The days after Thanksgiving passed quickly and much the same for Rosie. She and Gizmo stayed with Max and learned how to work the farm. Max temporarily put her in charge of the chickens and lamb while he worked the fields with his interns. It was mind-blowing how much work went into keeping the farm running. Max, of course, made everything look easy, though she learned, quickly that just because Max could sling a fifty-pound bag of feed over his shoulder, did not mean she could.
Friday after Thanksgiving had dawned and Max had given her a pair of muck boots and sent her off to work. He played it off as though it was not a big deal but he’d bought her boots. She couldn’t remember the last time someone bought her something. The dinner at Wendy’s came to mind but she shoved the memory away.
The weekend passed quickly and before she knew it the sun was setting Sunday night and real job loomed on the horizon. Max had made them a nice dinner and they were relaxing on the porch swing, watching the sunset.
“I’ll miss you here tomorrow,” Max told her with a smile.
“I’ll miss being here. Not so much lifting hay bales but some of the other stuff.”
“I told you not to lift those,” Max scolded. “You’re so stubborn.”
“You said they needed to be moved to the barn,” she argued.
“I meant I needed to move them to the barn, not you.”
“Now you don’t have to move them because I did. See, I helped.”
He rolled his eyes. “Thank you. Next time, let me do it.”
“Okay,” she agreed. “Those suckers were heavy.”
They rocked for a few minutes until Max looked at her. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”
She watched him, waiting.
“Will you go to dinner with me?”
That was it, she thought. They ate together all the time.
He must have seen her confusion because he continued. “We’ve kind of gone at this thing a little sideways, which is fine, but we skipped some of the good stuff. Like going on a date or two.”
Rosie hoped she didn’t look as petrified as she felt. She’d never been on a date. She didn’t know anything about going on dates.
“Will you let me take you to dinner Friday night?” He asked.
There was no way she could say no, not that she wanted to. In her heart, she was already there, dressed and waiting but her mind was dragging behind. Where would he take her? Would there be a lot of people there? Would she be able to handle that? What would they talk about? Would he ask her personal questions she didn’t want to answer?
“Nothing to worry about, babe. Just me and you, having dinner.”
She nodded automatically. “Yes.”
His smile was wide and he let out a relieved breath. “Friday it is.”
The next morning Rosie stormed into Wendy’s office without knocking.
It was so unlike her, Wendy shot up from behind her desk. “Are you okay?”
“Your brother wants to go on a date with me!”
Wendy let out a laugh. “I thought something bad happened! You’ve been sleeping at his house all weekend. What’s the big deal with a date?”
“I’ve never been on a date!” Rosie told her, panicked. “I don’t know what to do on a date!”
“Okay,” Wendy laughed. “Don’t have a melt down. We’ll work it out.”
“How?”
“Okay.” Wendy came around her desk and grabbed Rosie by the shoulders. “Calm down.”
Rosie looked at her friend wide eyed. “I can’t.”
“You’re done at four tonight, right?” Rosie nodded. “After that, we’ll go to my place and find you an outfit. Then we’ll go from there.”
Rosie didn’t know what go from there meant but Wendy seemed calm, like she knew what she was doing. That didn’t keep her from thinking about her impending date all day. While she cleaned her client’s house, she imagined where Max might take her and the questions he might ask. What did people talk about on dates? Was he planning to ask her questions she didn’t want to answer?
She should have been excited but she was terrified.
In a moment of sudden clarity, she thought of her promise to Max, to call him when she needed to. Then she talked herself out of it. How could she call him and tell him she was scared to go out to dinner with him? Wendy was right, she’d been sleeping at his house for days on end, how scary could dinner really be?
That night after work she went back to Wendy’s condo, a place she hadn’t been since the night she came clean about Lisa’s stealing. Wendy led Rosie to her bedroom and opened the closet doors. The amount of clothing she had was something Rosie never fathomed possible and she wondered how many hundreds of pieces of clothes Wendy had.
“Holy crap,” she whispered.
“I know,” Wendy boasted. “I’m kind of a clothes hoarder.” She turned around and started pulling pieces out one by one, some of them buried so deep Rosie didn’t know where they came from. “Casual, I think. Maybe not jeans but I have these black pants.”
She held up a pair of black skinny jeans with leather striping down the side.
“With a cute top. Hang on.” She dove back into the closet. When she turned around she had a turquoise tank top in her hands. “Start with that.”
Rosie just held them in her hand and looked at Wendy.
“Thank you.”
As usual, Wendy brushed her off. “No big. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
Rosie went into the bathroom and changed. The jeans were a little long but otherwise didn’t fit too bad. The shirt though was not her favorite. Too bright. Too sparkly.
She went back to the bedroom to find Wendy, pulling out more outfits.
“What do you think?” Wendy asked.
“I’m a no on the shirt.”
“Agreed. Too much. Try this.”
Forgoing the bathroom trip, Rosie pulled the shirt off and put the new one on. This one was a light gray with wide black stripes. It was loose on the top but fitted at the waist.
“Better,” Rosie hedged as she looked at herself in the mirror.
“Eh,” Wendy waved it off. “Not that one either. Try this.”
She must have swapped shirts a dozen times before she found a lacy, coral tank top that worked. Wendy sat her down at the vanity and started working on her hair.
“So, spill it. Why the big date freak out?”
Rosie met her eyes in the mirror as Wendy pulled her hair this way and that. “I told you. I’ve never been on a date before.”
“Like, ever?”
“Like ever,” she confirmed.
“But it’s just Max. Imagine how us poor shmo’s feel when we go on blind dates.”
“That sounds horrifying,” Rosie agreed. “I’d probably die of a heart attack.”
Wendy laughed. “It’s not quite that bad but it’s no picnic. At least you and Max are already together so there’s no pressure.”
“Max and I aren’t really together,” she hedged.
Wendy laughed. “Yeah you are. You might not know every detail about each other but you’re together and you like him enough to spend all your time with him already, so it shouldn’t be a big deal.”
“It shouldn’t be,” Rosie agreed. “But it feels like it is.”
“Why haven’t you ever been on a date?” Wendy asked.
Rosie shrugged. “I’m not really a people person.”
Wendy rolled her eyes and waved her off. “Honey, ugly people go on dates all the time. Mean people go on dates. Shy people go one dates. You aren’t any of those things.”
“Well I appreciate that pick me up,” Rosie deadpanned.
“I’m just saying, you’re gorgeous. You’re sweet and funny and interesting. You’re mysterious, which men love though I never got the hang of it. You’re totally date material. So, spill it. Why no dates?”
“Who would I go on dates with?” Rosie asked.
“Co-workers. Friends. Friends of friends. Brothers of your b
oss.”
“Yeah, no.” She shook her head. “I haven’t had any of those things until you guys.”
Wendy’s eyes met hers in the mirror, the scope of Rosie’s loneliness making a dent in her usually bright gaze.
“No one at all?”
Rosie shook her head.
“Jesus, Rosie. It sounds so lonely.”
“I don’t mind lonely,” Rosie admitted.
“I don’t think lonely is supposed to be a good thing.”
“Not lonely, I guess,” she corrected. “Alone.”
“I don’t think alone is any better.” Wendy took in her handiwork with Rosie’s hair and spun her in the chair to start her makeup.
Rosie held up a hand. “Are we doing like a full trial run here or what?”
“Or what,” Wendy nodded and got to work. “I don’t like thinking about you lonely or alone. It makes me sad, mostly because I feel like you have so much to offer. You’re so smart, Rosie. From a boss’ perspective you’re the best employee. You’re efficient and born management, but you’re like that as a friend too. I know you have secrets. I get that. Heck, we’re women, we all have secrets. Mine are more like gel inserts in my bra sometimes while I have a feeling yours are a little darker, but I still get it. Open.” Rosie opened her eyes while Wendy worked on her eye makeup. “It’s time to come out of the closet, honey.”
Rosie’s brow furrowed.
“Not that closet,” Wendy laughed. “Whichever closet you’re hiding in. Whatever secrets you’re keeping, whatever truth you’re hiding, it’s time to let it out. I’m here, Rosie. I’m not going anywhere and I suspect Max isn’t either. Time to let us catch you if you need to fall.”
Rosie pulled her head out of Wendy’s grip. “It’s not that simple.”
“I know.” Wendy smiled and spun the chair around. “What do you think?”
Rosie looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. She still looked like herself with a little more polish. Her hair hung in a cool side braid a-la-Katniss Everdeen and her eyes popped, surrounded by smoky makeup.
“I think this will be good,” she told Wendy who stood smiling behind her. “You really are the best.”
“I know,” Wendy said, no hint of doubt in her voice. “And like I said, I’m here when you want to talk.”
“I want to,” Rosie said. “I really do. I’m just not good at it.”
“Lucky for you, I am. I’ll help you.” Her smile stretched wide. “But not tonight.”
Wendy’s finality gave her pause.
“What do you mean, not tonight?”
“Well,”
Rosie covered her face with her hands. “What did you do?”
Wendy laughed. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You’re a terrible liar,” Rosie told her. “What did you do?”
“Anyone home?” The voice came from the area of Wendy’s front door.
It was Max.
“Come on back,” Wendy yelled. To Rosie she stage whispered. “I might have moved your date up to tonight.”
Rosie’s eyes widened. “You did what?”
“Just helping you rip off the band aid.”
25
“Hey.” Max appeared in the doorway of Wendy’s bedroom. Dressed in jeans and a casual collared dress shirt, he looked handsome and relaxed, like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“Hey,” she greeted, trying not to let her nerves show.
“Want to go grab some dinner?”
“Of course she does.” Wendy pushed Rosie out of the chair and propelled her forward.
He took her hand and led her to his truck, helping her in before calmly walking around the hood and getting in.
“Have a good day?” He asked as he backed out of his parking space and started driving towards town.
She nodded. “Fine. You?”
He shrugged. “It could have been better.”
Rosie forgot about being nervous and concentrated on Max. “What happened?”
He glanced at her and then back at the road. “Everything was going really good. Great actually. Then my sister called and told me you were freaking out.”
She wanted to deny it but couldn’t. She shrugged. “I’m nervous.”
His brow furrowed. “What are you so nervous about? We already spend all our time together. We’ll just be doing it somewhere else.”
It sounded so easy when he said it like that but the pressure was immense. “It doesn’t feel that easy,” she told him. “What if we don’t have anything to talk about? What if you think I’m boring?”
He barked out a laugh. “I’m not going to think you’re boring.”
“Well, what if you do? What if it’s the worst date you’ve ever been on.”
“It’s not going to be the worst date I’ve ever been on.” He rolled his eyes. “It’s going to be just like when we hang out at my house, only somewhere else. We’re going to laugh and joke and talk and have an all-around good time.”
“But-”
“No buts. That’s it. End of story.” He reached over and held her hand. “You’ve got to trust me, Rosie. One of these days, you’ve got to trust me.”
“I do,” she argued.
He just shook his head in response and squeezed her fingers. They continued driving through downtown until Max pulled up and parked against a curb. She followed his lead and got out, looking around. There were no restaurants on this block. A few shops but they were all closed.
“Come on.” He grabbed a basket from the back of truck led her into a park.
“Where are we going?” The park was lit up with string lights and the weather had taken a warm turn, reminding her that Florida winters were better than New England winters.
Around a small bend in the sidewalk they came to a small grassy area, lit up with tall street lamps that overlooked the ocean.
“This spot okay?” He asked.
She nodded. She’d been worried he was going to take her to a restaurant where she’d get overwhelmed and make a scene. She should have given him more credit than that. He had to know a setting like that wouldn’t work for her.
“I thought you might like this. It’s private and quiet, but still a date.”
“Do you bring all your dates here?” She asked, mostly in jest as she sat on the blanket he set out.
“I don’t,” he said. “I’ve never dated a woman like you.”
“A crazy woman?”
“No. I meant, I’ve never dated anyone that felt so special. Someone that I’d want to go out of my way for.”
She looked at the picnic he was setting out. It was a huge spread of gourmet food, certainly neither of them would go home hungry. He’d most certainly gone out of his way. “I like this park. It’s cute,” she said.
“There might be a tale or two regarding a rowdy group of boys roaming this area,” he chuckled.
“Rowdy?” She laughed at the idea of clean cut, by the rules Max being rowdy. She thought back to her childhood surrounded by drugs, hookers and bikers. She’d seen rowdy, Max and his teenage friends did not fit that mold. “Somehow I doubt that.”
He looked offended. “Believe me. Put a handful of teenage boys together and let them loose. They’ll be rowdy.”
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever you have to tell yourself, tough guy.” When he still looked sour over it she leaned in and pressed a kiss against his lips. “I don’t think I’d be into rowdy. I like you the way you are.”
Max threaded his fingers through her hair and pulled her back to his lips, cutting off all playful chat. He was warm and soft, just like always, but insistent. He kissed her with so much feeling, so much desire, she could do nothing but kiss him back and hope she conveyed the same message.
Being surrounded by Max’s energy made her feel silly for being nervous in the first place. He was right, one day she was going to have to trust him. She was going to have to believe he wasn’t going to put her in uncomfortable positions, that he wasn’t going
to bring her places she really didn’t want to be. He was going to do what was best for her.
Telling herself those things and believing them were two different things. She believed he meant well but relying in him to follow through was her real problem.
For now, she let that go, knowing that he got it right that night. She was safe and happy in his arms.
They ate in companionable silence, watching the water below as the seagulls swooped down to eat their own dinner.
When they were through and still silent, she bumped his shoulder with her own. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” he answered, throwing his arm around her shoulder, watching the moonlight flicker over the ocean.
“You said you were having a great day earlier.”
“I did,” he confirmed with a smile.
“Well? Are you going to share what was so great?”
He looked at her. “You want me to?”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course I do.”
“It’s going to involve another date,” he warned. “I got a call from the Jacob’s Beach Business Association. They voted me, well the farm really, the best new business of the year.”
She couldn’t hold back the smile that spread across her face. She’d only known Max a short time and she’d seen how hard he worked. Not just on the crops, but the with animals and for their well-being as well. He was constantly working on making things healthier, from the soil to his end-product, be it eggs or kale. He’d talked to her about how he’d implemented a garden for the kids at the local school to learn about biology, ecology and nutrition, and she’d only known him in what he called his off-season. She couldn’t imagine how busy he was when he was in his peak season.
She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him in for a hug. “Congratulations Max! That’s incredible.”
“Thanks.”
“You deserve it. You work so hard.”
“Well, I’ve kind of been slacking lately but I have worked hard,” he admitted. “Here’s the thing.” He leaned back so she could see his face. “There’s an award ceremony. A whole banquet thing I have to go to.”
“Oh.”
“Black tie. Very formal.”
“Oh.”
“January first.”
Chasing Happy Page 25