by D. A. Young
Max then asked if he’d brought the basket. Nodding his head, Trevor walked to the truck and brought back a large picnic basket complete with a red and white gingham blanket. Then he tipped his hat to Georgina before getting back in the truck and driving off. Max held out his arm for her. “Shall we, my lady?”
They walked to a shaded tree that faced the road, and Max laid the blanket out while Georgina took the contents out of the basket and she laughed. “When did you have time to plan this?”
There was a charcuterie plate with savory cured meats and various cheeses, a long crusty baguette, duck rillette, and a grilled apple salad. A bottle of white sangria with two glasses had also been packaged with care. He grinned and popped the cork. “This morning. I wanted to show you what we did here on the farm and have you taste everything. Eating farm to table is very important to me. Nothing tastes better…. except you,” he said as he leaned over and gave her a lingering kiss, and Georgina clung to him.
In such a short time, Max had invaded her heart. He was smart, sexy, funny, kind, and caring, and all he seemed to want was to make her happy. She hoped he could feel all of her emotions in the kiss. When she finally pulled back, he gave her a funny little smile. “Let’s eat, baby.”
So they ate and talked about the farm and her company. When they were done, Max laid back and pulled her into his arms. She laid her head on his chest, and they stayed that way—perfectly content just to be in each other’s arms.
That night as Georgina slept peacefully next to him, Max observed the serene expression on her lovely face. The weight of her past had been removed, and Max was determined to make sure it stayed that way. If he hadn’t come along, he was certain that she could have lived with the darkness for the rest of her life. Nate’s words came back to him.
“The ones who don’t ask for ANYTHING deserve EVERYTHING.”
Max was going to make sure she got it.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Two days later, Chelsea stopped by the café for breakfast. Georgina took a break to eat with her outside, and they split plates of eggs benedict and banana bread pancakes as Chelsea resumed where she left off last week.
“I let Annabelle stay in my office, using the spare room, for a month. During that time, whenever I left the building, I always felt like someone was watching me. She never said who did it to her, but when I asked if it was Davis, she threw up violently. Judging from her determination to not talk about it, I knew this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. Davis’s cousin was the captain of the police department, and on more than one occasion, I received visits from cops who claimed to be responding to noise complaints and wanted to check it out. When I heard that someone had thrown a Molotov cocktail into her cousin’s house when no one was home, I knew it was time to move her.
I had contacts within the domestic violence groups in the area, so when she was able to move and her face had healed, I gave her three thousand dollars and sent her on their underground railroad. She made it to her destination safely, and I haven’t seen or heard from her since. I decided to move home because I missed Baymoor a lot and to keep an eye on Davis. Eventually, my parents and I made up. We’re not as close as we were, but it’s a work in progress,” she said while shrugging her shoulders.
Georgina reached across the table to squeeze her hand hard. “Thank you for telling me that Chelsea. I’m so sorry that all of that was happening to you. I feel so terrible for Annabelle. I’m just glad you were able to help her,” she shuddered at the thought of Davis and the crush she used to have on him. It made her even more thankful for Max.
“Georgina, Davis is a bad man. A lot of people have their suspicions about him but can’t prove anything. Kenya was Annabelle’s best friend and had always hated him. I truly believe her being the former sheriff's daughter was the only reason she never met with any foul play. Please be careful. I really didn’t like the way he looked at you last week. Don’t look so surprised, just please be careful,” Chelsea emphasized and gave her hand a tight squeeze.
Georgina smiled reassuringly at her friend. “I’m not the least bit interested in Davis. So you don’t have to worry about that.”
Chelsea gave her a coy look. “Is it because of sexy-ass Farmer Hayes?” she laughed at Georgina’s blush. “Oh my goodness, it is, isn’t it? Girl, I don’t blame you; he’s fine enough for me to rethink being gay!”
Georgina couldn’t stop smiling as Chelsea continued. “Dish, girl! All of the single women in town are in love with him. He’s always polite but not once has he ever encouraged them. How’d you guys get together?”
Georgina shrugged because it was too complicated to explain aside from, “We just really like each other.”
After Chelsea left, she went back to work, enjoying interacting with all the regulars and seeing old acquaintances. The only down spot in her day was Farah. She seemed even more unwilling to do anything that Georgina asked her. Twice she had caught her texting by the register and had taken her aside to point out that it was unprofessional and against company policy. Farah had muttered sorry and walked away. Raymond had just rolled his eyes at her and motioned for Georgina to pay it no mind.
***
Max stopped in on his way to the bank. She had already informed him that she would be staying at her house tonight to go walking with the Spring Chickens and work on Feminine Intuition’s catalog. Although he had seemed disappointed, he had accepted her decision.
“Hey there, mister. What can I get for you?” she asked with a teasing smile.
His heated gaze traveled slowly down her body as he wiggled his eyebrows roguishly at her, “I’ll have an order of legs, thighs, and breasts.”
Georgina blushed and smacked his arm as she looked around. “Cut it out!”
“Actually, I came to tell you that I have a charity event that I planned to attend months ago in D.C. tomorrow,” he said nonchalantly as he looked around and noticed “Templeton” giving him the stink-eye.
She smiled brightly. “Sounds like fun.”
Max surveyed her with a gleam in his eye. “Yeah, it’s for a really good cause. One that’s close to not only my heart, but Nate’s and Val’s also. Anyways, I never responded formally to the invite, so I did today and added a plus one. So please make sure you’re off in time to get ready. The event starts at eight, so we need to leave here by five in order to be there in time.”
Georgina was shocked. She pointed her finger at herself and squeaked, “Me? You want to take me?”
Max raised an eyebrow, “Yes, you. Who else would I take? FYI: It’s formal attire.”
She racked her brain trying to figure out what she would wear. She’d call Aunt Val and see what she had in one of her closets. “I would love to go with you, Max. But I’m just not sure I have anything to wear on such short notice.”
“It’s already been delivered to your house, including shoes and accessories. I used Nate’s emergency key,” he replied in a bored tone as he handed the key to her. “Any more objections?”
“Your bossiness is very annoying,” she said crossly, despite her excitement of going on a date with him.
“Stop being so negative and try to see things from a positive perspective. What you look at as being bossy, I look at as having outstanding leadership skills,” Max said cheerfully. “Now kiss me, so I can get back to work.”
Georgina reached up to peck his cheek, but Max pulled her into his arms and bent her backward as he explored her mouth thoroughly. The café was filled with applause when he let her back up. Max took a bow and winked at a fuming Georgina before turning away. At the last minute, he turned back, “Oh, Georgie?”
At her questioning look, he looked her up and down lustily. “Pack an overnight bag.”
Laughing, she waved him off and caught a grinning Raymond’s eye. Blushing, she looked away only to meet Farah’s hostile glare. The younger woman looked away and slammed through the swinging kitchen doors.
That evening she went hom
e and found a big white box laying on the dining room table with a black satin bow wrapped around it with a card attached. With a smile, Georgina opened the card and read the words in Max’s bold handwriting.
Georgina,
I read somewhere that all Cinderella needed was a dress to make her dreams come true. I can’t wait to see you in this.
Max
Eagerly she unwrapped the bow and lifted the lid and beneath the numerous layers of tissue paper was a beautiful bronze-pink Valentino gown that she pulled out, gasping in awe. The gown boasted spaghetti straps, and the bodice was lace with a deep v and satin ribbon ties at the waist. The skirt was layers and layers of chiffon in a lighter shade, with a thigh high slit. There were matching stilettos in the same color as the dress, a necklace, tiara, and teardrop earrings. Georgina held the delicate earrings in her palm and watched them shimmer in the early evening light. Up close she could make out the signature feline on the back of them that declared them originals by famous jewelry designer Vixen.
“Oh my goodness,” she breathed, unable to believe the incredible gifts Max had given her. She put everything back in the box and went upstairs to her room, where she tried everything on before stepping in front of the floor-length mirror.
The dress and shoes complimented her complexion perfectly. The dainty necklace lay just right on her collar bones, and the tiara in her pixie cut was the piece de resistance. Georgina blinked back tears and laughed happily as she twirled around and the dress shimmered around her.
She grabbed her phone and called Max. “Hello?”
“Oh my god, thank you so much! Everything is so beautiful! How did you do it?” she asked, still stunned by the generosity of his gifts.
Max’s soft laugh made her pulse race. It was the same teasing laugh he gave when he drove her to dizzying heights of pleasure. “You’re welcome, baby. Do you like it?”
“Oh, Max,” she whispered, “I love it. I really, really love it.” And you…
“I can’t wait until tomorrow, love,” his voice lowered seductively, and her body responded accordingly. “Goodnight, baby.”
“Goodnight,” Georgina whispered before he disconnected the call. She looked at herself in the mirror again, before throwing herself back on the bed with a happy sigh.
***
The next morning Georgina awoke to the house phone ringing. She looked at her phone and saw that it was five thirty in the morning. Perhaps it was Uncle Nate or Aunt Val calling for her. She jumped out of bed and rushed to get the phone. “Hello?” she held her breath when there was no answer. “Who the fuck is this?” she shouted. Someone cleared their throat and spoke. “Georgina, this is Mrs. Laurent.” Mentally she groaned. “We were going to be picking you up for our walk this morning at seven.” She paused. “It seems that you’re not really a morning person, though, so perhaps another time….”
Her first thought was, she would rather die than walk around in her Pepto-Bismol jacket, but the more she thought of it, who better to give her town gossip than the Spring Chickens? Surely they had to know something about Annabelle and Davis.
“Sorry about that, Mrs. Laurent. Seven sounds good. I’m just going to jump in the shower and be right out. See you shortly.”
So now here it was, seven in the frigging morning, and she was doing warm up stretches in front of the house with the rest of the gals. It was a bit chilly and a breeze was starting to pick up. Ida was in charge today it seemed. “Come on, ladies, stretch those legs!! Raise those arms!! Hut! Hut!” she commanded them like a drill sergeant. “All right, girls, let’s hit it!”
They were off walking at a brisk pace that impressed Georgina. Normally she kept fit by going to Zumba classes, but she’d be damned if she’d be outdone by the Spring Chickens. They weren’t even out of breath as they chatted about their daily soap opera The World Is a Small Place. Talk soon turned to the Spring Carnival and what a great success it would be.
Mrs. Laurent asked Georgina what Max had planned. “That young man is truly a godsend. He’s so community-oriented and not hard on the eyes either, wouldn’t you agree, ladies?”
They all murmured in agreement. Mrs. Downing then said something to Mrs. Laurent that caught Georgina’s attention. “Grace, does your Farah still have that tiny crush on him?”
Mrs. Laurent quickly shook her head. “That’s nonsense! Farah doesn’t have a crush on him. That girl is too focused on her studies to be paying attention to boys.”
She missed the look that the other ladies exchanged. Georgina tended to agree with the silent exchange. She also decided that it was a good time as any to ask about the Gaines family. “Does anyone know how I might be able to get into contact with Annabelle Gaines?”
Everyone froze, but she continued on, “I thought for sure I would have seen her by now...”
Silence. Finally, Mrs. Taylor spoke after glancing around at the group. “Honestly, it struck us as odd too. She was always so polite and well-mannered. Quick with a kind word and a smile and loved by everybody. The only time we felt as though she wasn’t herself was when she was with…Davis.” All the ladies nodded. “It seemed like she was really unhappy when she was with him, and we wondered why she was marrying him. A week before the wedding, Ida heard them having an awful row at the park.”
Georgina looked at Ida who nodded. “It’s true. I had been walking my Maltese, Ida Jr. when I saw them ahead of me on the trail park. He was shouting and cursing, and she was standing there looking petrified. He then turned and kicked a bench next to them over. Ida Jr. started barking loudly, and when he turned and saw me standing there, he quickly walked away. Annabelle was shaking so hard, I put my arms around her and helped her to sit down on the other bench. She smiled shakily and thanked me. Then
she said that Davis had been so upset lately. He’d been trying to get a loan to expand the animal hospital, but it wasn’t going that well. I just patted her hand and sat with her for a while. The next thing I heard was that she went off to find herself.”
Ida looked at Georgina. “A word of advice: Be careful what you go asking around town, dearie. You might not want to poke the hornets’ nest.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
The next day flew by, and thanks to Chandra agreeing to close the café, Georgina was home by four to get ready. She kept her makeup elegantly simple with a shimmery lip-gloss, nude smoky eyes, and a bronzer on her cheeks. She decided to call Aunt Valerie, as she did her hair, to see how they were doing.
“Hi, Aunt Val! How are you guys doing?” She smiled as her aunt squealed loudly in her ear, causing her to hold the phone away.
“Oh Georgie, we are having the best time!! We took a walk on the river Seine, and your uncle insisted that we add our initials to a padlock that we attached to thousands of other locks on the Love Lock bridge. We visited the Louvre and rode to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Tomorrow, we’re going to Versailles and then on to Normandy before heading home. Max knows a guy who runs an excellent bed and breakfast there that we are dying to check out.”
Georgina listened to her aunt with fondness. Valerie Carlton took such pleasure in all things. She had used the exact same voice to describe Georgina’s first school field trip to the zoo to her husband. Everything was a great adventure to her because life was to be enjoyed to the fullest.
“So how are things going, love?”
Georgina cleared her throat. “Things are going well. I love working at the café. All of the customers are great. I’ve been spending time at the farm as well.”
Suddenly she was shy about mentioning Max, but Valerie was not. ‘So how are things going with Max?”
In the background, her uncle chimed in.” Yeah, tell us, Georgie. How are things going with him?”
She giggled. Giggled. Jeez, she had it bad! “Actually, things seem to be going okay. He did ask me to go to a charity event in Baltimore tonight.”
“It must be for the No Child Starving organization. We all feel really blessed to have access to generous a
mounts of food, but not everyone grows up like that. Max donates lots of food to domestic shelters and group homes. It’s really important, as you know, that every child has a childhood,” Valerie said passionately.
Maxwell Jason Hayes, with all his redeeming qualities, had definitely broadened her horizons in what to look for in a man. Before she met him, she’d never even thought she could have a relationship, so she’d never even bothered to make a list of desired qualities in a partner. He would definitely be a hard act to follow, and she wasn’t sure she would even want to try.