Page 11 of The Charming Checklist
“Maybe if she’s interested in dating, she should be the one meeting people. Just a suggestion.”
Her phone rang. “This is her now. Honey, get over to the Crow’s Nest right now. I’ve got a live one!”
And Max indeed felt like a fish caught in a net, wriggling with all his might to get back into the water where he could breathe. He was going to have to lodge a complaint with this particular service. This kind of bait and switch was inexcusable. Completely unprofessional. Then again, he’d been warned about fake online dating profiles. He knew better, too.
Who’s the desperate one now?
No time to get bogged down in emotions. This was the time to make decisions and take action.
“Betty, I’m going to go.” He stood. “Lovely meeting you. Say hi to your granddaughter.”
“Hurry, hurry, he’s leaving!” Betty screeched into the phone.
Max walked outside into the cool evening. A red cast clung to the evening sky. Might be a good time for a late-night surf. Maybe he could talk Cole into coming along. The buddy system was always best, and Max was nothing if not cautious.
Or maybe he should just go home and pull his profile off every one of these services.
No point in wasting any more of his valuable time.
He drove home, his thoughts on Ava. She’d suggested that he pretend to be her boyfriend at her upcoming family birthday dinner. The idea wasn’t really crazy and wouldn’t be a waste of his time. Maybe they could arrange a trade of some kind. He decided then and there that he was going to take her up on the invitation.
Thiswasn’tbecause Ava intrigued him. No, he had to reject that theory outright. But he wouldn’t mind spending at least one evening with her. Simply a test, to find out if she had an off switch.
He refused to entertain the idea that he was interested in Ava. That attraction was purely physical, and he understood animal magnetism more than most.
And it wasn’t ridiculous to want something deeper.
Chapter Four
On Monday morning, Ava unlocked the office of the Chamber of Commerce. They were located smack-dab in the middle of downtown next to the Charming Community Bank. Redbrick siding and the US flag next to the Texas one distinguished it from being just another business. Inside the small office she had a desk, computer monitor, printer, and dozens of pamphlets and Charming city maps featuring area businesses. She had her second French press, and a tub of her personally roasted beans in an airtight plastic container. But every morning she made coffee for one, unless she had an appointment with a new business owner in town, in which case she made enough for two.
Everyone raved about her coffee, asking where they could buy some.
She settled in for a slow morning, composed of any last-minute fires she might have to put out. Last week, the website had inexplicably stopped working and refused to allow her to log in. She regularly updated a welcome post on the front page and had a small stroke when she couldn’t. Several hours on the phone with their hosting company, she had an update to their plug-ins, and was back in business.
Please, no more fires to put out.
This was her birthday week, after all, and she had enough to contend with, what with her family coming to torture her.
She checked her email and responded to several inquiries about joining the Chamber of Commerce and how that might help their business thrive. This was where Ava went into her sales mode. But truthfully, a business would do fine without the fanfare of their big ribbon-cutting ceremonies and their annual Mr. Charming contest, in which a business owner or employee could win a cash prize to do with as they pleased. Most upgraded their storefronts, but many used it for personal reasons. To Ava, the Chamber was really about community, like so many other things that mattered in a small town. She was here to support any business owner who needed her because everyone could use a cheerleader.
She went over a few last-minute details on the mayor’s anniversary party a little over a week from now. When there was a lull in the morning, Ava pulled out her business plan and looked it over. This version had been rejected by their own local bank. Bill, the loan officer, had been close to tears when he’d given Ava the bad news. She’d actually wound up consoling him.
Maybe if she made a few changes here and there. She rummaged through her top drawer for her red pen.
The glass door swung open, and Ava looked up, smile ready. “Welcome to... Oh hi, Max.”
“Hey.”
He was dressed in board shorts and a Salty Dog T-shirt. Ava rarely saw him this dressed down. His wavy dark hair was slightly windblown and for the first time she noticed the natural copper highlights. It appeared he hadn’t shaved, and Max always shaved. His skin was sun-kissed and bronzed. He might have just come from the beach. She got a good look at his sinewy biceps, the cords in his forearms bunching.
Over a year ago when Max and Cole had taken over the Salty Dog, it had been Max who’d come down to sign them up for a membership. Even then, he’d been dressed for success in slacks and a white button-up. No tie. He’d warmly shaken her hand and told her how important it was to him to be part of a small-town business community. Ava realized that Max and Cole didn’t need to be chamber members for their continued success as a historic location and the only bar in the town. But Max, like her, thought it was important.
Stuffing the business plan back in her top desk drawer, she folded her hands. “What can I do for you?”
He took a seat. “It’s more what I can do for you.”
Her skin tightened at the sweet sound of his words. “Thatsounds intriguing.”
