by Erin Bevan
And half of the time, if it hadn’t been for Mr. and Mrs. Mills, Max wouldn’t have had much to wear from the time he was five until he was about twelve, when he started his own lawn mowing business to help provide for him and his mom.
But looking back, all that struggle and all that pain had been worth it, to get him where he was today. Able to marry the one woman in the world he’d always loved and help her in her time of need.
But it still amazed him, through his whole sordid past, a girl like Alex had stayed friends with him all these years. She’d been with him from the time she laid eyes on him, seeing something in him he didn’t even see in himself. Everything he’d become was because of Alex. If it hadn’t been for the help of her mother and father showing him what a loving parent duo truly was, and her showing him what a true friend was, who knows where he would be? Probably dead in some ditch somewhere. She’d been his rock when his mother died.
There was never a doubt in his mind he wouldn’t be there for Alex in her time of need, and for this baby, too. It might not be his, but he would love it, nurture it, and be a dad to it that the child wouldn’t have otherwise. The dad he always wished he had. And if it was a little girl, God help him. He’d have two girls he was head over heels for.
“Descending for landing, sir.” One of the pilot’s voices came over the speakers. He wasn’t sure if it was George or Lee.
“Alex.” Max moved his shoulder a little to wake her up. “We’re landing.”
“Huh? What?” She sat up and stared around, her blonde hair a little wild in the back. He took his palm and smoothed it down.
“We’re landing.”
“Oh, my gosh. I fell asleep. I’m so sorry.” She squinted her eyes, regaining her focus. “Where are we?”
“It’s okay. I could tell you were tired, and we’re in Fayetteville. No one will know us here.”
“Fayetteville?” Alex looked out the window. “You flew me all the way to the top of the state for a date?”
“I would have flown you to the top of the country, but we have a limited amount of time. Besides, I have something else planned for us after we shop.”
The jet started its steady descent and his stomach fell with the aircraft. Alex’s must have rumbled, too, because she held it, her face turning pal.
“You okay? You look like you’re going to be sick.” He glanced beside him for a bucket, trashcan, anything.
“Fine. Just a bit of nausea. I’ll be okay once we start walking, and I have some mints in my purse. They’ll help.”
Note to self: buy more mints.
“It’s about a ten-minute drive to the stores, then we can walk as much as you want.”
“I’m not sure how long we will be shopping, Max. I haven’t got that much saved for this yet. Actually, I haven’t even thought of it yet. I’m just trying to get through these next few weeks without being found out.”
“Who’s going to find out?”
She hadn’t really started showing yet, and as long as he could help keep her sickness at bay, everything would be fine.
Alex sighed. “Tawana knows about the baby.”
Tawana. Of course. The woman remained a stumbling block everywhere they turned.
“She made it clear if she finds out for certain, she’s taking my job. She said…” Alex bit her lip.
“She said what, Alex?” Max rubbed his forehead, tension causing his insides to harden.
“She said it wasn’t right that I get the job and the man. She implied a woman would be after your money, and I hope you know that was never a thought in my mind.”
After him for his money? Ludicrous. From the moment The Evil Queen placed her red claws on his arm, he had her pegged. Money hungry. But he didn’t care because he wouldn’t have allowed her to get very far. But Alex after his money was like a fire seeking water.
Max grabbed Alex’s hands, rubbing his thumb over the veins in her wrists. Her pulse beat somewhat frantically. “Alex, never have I ever thought you were friends with me for my money. It’s me, Max.” He gave her hands a little tug. “Hey, look at me.” She raised her tear-dotted eyes to meet his gaze. “Don’t cry.” He pulled her into his shoulder. “I’m the boy who barely had any clothes growing up. Remember? The boy you drove to school almost every day and to my first job after school until I could save up to get my own car. Remember me? Remember that Max? The one who got his name from the local firefighters.”
The chief had once told him since he had a shit start in life, the firemen figured they could give him a name that sounded like something. Maximilian Caldwell. Buchanan came from his adoptive father, his parents liked his name so much they decided to keep it. What no one had thought about was how hard it was for a young boy to spell. But he’d always desired to live up to his illustrious sounding name.
“I may have a few flashier things now, but I’m still that guy, and you’re still that girl. Good, kind, sweet, Alex. My Alex. Don’t worry about Tawana. She’s just jealous.”
“I just wish she’d really go away, ya know?” She wiped her eyes.
Boy did he, and short of hiring a hitman, he wasn’t sure how to make the woman disappear. But they only had to suffer Tawana’s threats for a few more weeks, until he could give Alex his last name. After that, the woman could say or do whatever she wanted. It wouldn’t matter anymore.
“Once we’re married, Tawana will realize she’s lost, and she’ll leave you alone.” Max rubbed the back of her head. “Today is supposed to be fun. Don’t worry about money or Tawana, or anything else for the rest of the night. Deal?”
“Okay.” She sat up from his shoulder and nodded. “Deal.”
“Pinky promise?” He held out his pinky.
“Pinky promise.” She hooked her pinky with his and smiled. “Geez! I’m sorry about the crying. I don’t know what’s gotten into me lately. I guess pregnancy hormones are a real thing.” She sucked in a deep breath and wiped her eyes again.
“What about cravings?” He reached for a cloth napkin on the beverage tray and handed it to her. “I hope those are real, too, because I have an amazing dinner planned tonight.”
The wheels of the plane hit the ground, and the cabin came to a fast stop, causing her to lean into his side. Gripping his knee for support, she turned toward him to push away, but stopped…her lips oh-so-close to his. Her gaze shot from his eyes to his lips, giving him the greenlight signal to kiss her. Problem was, once he started, he didn’t know if he could stop, and he’d swore he would prove to her she was different than all the other women he’d been with.
The crew cabin door opened, and Carrie stepped out.
Alex pulled back, their moment gone.
The date wasn’t over. Not even close. He’d get his taste of her before the day was through, and he’d reassure her in every way he knew how that everything was going to be fine, and that she was different than all the rest.
21
After three hours of shopping, Alex was starved. She propped her feet up on the sofa in the plane and popped a grape in her mouth from the fruit tray. Her old sandwich stared back at her; the cheese congealed on the sides. She cringed and popped another grape in her mouth.
What a waste of a sandwich. If she’d have known how much exercise they were going to be doing, she would have scarfed the meal down before they exited the plane the first time.
Every time she turned around, Max had something else he wanted to show her, add to the list, or put in the cart. And then he’d pulled her into a department store and made her buy shoes. Shoes! Practical, walking shoes for her next surprise. The man was stupid with excitement for whatever they were doing next, and she couldn’t help but feel stupidly giddy, too.
And he’d been right about needing the stowage capacity because once they added in their shopping spree, there was hardly any room left for anything else. With Max Buchanan in her life, this was going to be one spoiled baby, but she didn’t mind. The baby and Max both needed to spoil each other. She’d never seen
him so happy as he was in this moment, with her, thinking of their future.
Their future.
How lucky was she to be able to think in those terms? A future with Max Buchanan.
She liked the sound of it.
No, she loved it.
But how would Max handle their future if they had to share this baby with Barry? Would he still be as excited to share this life with her?
She stared down at her engagement ring then into the man’s face she loved sitting beside her. He had his head propped back on the sofa, his eyes closed, and a soft smile on his lips as if all was right in the world. What if this all ended before it really began?
“Wheels up in five, sir.” Carrie said.
Max opened his eyes and propped his head up.
Carrie handed Max a water bottle and placed a cold glass of Ginger Ale in her hands.
“Thank you.” Alex took a sip. The bubbles immediately helped her nausea. All the walking and shopping had helped a little, but the moment they sat still in the car for the short drive back to the plane, her stomach rolled again.
“Flight time is one hour.”
Where in the world was he taking her now?
“Thank you, Carrie. Again, we won’t need you for the rest of the flight. Please, go have a seat in the cockpit if you wish.”
“Yes, sir.” Carrie nodded, and again, like last time shut herself off in the cockpit with the pilots.
“I feel bad. We keep dismissing her,” Alex watched as the stewardess found her way into the cockpit.
“I know, but Thurgood insisted we get the full benefits of the plane, which includes a three person staff. Anyway, I’m sure she’d much rather sit with the pilots than listen to us,” Max said.
Probably right.
“So, where to now?” She glanced out the window. The sun glistened hot on the asphalt runway. She closed her window slightly, warding off the glare.
“One of the most breathtaking views in Arkansas.” Max intertwined his fingers between hers.
“One?” She placed a hand to her chest and batted her eyelashes, laying on a thick Southern drawl. “Why Max Buchanan, I was sure you would give me the most breathtaking view in Arkansas. Not just one of them.” She elbowed him, teasing him.
“Well, I can’t do that, Alex.”
“Yeah?” she said in her regular voice as she cocked her head. “And why is that? I thought you were Max Buchanan. Most interesting man on Earth. The man who could do anything?”
He leaned in and dropped his voice to a whisper. “I might be slightly interesting, and I can do many things, Alex, but I can’t give you the most breathtaking view in Arkansas, because I’m looking at it right now.”
His green eyes danced as he said the words, his breath touching her skin, near her neck causing her body to hum. She had to admit it would have been the cheesiest line in all of history if any man other than Max Buchanan had said it.
“Max...” she locked eyes with him. “You’re a politician now. My dad always said never to trust a politician,” she teased.
“You can trust me, Alex. Always.” He laced his fingers through her hair and drew her closer. “I know I lied to you in the past, but I promise,” he whispered, their lips touching, electricity igniting between them as the plane took off. “I’ll never do it again.”
Gravity pulled her closer to him as the plane shifted upward, and he wrapped his arms around her waist before he sat her in his lap, deepening their kiss.
It had been over a week since the evening they’d spent together. In the grand scheme of life, seven days wasn’t long to be celibate but right now with her body buzzing and humming like a jackhammer, seven days was seven too long.
But getting freaky in public wasn’t her thing. No matter how hot and bothered she was.
She leaned back, her breathing heavy. His eyes hooded in lust, and her heart hammered. “Max, we can’t start anything on this plane!”
“Just enjoy it, Alex. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in life, it’s when you have something good, you have to embrace it and relish it because no one knows what tomorrow brings.”
He sounded like he planned for tomorrow to suck. But with the life Max had lived, perhaps that was his outlook on things.
Her heart ached for him. All those years struggling to make ends meet with his mother, she’d been there with him, watching as he had to choose between doing his homework after school or taking on any extra job he could find to help his mom pay the bills. He’d been bullied, mocked, teased for not having much, and she’d seen how the hard world had made him stronger. Made him the fighter he is today. And now…now he had the world at his fingertips, and her in his arms.
How did she get so lucky?
For the rest of the flight, she sat there in his arms, listening to his heartbeat, before Carrie snapped her out of her euphoria.
“Sir, ma’am, get ready for landing.”
Landing. “That didn’t even feel like an hour.”
“I agree. With you in my arms, time flies,” Max said, then made a little ba-dum-dum sound.
“Okay, I am now adding Cheesiest Man on Earth to your list of attributes for your application for Mayor.” She scooted off his lap and sat next to him, gearing up for the jarring landing.
“I need you to promise me something, Alex,” Max said, his face changing to the most serious she’d seen all day. How fast he went from joking to serious made her head spin.
“Anything. What’s up?”
“Promise me we’ll stay like this.”
Alex leaned back to get a better look at him. “What do you mean?”
“Honest, open, and in the moment with each other. Life is hard enough, but us, this…” He pointed a finger between them. “We shouldn’t be difficult.”
Open. Honest. All the things she’d been preaching and yet she hadn’t been that way to him. She shifted in her seat. “Of course, Max.” And she meant it. As soon as she talked to Barry. Knew what ground they stood on.
“I love you, Alex. I always have.”
Her insides went all soft and gushy, before a pillar of salted guilt put a bad taste in her mouth. “I love you, too, Max.”
“Now, are you ready to eat?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “Starving.”
“Good. Now put your shoes on. You’re going to need them.” He handed her the shoebox on the seat next to him as a devilish grin took over his face. What in the world did he have up his sleeve?
Once they got off the plane, they took another short car ride. Max stopped at the base of a mountain and parked in a lot with a half dozen other vehicles. A winding path shimmied through the trees, the colors of fall exploding all around them. Orange, reds, greens, yellows—nature’s playground stood right in front of her.
“This is gorgeous. It takes my breath away.
“You might want to catch your breath now because we have a little hike. But it’s not too strenuous, I promise.”
Alex stared at the winding trail in front of them. Walking up the mountain in her boots would have been a terrible idea, and yet here Max was, looking out for her like he had from the moment she told him she was pregnant.
A warm tingling started in her scalp and spread through her body.
“You ready.” He reached out his hand for hers.
“I don’t know.” She hesitated before taking his hand. “Is there food at the top of that trail?”
“For my sake there better be. Come on.”
She held his hand as he wound her up the mountain, slow and steady. She’d never heard of a restaurant at the top of a cliff, but from the number of cars around, there was something up there. However, wherever the people were that owned those cars, she had yet to see. They hadn’t passed one soul since parking their rental. If she were with any other man, maybe besides her father, her hackles would be raised, scared she’d be staring in her very own slasher movie.
She pushed the disturbing thought from her mind and sucked in a deep breath. The smel
l of pine needles hung in the air as she climbed higher and higher, while twigs and leaves crunched under their heels as he guided her up and down some of the winding, tight paths.
“We’re almost there. Are you okay?” He stopped in front of her, blocking her from continuing and stared at her searching her face for an answer.
“I’m pregnant, Max, not sick,” she teased him. “And hungry.”
“Good. Because I think you’re going to enjoy our dinner. Welcome to Sam’s Throne.”
Max held out his hand and stepped out of the way, showcasing the cliff. She’d heard about Sam’s Throne before. Several movies had been filmed on this spot and the mountain remained one of the biggest tourist attractions in the whole state. And he’d scored a private viewing…just for her.
On the edge of a cliff sat a table covered with an ivory tablecloth, candlelight, and China place settings. A crew of five servers wearing white shirts with black vests and matching pants stood to the side next to carts with burners, keeping what she suspected was their food warm. An ice bucket sat on the table chilling another bottle of grape juice. But it wasn’t the dinner table that had her marveling or the smiles of the friendly staff, it was the view.
Crisp, autumn air blew through her hair as her blood rushed through her skin, a feeling of complete euphoria overcoming her. How could this be real? Any of this? He’d flown her to the top of a mountain…for a date.
“Do you like it?”
His gaze bore into her, as if he were scared to blink, scared she’d say no.
“How…how could I not like it?” She scooted closer to the table, gripping the back of a chair as she stared out over the horizon. Trees dotted the skyline, the tops looking like big bunches of colorful broccoli stems. A view she never imagined could exist anywhere on earth. Words didn’t do it justice. She’d never seen anything more beautiful, more romantic. “Max, it’s…it’s amazing. How…how did you do this?”