Page 35 of A Love So Sweet
She’d been surveying them so intently, she’d forgotten he’d asked. “Oh, sorry. We met at a friend’s wedding.”
“Cousin Blake’s wedding. Remember? You were all too busy to attend.” Dane glared at Hugh.
“What? I had an award ceremony.” Hugh’s eyebrows drew together, as if he didn’t understand what the issue was.
“Don’t you always?” Dane said. He was as quippy as Hugh was clueless to what Max was sure his siblings saw as his self-centeredness.
“Oh, please. You ran off to some shark-infested area and missed it, too,” Rex said, and shoved a hunk of steak into his mouth.
“At least I made an appearance first, which is more than I can say for any of you,” Dane said with a smirk.
Max enjoyed their banter, so different from her own family’s silent meals. She couldn’t help but wonder what it must be like to have that many siblings—that many people who would be there for her.
“We were supporting Hugh,” Savannah explained.
“Right, for his five minutes of fame that he gets every couple of months. How long has it been since you’ve seen Blake?” Dane asked.
“For your information, I spoke to Blake and Danica and they completely understood. Forgiveness is a beautiful thing,” Savannah said with a pointed expression. “Of all people, Dane, I’d think you’d understand that. It’s not like they’ll never talk to us again, or hold a grudge.”
Silence settled around them, and Max swore tension rose like a fog as each of Treat’s siblings visibly made a concerted effort not to look at Hal, except Rex, who was glowering at him. It was then she remembered what Treat had said about his father holding a grudge. She pushed the food around on her plate with her fork, trying not to look like she wanted to flee. Her mind traveled back to her conversation with Treat about what had happened to her with Ryan, and the pain that accompanied those thoughts returned. Was forgiveness a beautiful thing? She wasn’t sure she could ever forgive Ryan for what he’d done to her. She’d run away and had never given him a chance to apologize. Not that she wanted an apology.
He doesn’t deserve the right to clear his mind.
But do I?
“You know, Blake spent a lot of time with us when we were younger, and you get married only once,” Dane said, bringing Max’s mind back to the moment.
She had a feeling he was trying to ease the mounting tension.
“As far as I can tell, none of my brothers are walking down the aisle anytime soon,” Savannah said as she buttered a piece of bread.
“Max, have you ever been married?” Hugh asked.
She was about to take a drink and stopped midair.
“Hugh.” All it took was one word and a harsh glare from Hal for everyone at the table to understand that that line of questioning was off-limits—including Max.
The talk quickly turned to the lighter topics. They asked Max about her job and raved about the festival. Other than the one blip about forgiveness, the meal was comfortable and, Max had to admit, aside from the time she spent with Treat, it was more fun than anything she’d done in a very long time. She tried to picture what it might be like to be there with Treat. How much ribbing would he dole out? What kind of teasing would they thrust upon him? How would he act around her? Would he be openly affectionate, as he usually was with her, or would he be more reserved around his family?
She needed to find him before she got sucked into hours of entertainment watching his siblings taunt each other. “Thank you for the lovely meal, but I’m afraid I really need to go.”
The entire family walked her to her car.Do they do everything together?
“Do you know if Treat has left town yet, or was he called away locally?” Max asked.
“Yes, darlin’,” Hal answered. “He was planning on leaving later, but he received a call this morning and ran out in a hurry.”
“Okay. Thank you again for the meal.” Max reached for her car door as Hal reached for her, drawing her into his arms again and holding her longer than most friends might. He held her like a father might hold his daughter. Sad about missing Treat, Max struggled to suppress the emotions bubbling up inside her over his warm and welcoming family.
“This was fun,” Savannah said. “You should come by with Treat sometime. He’ll be upset that he missed you.”
In the next breath she was being crushed in Savannah’s embrace. After being passed from brother to brother for goodbye hugs, Max finally climbed into her car and drove away. When she was out of eyeshot, she pulled over to the side of the road to check her messages. Her heart leapt at the sound of Treat’s voice.Hi, sweetness. I had to head out earlier than planned and was slammed with calls from the second I left. I’m stuck in meetings all day, but will try to call you tonight. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow night.
With a smile on her face, she made a split-second decision to surprise him. She left a quick message—Can’t wait to see you, too! Good luck with your meetings—and called the travel agent she used for the festival. When it came to travel, Selena Shirlington could make miracles happen, which was exactly what Max needed.
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Chapter Sixteen
