He sounds sincere, but I take it with a grain of salt. It doesn’t matter anyway; even if he was interested in something more, I’m not planning to get involved with him, or see him anywhere after tonight except in class.
CHAPTER 10
CALLIE
“Have you been here before?” Max asks when I pull into the lot he indicates.
“No, I don’t come up this way too often.”
“I’ve heard really good things about it. There’s a patio out back with a great view, but we’ll stay inside tonight where it’s warm.” Max’s towel, and the heat in the car, did a decent job of drying me off, but parts of me are still damp from the rain.
He opens the restaurant door for me, and after we peruse the menu board and place our orders, he steps in front of the register and pulls out his wallet.
I nudge him aside. “I’ve got it. You fixed my car.”
He stands firm. “I didn’t fix your car; I just got it started. You need a new battery, and since you won’t let me buy one for you, you can at least let me pay for dinner.”
I can tell it won’t do any good to protest, so I back down. I really appreciate his kindness, and I hope he’s not expecting anything in return.
Though, as I observe him being effortlessly charming with the woman at the counter, and see her getting distracted by the impressive muscles on his arms, I realize it wouldn’t be a terrible hardship to repay him with sexual favors. Ana appears on my shoulder wearing a devil costume, cheering on these dirty thoughts, but I brush her away.
“Thank you for dinner,” I tell him as we gather silverware and sauces at the condiment counter.
“My pleasure. I hope the food tastes as good as it smells.” There’s a sweet and spicy aroma coming from the kitchen, like Old Bay seasoning, but his comment triggers something that’s been working in the back of my mind.
Max smells really good—I noticed it as soon as he got in my car and again now, as I reach in front of him to pull napkins out of the dispenser. He has a sharp citrus scent that reminds me of the sea breeze or a refreshing dip in a pool. The odd thing is that he’s wearing a different scent than I’ve detected on him in yoga class.
Is it normal for a man to change up his cologne during the day? Rick always wore the same one all day, every day.
In any case, Max’s cologne or aftershave, or whatever it is, makes me want to run my nose along his skin to gather a deep lungful of his warmth. Intentionally, I take a step back and put some distance between us. I’m noticing way too many things about this man.
We get drinks at the fountain, and then Max leads me to a table in the corner where he pulls out a chair for me. “So, when is this wedding of the century happening?”
“In about a week.”
His brows arch. “Oh, that soon?”
“Yeah. And apparently, I’m throwing it all into jeopardy by not providing my date’s name so a place card can be made.”
“It would be a shame if your sister can’t get married, all because one place card is missing.” His teasing tone makes me smile.
“A terrible shame.”
He takes a drink of his soda, then casually says, “Luckily, I have a solution for you.”
“What’s that? Buy two tickets to Vegas, so my sister can elope?”
His grin notches higher, deepening the dimple in his cheek. “Not a bad idea, but that wasn’t what I had in mind.”
“I’m listening…”
“I’ll be your date.”
For some reason, my brain goes into slow motion, because at first, I think he’s referring to right now, the dinner we’re having together, and calling it a date. It takes a long moment—embarrassingly long—for me to realize he’s offering to accompany me to the wedding.
When I finally get the picture, I rush to reply. “Oh, no, I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t ask. I offered.”
