply didn’t matter.

“Are you sure about this?” my mom asked. I’d lost count but it had to have been at least the sixth time. “If you’re not sure, it’s not too late to change your mind.”

I wished she would’ve said those very things to me the night before I was supposed to marry Collin. But she hadn’t and there was no sense dwelling on the irony of it.

Besides, as Villette said, everything happens for a reason. If everything hadn’t unraveled in the exact order that it had, Max might have left without me. Lanna might never have had the chance to insist that I go with him. I probably wouldn’t have agreed if it had been anything other than a snap decision.

“I’ve never been so sure about anything,” I said with a smile. I knew right then, I was exactly where I was supposed to be in my life.

“You know you can come home anytime,” she pressed.

I nodded. “That’s the nice thing about online courses. They give me a lot of flexibility and I can come home for a visit whenever I want.”

She frowned, as I knew she would. She wasn’t talking about me coming home for a visit. She meant indefinitely. I wasn’t going to argue with her. If there was one thing I knew about my mom, she was stuck in her ways. Only time would wear down the barrier of her stubbornness.

“Well, Pumpkin,” Dad said as he dropped another box in the trunk, “I think this is the last of them.”

“It’s a good thing, too,” I said with a laugh. I’d spent a good chunk of the last few days sorting through my belongings, boxing things up, deciding what I needed and what I could leave. “There’s not room for anything else. The backseat is so full I can barely see out of the back window.” The passenger seat, however, was open, waiting for Max to fill it.

“I suppose if there’s anything else you need, we can send it,” my mother said with a little sniff. At first, I thought it was her haughtiness shining through. Then I realized the haughty little sniff wasn’t haughty at all. In fact, the sniff was more of a sniffle.

“Oh, Mom,” I said as I pulled her into a hug. “I’m going to miss you. But you can come for a visit anytime. Max and I will come back for every holiday. And I’ll visit next summer.”

“Of course we’ll come for a visit,” my dad said. “We’ll be looking for somewhere warm to go this winter. And maybe by then you’ll miss us enough that you’ll be anxious for a visit.”

“I can’t believe my baby is really moving,” my mom said. She pulled out a tissue and wiped her tears away. “You have to promise to call every day.”

“Mom,” I said with a laugh. “I’ll call once a week, maybe more. Maybe you should learn to e mail,” I teased.

“Maybe,” she relented.

She then pulled me in for another tight hug. My dad wrapped his arms around the both of us. We stood there for a few moments, the morning sun shining down and the scent of autumn just barely in the air. Finally, with a sigh, he backed away and my mom followed. He pulled her into his arms as he handed me my keys.

“Okay then,” I said as I backed away. “I love you both. And we’ll talk soon.”

“Love you too, Pumpkin, drive safe,” Dad said.

“I love you, Holly,” Mom said.

I didn’t want to drag out the goodbye so I gave them a little wave and slipped into my car. I watched them in the rearview mirror, our brick house as their backdrop, as I drove away.

Minutes later I pulled up to Max’s mom’s house. I knew she’d left for work already. He must’ve been watching for me. The door flew open and he came down the sidewalk, his duffel bag strap slung over his shoulder and a huge smile on his face.

“Are you ready for this?” he asked as he dropped himself into my passenger seat.

“Ready to go home with the guy I love?” I tilted my head to the side and pretended to think about it. “Yeah, I think I’m ready for that.”

“Me too,” Max said as he leaned over the arm rest.

He leaned in slowly. This kiss…it felt like a first kiss. My heartbeat was erratic. His presence, so close, yet not quite touching, was all I was aware of. My eyes fluttered closed as his lips softly pressed against mine. It was slow…and gentle…and completely captivating. It was a kiss unlike any I’d received from Max before.

In my blissful haze I realized that Max’s kisses had always been filled with subtle desperation. As if he feared—as he stated that moment in the kitchen—that he might not ever have the chance again. Or perhaps he feared that each kiss could be our last kiss.

Now, it was different. He knew I was his.





Epilogue

A year later…

“Who is that?” Lanna asked as she threw herself down next to me. “The guy Max is talking to?”

I glanced over my shoulder. Max was at the ice-cream counter. He was talking to a tall blond. The guy did, indeed, look like someone who would swipe up my friend’s interest in the blink of an eye.

A smile tugged at my lips. “His name is Jake. He’s a friend of Max’s from way back. They ran into each other on campus a few months ago.” Lanna didn’t say anything. She was too busy devouring Jake with her eyes.

“He’s an Econ major, I think,” I told her.

“Where has he been all this time?” she murmured.

“Studying, probably.” I’d only met Jake a few times. He was a nice guy. He didn’t have the cocky attitude I’d stereotypically expected from a guy who looked like he did.

“Smart and hot,” she said with raised eyebrows.

I shrugged. “I guess.” I glanced at her again. She was leaning forward, elbow propped on the table, her chin propped in her hand. I cleared my throat and her gaze slowly, begrudgingly returned to me. “Aren’t you supposed to be working?”

She scowled but got to her feet. The scowl evaporated when Jake looked her way. A flirty smile took its place as she sauntered over to him.

“She’s never going to leave, is she?” Max asked. He handed me my Banana Blitz, double-scoop cone as I slid from the booth.

“No,” I agreed, “I don’t think so.”

Lanna had lasted half a year in Chamberlain. She’d decided to take a year off from school but her boredom got the best of her. After an unexpectedly long winter that lingered on, she’d called, desperate for some sunshine and a visit.

That was months ago. She’d fallen in love with Sapphire Bay, too. I couldn’t blame her since I knew how easy that was to do. It didn’t surprise either Max or me when she’d started dating Darren. That had ended not long after it started. Now, they worked together and got along just fine as friends.

“Good thing we had an extra room,” Max said as he held the door open for me.

I glanced over my shoulder. Lanna was in full flirt mode. Jake looked a little stunned. I silently wished them both good luck.

Max grabbed my free hand with his own as the evening sun blazed low in the sky.

“If we walk fast, we can watch it set,” I said.

Max grinned down at me as we picked up our pace.

We could see the beach house in the distance. Max and his grandparents had come to an agreement. They were selling the house to him for an insanely low price. I knew they’d squabbled over it for weeks. Max had insisted on paying more. They had insisted on taking less. Finally, they’d settled on a number somewhere in the middle. Now, instead of spending money flying back to Chamberlain every few months like he’d offered to do, he’d started making payments on the house.

That wasn’t the only thing that had changed this past year.

There was a diamond ring in the nightstand, on Max’s side of the bed. It wasn’t a secret. He knew that I knew it was there. It had been there for a while. Villette had offered her mother’s ring to Max to give to me. Max had been worried I wouldn’t want an antique. He insisted that I look at the ring first. I did. And I fell in love with it. He wasn’t ready to give it to me yet. He said he wanted to wait for the perfect moment, sometime when I wasn’t expecting it. He still sometimes liked to remind me that we didn’t need to rush anything. And that was just fine. The ring wasn’t going anywhere and neither was Max.

I hadn’t been able to get into Sapphire Bay University winter semester. It worked out okay because I took a full load of general education classes online from Chamberlain University, again. I had gotten in for the upcoming fall, though. I would be picking away at my journalism degree but to be honest, I wasn’t sure it held my heart anymore. I’d been working with Max at the winery. He’d decided the gift shop was not where he wanted to be. He was more interested in production and distribution.

At Villette’s suggestion, I’d started working in the gift shop instead. My jewelry was doing well and since I worked most days, I was able to take special orders. Max’s grandparents had also let me help with ordering new products. They were hoping to pull in a younger crowd so I was thrilled when they let me help decide on new inventory. I was falling more deeply in love with every aspect of the winery and the vineyard every day.

To my surprise, I had the most fun when I was allowed to help with planning and organizing weddings held at Villette Vineyards. I had fun setting out the tables, putting up the decorations and lining up the catering. I was enjoying it so much that I had been tossing around the idea of letting my journalism degree slide so I could concentrate on these new elements of my new life. Working with Max full-time someday held a great deal of appeal.

I wasn’t sure about that yet. And that, I realized, was okay too. I didn’t have to have my future entirely decided. I was young. I had options that I never even knew existed until Max showed them to me.

My parents had come for a visit in the middle of January. They’d gotten along fabulously with Max’s grandparents. I was working at trying to convince them that they should consider Sapphire Bay for their retirement days. Mom was set on Florida. Dad was still partial to Arizona. But after their visit, I thought I could sway them eventually. I was still working on that one.

“Just in time,” Max said as we made our way around the house. We climbed onto the steps and took our places on the porch swing.

“It’s still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” I said as I watched the sun slip completely out of sight.

“I agree,” Max said. When I glanced at him, he wasn’t watching the sun. He was watching me.

I gave him a nudge as I laughed.

“You,” he said as he poked a finger my way, “need to learn to take a compliment.”

“You,” I said as I poked a finger back at him, “make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world.”

He smiled slowly. “Do I?”

I nodded as I ran my fingers along the charms of the bracelet I never took off. “Always.”

“You’re still happy with me?” he asked.

At one time, I thought that things with Max would just get better and better. I’d been right. I couldn’t imagine anything better than falling in love with your best friend. “I’m happier every day. And more in love with you every day, too.”

He pulled me in for a kiss. It was gentle, unhurried and sweet. We had all the time in the world.

We had the promise of forever in our hearts and in the nightstand drawer. While at one time, I may have needed more, this was perfect. I had everything I wanted for now. I had my future before me and it was bright, beautiful and wide open. Most importantly, Max was at the center of it all. What more could a girl ask for?


The End

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