Page 79 of Tide and Seek
“Good,” I said before I could stop the word from slipping out.
She flinched.“I don’t blame you for being angry.His behavior was disrespectful as hell.But James is a good guy, he’s just going through some stuff right now.”
I studied her, shaking my head.“Good lord, C.J.Is there anyone you’d give up on?You have a kind word to say about everyone.”
Her cheeks tinted pink.“That’s not true.I… I swore at the box boy who dropped my eggs last week and broke every single one.I’m no saint.”
“You monster.”I smiled faintly.“I’m glad you’re Max’s friend.He doesn’t have enough friends, and you’re a good soul, C.J.”
“How can you say that when it’s all my fault James almost kissed your boyfriend?”Guilt shimmered in her eyes.
“Because you had good intentions.I don’t blame you for James trying to kiss Max—I blame James.James didn’t have good intentions.He wanted Max to dump me, and that’s not cool.”
“Royce—”
I held up my hand.“Don’t worry.I don’t hate James.I think he has problems and he’s not handling them well, but I don’t hold any ill will toward him.”I was exaggerating my generous feelings toward James, but that was for the best.I didn’t need C.J.to feel like she had to take sides.
“Thanks, Royce.”C.J.’s smile was warm.“Max took forever to fall in love, but when he finally did it, he picked a good one.”
I gave an embarrassed grimace.“I don’t know about that.Frankly, I’m the lucky one,” I said gruffly, and headed back to Maxwell’s beach house.
****
When Max got home, I was out on the back patio cleaning the grill.I went inside to greet him but found he’d gone straight upstairs.I could hear his footsteps moving around, and the sounds of drawers opening and closing.I waited by the kitchen island for a bit, expecting him to come downstairs, but he took so long, I decided to keep cleaning the grill.I did find it odd he hadn’t at least popped his head outside to say hello, though.
I couldn’t help wondering why he’d been in such a hurry to get upstairs.Hopefully it had nothing to do with the weirdness of last night at C.J.’s party, when James had overstepped.Was it possible what happened between them last night had made Max realize he still had feelings for James?
That unwanted thought broke me out in a cold sweat.I didn’t want to believe it could be true, but it was possible.They’d had an intimate relationship in the past.Maybe when James had made a move on Max, it had reawakened deeper feelings.Although, everything had seemed fine between Max and me when we went to bed.He hadn’t been standoffish.In fact, he’d held tight to me as if needing my comfort.But he had been a little uptight this morning, and vague about when he’d be back from his appointment with Jane.
It took about twenty minutes, but eventually I heard the sliding glass door open behind me.Turning, I expected to see Max changed into something more comfortable, but he was still wearing the same charcoal suit he’d put on for his meeting with Jane.What had he been doing upstairs if not changing?
“Hey,” I said, straightening and forcing a smile.I hoped he couldn’t see the strain on my face as I moved to him and leaned in for a kiss.His mouth was tense beneath mine, and my paranoia about James spiked.His body language was cool and not at all what I was used to when kissing him.When the awkward kiss ended, I asked, “How’d things go with Jane?”
“Fine.Good, actually.”Max’s voice was pleasant, but I caught the tension around his eyes.“We adjusted the insurance amount to account for any appreciation in the value of my collection.”
“That’s great.I’m glad Jane thought of that.”I moved away toward the railing near the table, trying to play it cool.
“Me too.”He shifted uneasily.“Jane gave me the number of a storage company she uses.While I was at her office, I called and arranged for them to pack up my collection the day after we leave.They’ll store everything in a temperature-controlled unit.”
“Sounds perfect.”I was relieved at least he was talking like he still planned on living in Rainy Dale with me.That was a good sign.
“Yeah, I can’t believe I didn’t do that the first time I left.”
“Don’t beat yourself up.As you’ve said before, you never intended to stay away permanently.”
“No, I didn’t.”He frowned.“It took me by surprise.Sometimes I still can’t believe I live in Rainy Dale.”He didn’t sound particularly pleased.
An awkward silence fell.
I don’t care if that’s in Rainy Dale or Siberia, you’re the thing I need to be near.
Max had said that to me on this very trip.I wanted to hold on to that, and believe it was true.But what if what happened with James had changed things for him?Would he know how to tell me?Would he stay with me even if he wanted to be with James out of loyalty?Guilt?
“Uh… you were gone longer than I expected today.”I waited for him to elaborate on what had taken so long, but he just stood there, one hand behind his back, looking nervous.“I wasn’t sure what you wanted to do for food.Did you want to have a late lunch, or early dinner?”
“Either is fine.”He avoided my gaze, instead looking past me to the ocean.
Yeah, it wasn’t my imagination.He was acting weird.“Did you want to go out to eat tonight?”I nudged.“You were talking about maybe having sushi one night.I’m good with that.”
