“Thank you for helping me. Really.”
Max dipped his chin, her sincerity and wide, innocent eyes yanking the grumpiness from him and replacing it with something warmer, something that would allow Grace to get away with just about anything. It was so good to see her.
“You’re welcome.” He exhaled and threw a thumb over his shoulder. “You want something?”
“Penicillin,” Grace muttered.
“What?”
“I’m allergic to penicillin. You know? Just in case this happens again.”
Max snorted. “Christ. I hope not. But thanks. That’s good to know.”
“Any time, Rambler.”
“Shut up.” Max turned and headed out of the room. “Vomit Face.”
By Wednesday, Grace was feeling her normal self again. Max had been an angel, all but bending over backward to make sure she had everything she wanted or needed to make her better. He’d stayed until she’d fallen asleep on Monday night after making her toast and tea for lunch, leaving her to snooze while he watched TV and even running her a bath when Grace complained that she could no longer cope with her own gross, sweaty smell. The only negative was that Max had ignored her unsubtle requests for him to join her in the lavender bubbles. He’d grumbled about her being the death of him and left her to soak.
She’d woken Tuesday morning to a handwritten note on the pillow next to her:
Hope you slept. I left a muffin and a latte on the kitchen counter. I’m helping my uncle but I’ll call over later and see how you are. Max.
Grace tried to curtail the butterflies that swarmed as she read his note over and over, trying like hell to not see the caring words as anything more than a friend helping another friend, but it was futile. She was falling faster and harder than she’d ever dared to hope for again and she had no way of stopping it.
“Penny for them,” Holly asked, bumping her hip against Grace’s as Grace’s towel did another circuit of the bar.
Grace startled, knocking a half-filled glass of Heineken and catching it before it toppled completely, earning a smirk from Earl, a huff from Caleb, and a knowing giggle from Holly. Grace had no idea how long she’d been standing there, drifting into space with only her thoughts of Max to keep her company. She felt her cheeks heat and scurried away to serve a couple of regulars.
“Hey, Grace!” Ruby’s voice echoed from the entrance as she all but skipped through it. She was still in her coveralls, covered in grease, having obviously come straight from work, a small pink bow bouncing in her hair. Grace smiled. She still had no idea how such a girly girl as Ruby could love getting so messy while working on the cars she did. It was a dichotomy to which Grace had warmed quickly.
“So, with Josh being away, you know what that means, right?” Ruby literally vibrated where she stood. “Girls’ night!”
Caleb turned to them both from his usual seat at the bar. “Away?”
“Yeah,” Ruby answered. “They’re helping Dad’s friend in Philly. He’s taking a team of them.” She turned back to Grace. “Well?”
Grace laughed, popping the cap and placing a bottle of Diet Pepsi in front of her. “Sounds . . . interesting.”
Ruby rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. You can’t mope for the next week while Max is gone.”
Grace’s shoulders snapped back when Holly and Ruby shared a look. Caleb cleared his throat and eyed her over the lip of his glass as he drained it. “I wouldn’t—why would I? Don’t be silly.”
She blatantly ignored the snickering coming from the others sitting around the bar, who apparently knew that she would, indeed, be wallowing and missing Max like crazy while he was gone. Jesus, she was so transparent and this town was too damn small. “Fine,” she said, blinking slowly. “I’m in.”
Ruby grinned. “Awesome. I’ll call the girls and arrange something for this weekend. Storms are forecast next week so we need to plan now.”
“Storms?”
Ruby waved her off. “Just a little thunder and lightning. We usually get a good few days of them. Clears the air real good.” She sipped the rest of her drink, threw a bill on the bar, and started walking backward toward where she’d appeared. “Now excuse me while I go and abuse my husband in all the ways he loves before he leaves tomorrow.”