Page 78 of The Charming Checklist
Chapter Twenty-Two
Max worked a bartending shift on Thursday night, giving him a relief from all the mental self-flagellating. Forced to focus his energy on mixing cocktails, not his expertise, he could stop thinking about Ava. For a change.
He poured dry chardonnay for Twyla, sitting on a bar stool in front of him tonight. She’d recently started coming around him far too often. The previous afternoon she’d trapped him on the street as he walked by, peppering him with questions about Cole and Valerie’s wedding day. Dropping supersize hints that she, too, was in the market for permanent. For family and children. That she’d heard he was, too. He’d half listened and then...he’d sensed her. Ava, watching him and Twyla.
She’d stood just outside the door to the Chamber of Commerce and given him a look filled with such longing and pain that he’d been sucker punched. By the time he’d extricated himself from Twyla, walking a few feet away hoping that she wouldn’t follow, Ava was gone.
Later, he told himself that was a good thing, because he’d have probably kissed the stuffing out of her and begged her to let him take her home. That wasn’t the smartest move. He had to besmartabout the rest of his life.
“So, Max,” Twyla said. “I’ve got an extra ticket to the Bangles reunion concert next week. Want to go with me?”
That stopped him short. Ava had wanted to go to that concert. He’d told her in no uncertain terms he’d rather be dragged through the desert and left for dead. She’d laughed, kissed him and hadn’t asked again. He figured she’d go with Valerie. Now he wondered if she was going at all. And damn, she was cute when she sang every terrible song off-key. To him, it had seemed fitting for the music he could barely tolerate. But the least he could have done was take her to the damn concert. He could have worn earplugs.
“No, thanks. I have plans.” He wiped the bar.
“I didn’t tell you what day.” She pouted.
“Doesn’t matter. I’m busy all week.”
Fortunately, he had more customers, and Debbie brought over some orders to fill. He got busy mixing mojitos, daiquiris, cosmos, with the occasional shot of tequila or whiskey for the “cowboy” crowd. Eventually Twyla must have lost interest and left, saving him from being downright rude.
One of their regulars came in and wanted a cup of coffee.
“I’m sorry about this.” Max winced as he poured. “We’re getting better coffee in soon.”
The man gave him a puzzled look. “Tastes fine to me.”
Dangerously close to lecturing him on the swill he’d just served, Max simply shook his head. “Good to hear. Maybe I’m too picky.”
Not everyone had the kind of palate that would distinguish one coffee bean from another. He’d been trying to find a reason that he loved her, but it hit him that there were a dozen little things about Ava that made him love her. They were small things, sure, but effectively, they were bigger than he’d realized. They gave her character, made her lovable and unique. Somehow, he’d fallen for some of herflaws.Weird.
And then he reached an epiphany. There was one way he could get Ava back. One way he could show her how much she meant to him. She’d never doubt him again. This was the thing to do. He finally had his answer.
He grabbed a cocktail napkin and a pen and started writing.
By the time Adam waltzed out from the kitchen, apron hanging over his shoulder, Max was on his third napkin.
“How about a cold beer?” Adam took a stool. His shift was at an end.
“Sure,” Max said and kept writing.
After a couple of minutes, Adam spoke up. “Today?”
“Yeah, hang on.”
“What’s that you’re writing?” Adam grabbed a napkin and started reading. “Oh, yeah. This is good.”
Max grunted. “Are you yanking my chain?”
“No, I mean it. Mandy would have loved this. Hell, all women love this kind of stuff.”
“I feel like an idiot, but if this is what it takes to get her back, to really have her be mine, it’s probably the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”
“Considering where we’ve been, I’d have to agree.”
Finished, Max stuffed the napkins in his back pocket. “I have a big ask. Man the bar for me, would you? I have something to do and I don’t want to wait. Call Cole if you have any questions.”
He ran home to change first, because the first night of the rest of his life deserved a suit. When Ava wasn’t home, Max texted Valerie.
