Page 3 of The Charming Checklist
When she came back, she seemed a little flushed. “I never do this.”
“You never do what?”
“Take a chance like this one.” She removed a room key from her purse and didn’t meet his eyes. “I got us a room for the night. Max, you’re the sexiest man I’ve ever met.”
He blinked. Of all the things he expected, this was the last. “Uh, thanks—”
“I hope I’m not being too aggressive, but a woman in my profession just doesn’t meet men who look like you. And I’m a modern woman withneeds. Know what I mean? What do you say?”
Damn. Something a little like relief rolled through him, like the time he thought he’d blown the officer’s exam, only to find he’d had the highest score in years. But this was certainly an unexpected turn of events. He really liked Grace, but he wanted to check out who else might be out there, and it seemed unfair to sleep with her and then move on. That’s not what this was about. From now on, he would save himself for his future wife.
When he didn’t respond for several seconds, she licked her lips and palmed his thigh. “I hope I haven’t ruined things between us now.”
And then the scariest thought of all suddenly hit Max: he did notwantto sleep with this woman! This didn’t make sense, as she was beautiful, not crazy, and he should at least betempted. He was tempted every time he saw Ava, after all, and she was wrong for him on every level.
“Not at all,” Max lied. “But I have other plans tonight. I’ll call you.”
Chapter Two
Ava Long sat at the bar sipping her Coffee Keoke and avoiding thoughts of her birthday next week. Her entire family would be making their annual trek from Dallas to Charming to check on her plans for world domination. Both of her parents, Dr. and Dr. Long, and her brothers, Dr. Long and Dr. Long. Not thatshecalled them that, just everyone else did. It became confusing at times.
Yes, I’m Dr. Long and I’m here to meet Dr. Long and Dr. Long. We have reserved a table for five.
A birthday should be a time of celebration, but for her it was a time of explanation. She was beginning to resent it. They couldn’t seem to accept that she was happy and satisfied with her life. She lived in Charming, a small bucolic town on the Gulf Coast with beautiful beaches, a nonworking lighthouse and quaint cottages. Her job single-handedly running the Chamber of Commerce meant that she met a lot of the residents and business owners. She thrived in her position, helping others, coordinating events and parties for the business community. Occasionally working closely with the mayor, Tippi Goodwill.
Of course, she hadn’t made much progress on heractualdream, but her family was even less excited about that.
“Another coffee?” Cole asked.
“No, I’m okay.”
“Hey, did you notice Max was wearing a suit?” Cole polished a glass.
Oh boy, had she. Hard not to. Max in a suit was like a Latin James Bond. Tall. Dark. Shaken, not stirred. Could kill you with one finger.
“He’s dating.”
“Really?Max?”
She figured that Max would neverdate.He’d just go up to a woman, entice her and take her back to his place. She’d come along willingly because, seriously,Max Del Toro. End of story. Though he probably wouldn’t be a good date because he was grumpy all the time and talked very little. Even less to Ava. She usually did all the talking around him. Tonight, she’d gotten more than two words out of him but that was rare.
“Yeah, he signed up with the online dating services.”
Why on earth Max would sign up for a dating service? Even tonight, the beautiful and very available Twyla couldn’t take her eyes off him.
“Which one?”
“All of them.”
“Allof them?”
“Max’s an overachiever. He’s the guy you always wanted to have your back. Pretty sure he thinks he can find the perfect wife just by working hard at the task.”
“A wife? He wants to getmarried?”
“That’s what he says. Says its time. I tried to tell him love doesn’t work that way, but he wouldn’t listen. He puts a lot of faith in logic, but love isn’t logical half the time. Is it?”
“I guess not.”
