Page 8 of A Love So Sweet
“Don’t fool yourself. You’re wise when it comes to business, but maybe not so much when it comes to the mysterious ways of women. Be ready for the party at seven. You’re going with me.”
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Chapter Five
WHY THE HECK had Max given Treat her number? More bothersome, why hadn’t he called? She had taken out her battery and rebooted her phone twice and had been checking her messages like she had OCD. She didn’t know why she even hoped he’d call. He was a man with many resources. He could have tracked her down any time after she left the resort, and he hadn’t. She was a fool to have played right into his hands again, sweet apology or not. He was in town to visit his father. Chances were he’d forgotten about Max the minute he’d walked away.The same way he did after Nassau.Maybe seeing her had simply sparked a memory, and he felt guilty for judging her. Well, she’d take that guilty apology over nothing any day, even if she hadn’t been ready to accept it.
Now, if she could only stop thinking about him.
“Max, you’ve done it again,” Chaz said as they left the festival that evening. They had reviewed the day’s financial reports, and it was obvious that he was still thinking about their overwhelming success. It was only the first day, and they had already almost matched the previous year’s total festival revenue.
“Not me, boss.Wedid it. At least the first day went off without a hitch.” She’d been sure Chaz would say something about how weird she’d acted around Treat, but he hadn’t mentioned him at all. Maybe she’d gotten lucky and no one else had noticed how uncomfortable she’d been, either.
“Don’t forget, you said you’d do the after-party swing tonight. I can’t wait to go home and see Trevor and Lexi. It’s been a long day.” Chaz and Kaylie had been married for just shy of two months, but their twins were two years old.
The after-parties were one of the highlights of the film festival, where locals and fans could mingle with celebrities, dance the night away, and take home expensive swag to boot. But Max wasn’t the partying type, and tonight of all nights, she wasn’t in the mood to pretty herself up and play nice. Maybe she could get out of it.
“Aren’t the kids asleep by now?”
“Yes, but I still like to peek in on them. Besides, they’reasleep.” He raised his eyebrows. “We’re still newlyweds, after all.”
“Come on, Chaz,” she pleaded. “You know I hate these things.”
“It’ll do you some good. You spend too much time working and not enough time socializing. Get out there, Max, and have some fun. Meet a nice guy and let him wine and dine you.”
“I’d rather wine and dine myself while reading on the comfort of my own couch.”
“Max…”
He gave her his I’m-counting-on-you look. The one she’d never been able to deny. “Fine! But you owe me one.”
“Add it to the other million I owe you,” he said as he walked away.
MAX STOOD IN her bedroom staring at her closet, which looked more like a teenager’s than that of an almost-thirty-year-old woman, with too many T-shirts, sweatshirts, and jeans and not nearly enough grown-up clothes. She inspected the few dresses she owned, then selected two short black numbers and hung them on the closet door. One was tight fitting with a plunging neckline, leaving very little to the imagination, while the other was more conservative with a ring neck and slit pockets at the hips. Kaylie had convinced her to buy the one with the plunging neckline before the wedding, and when she and Treat had first met, she couldn’t wait to wear it for him. But the hours they’d spent in each other’s arms had come with no warning. She hadn’t even had time to change out of her jeans when he’d dragged her out of the restaurant and swept her away for the next several hours. Even though they were the most incredible few hours of her life, when he’d invited her to his room, she’d held back, afraid of the overwhelming emotions that had swamped her. A few hours later, he’d seen her with Justin, and the desire to look sexy had disappeared.
Maybe she should have run after him, cleared up the situation right away. But the awful look he’d given her had thrown her right back to the boyfriend she’d thought she’d known who had turned on her with a vengeance. Max was brave, but she wasn’t brave enough to walk directly into potential fire. She needed to remember that now, as she romanticized Treat and his apology.
Her cell phone rang, and for the second time that day, Max froze.
Her phone sat in the middle of her bed, lighting up like a beacon. Her traitorous heart went wild, hoping it was Treat. The incoming phone number came up asrestricted. Her mind raced through scenarios. What would she say if it was Treat? What wouldhesay? What if he asked her out? Should she go? She wanted to go, despite everything. He’d apologized, hadn’t he? Even if she’d pretended she didn’t know what he was talking about.
She stared at the ringing phone as if it were a land mine. Her mind reeled, but she couldn’t hold back. As she’d done the night she’d fallen into Treat’s arms, she threw caution to the wind and dove for it, quickly pushing the green icon. “Hello? Hello?”
She was met with dead air.
Max ended the call and banged her head against the mattress. She waited for her message light to blink, and when it didn’t, she pushed to her feet with disgust.
“You’re such a fool,” she said to her reflection in the mirror. She stripped off her clothes on the way to the bathroom and stepped angrily into the shower. “An idiot, achicken.” She scrubbed her scalp so hard she was sure she was leaving scratches.
By the time she dried off, she’d calmed down a little and thought maybe it was better this way. No hard decisions to make, no trying to figure out if he was going to be like her ex, sweet one minute and crazy the next. She dried her hair and fluffed it into a sultry style around her face, then assessed herself in the mirror. She looked pretty good.
Max hadn’t been on a date since her night with Treat. Not that she dated much anyway. She’d been denying her sexual urges for years—literally—because of the frightening scenario that had unfolded in the bedroom with her ex, Ryan Cobain.
She could do better than a man who would judge her, and as an idea formed in her head, a hopeful grin lifted her lips.
Maybe it was time she broke that wretched streak and forgot Treat altogether. It wasn’t in her nature to pick up a man, and even the thought of it petrified her. But a distraction from her past, and from Treat, was just what she needed to move on. She was confident in every aspect of her life except the one Ryan had ruined for her, and she hated that. Though she wasn’t sure how to get past it.
Everything started with baby steps, right? If she could get out there and flirt a little, she’d have people other than Treat to think about. That was a good place to begin. First she needed to lookhot, not just good.
