Page 50 of A Love So Sweet
Thailand?He’d been working on that deal when she first met him in Nassau. He’d canceled his flight there to officiate the wedding. Her stomach sank.
He ran his hand through his hair, staring out over the bay. “I’m changing things, beginning right now. I’ve got someone important in my life. No more constant traveling. No more foreign acquisitions that consume all of my attention.”
As much as Max knew she should be flattered by what she was hearing, she was too conflicted to enjoy it. There was no forgetting the look in Treat’s eyes when he told her how his work provided the biggest thrill he’d ever known. She braced herself as he came inside.
“Hey, sweetness. Sorry about that.” He kissed her cheek, refilled his coffee cup, and sat at the table as though the tense phone conversation had never happened.
“Everything okay?”
“Fine, why?”
“Nothing. I just thought…Never mind.” More worries burrowed into her. She’d been eavesdropping. She couldn’t come out and ask about what she’d overheard.
He reached for her hand, and Max said, “If you have to do something for work, I totally understand. Don’t let me hold you up. I can catch an earlier flight.”
“There’s nothing I have to do.”
Max swore there was a hint of discomfort in his response, and she worried that even if it started as a hint, it could grow to something much bigger. She knew couples who gave up too much for their relationship could end up resenting each other. In the back of her mind, she’d always wondered if that had been the thing that had changed Ryan. Since he’d studied hotel management and could likely find a job anywhere, he’d agreed to move to wherever she found a job. He’d been prepared to relinquish any goals he’d been reaching for in his career in order for Max to follow her dreams.And then he ended up hating me for it.
She decided not to ruin their day with her worries and tabled her thoughts as much as she could. By midafternoon temperatures had risen, and they took a walk along the beach.
“I’ve never been a beach walker until that night in Nassau.” Treat lifted their interlaced fingers and kissed her hand.
She loved knowing that. “I guess we’ve got a world of firsts between us, then, because I’ve never been a masseuse or had anyone give me a foot massage.”
“Really? You’ve never had a foot massage? Well, sweetness, I’ll be sure to take care of that from now on.”
The tide was beginning to come in. They went down to the jetty and walked the length of it as the bay rose along the edge of the enormous rocks. Treat looked out over the water with his brows drawn together. Max had been watching his face go from placid to contemplative throughout the morning. She was dying to ask about Thailand, but she knew that if she brought it up, he’d tell her he would change his life for her without ever looking back. The thought of him giving up the aspects of his career that brought him such joy scared her. She couldn’t shake the prickly reminder that being the impetus for such a major change was not a good thing. An intelligent, successful, overachiever like Treat would eventually get bored and blame her for everything he never had a chance to accomplish.
The thought weighed heavily on Max’s mind all afternoon. They ate dinner at the Bookstore Restaurant by the harbor, and despite the cozy atmosphere and the beautiful evening, Max was too sidetracked to eat.
“Are you all right?” Treat asked.
“Just tired.” She feigned a smile.
“That would be my fault for keeping you up so late the last two nights. I’ll let you sleep tonight.”
She reached for his hand, intending to ask him about the call, but before she could say a word, he said, “Max, I thought we should talk about what we want to do after this weekend is up.”
She swallowed against the dull pain in the pit of her stomach. Now was her chance to let him off the hook, give him an easy out to say he needed to spend a few weeks away. She clenched her napkin in her fists beneath the table and said, “I’ll be swamped at work, and I’m sure you will be, too.”
“Never too swamped to spend time with you.”
She loved him so much, but was this a fantasy? Could he really be happy giving up a piece of himself? Maybe she could go with him? Follow his career wherever it took them? Chaz had already said she could telecommute. But would she be happy traveling all over the world? Treat had built an empire, and she knew he needed the excitement of chasing down resorts and handling tough negotiations. He was a mover and a shaker, while she was a homebody. Abrokenhomebody. She never knew when the issues from her past would pop up again, and though she knew for certain Treat would help her through them, part of her wondered if that was fair to him.
“Max? What am I feeling here?”
“Aren’t guys supposed to hate talking about their feelings?” she asked.
“Not your guy,” he said as he paid the bill.
They drove back to the bungalow and sat together under thick blankets on the back deck, watching the night sky bloom above the bay. Max wished she could freeze the evening right then and never have to make another decision.
“Are you ready to talk to me yet?” Treat asked.
Max’s head rested against his chest, and she desperately wanted to tell him no, she didn’t want to talk about it at all. They’d go back to their normal lives and either it would work out between them or it wouldn’t. She wanted to tell him to go through with the acquisition of the Thailand property and not to put his life on hold for her—but she wanted to hold on to him for dear life and never let him go just as much. She’d once worried about trust, but lack of trust would have been easier to deal with than what was looming over her like a waiting storm. Being the reason he gave up what he loved versus holding on to him forever was a tug-of-war that had no winner.
He pulled her closer, and she closed her eyes, allowing herself once again to play with thoughts of spending every night with him, or being there for him when he returned from work. She realized she didn’t even have a handle on what it was that he really did beyond buying resorts.
