by Alison Bliss
He leaned against the doorjamb and crossed one booted ankle over the other. “I hadn’t even realized the guy started yet. What’s his name?”
She blinked at him. “You don’t know?”
“Why would I?”
“Because you’re friends with him. Well, sort of. He mentioned that you two have a bit of a tepid relationship.”
He shook his head. “Jess, I don’t have a clue who you’re talking about. Who’s the new health inspector?”
“Max Hager.”
Logan’s face went blank. “Is that some kind of a joke?”
Jessa cringed. “No. Max…uh, I mean, Mr. Hager…stopped by my food truck early last week and introduced himself. I guess he had just started. But he found some issues with the truck. Lots of them actually.” Stupid ones too, but whatever. “So I spent the whole week correcting all the code violations he’d pointed out.”
“Really? And you’re sure that this is the Max Hager I know?”
She didn’t know why he would ask her such a weird question. “Yes, he told me that he knows you and Valerie. If I had known that earlier, I might’ve dropped your name to get him to leave me and my food truck alone.”
The look of disbelief on Logan’s face turned to one of irritation. “So he was messing with you?”
“I guess. As much as any finicky, arrogant health inspector would, I suppose. It wasn’t like I was doing anything seriously wrong. It was just little things that he kept pointing out. Things that didn’t seem to matter.”
“Like what?”
“Well, for one, I had to cover all the picnic tables in the park with tablecloths and buy some new trash cans.”
His forehead crinkled. “But those don’t belong to you. Those belong to the city.”
“That’s what I said!”
Logan shook his head in disgust. “What else?”
“My truck tires apparently need to be exactly ten and three-quarter inches from the curb at all times. He actually measured them.”
Logan barked out a laugh. “Are you kidding me? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”
She couldn’t help but grin. “Thank goodness someone agrees with me on that. I thought it was just me. But he seemed adamant that he was going to make sure I followed all the rules. I just hope he doesn’t find anything wrong in the kitchen.”
A strange smile spread on Logan’s face. “Oh, trust me. I guarantee he’s not going to have a damn thing to say about that kitchen.”
Chapter Twelve
Max couldn’t believe he’d agreed to show up this morning.
Was he trying to get himself caught in a damn lie? Because if he got anywhere near Mrs. Howard with Jessa around, that was exactly what the hell was going to happen.
He liked Mrs. Howard. He really did. The dear old gal reminded him a lot of his late Grandma Bess. It had never mattered how big he was. Or how old he was. With just a simple look, that woman always made him feel like he’d just been spanked.
Mrs. Howard had that same gift. As well as a big mouth.
Of course, it was probably no bigger than his own since he’d been the one to get himself into this whole mess in the first place.
Idiot.
After leaving Jessa’s house earlier, Max had taken his sweet time driving to his own house across town so that he could change his clothes. Then, while he was there, he’d made himself a quick breakfast of microwaved egg whites, fake bacon, a dry slice of whole-grain wheat toast, and a vanilla protein shake. Yeah, he couldn’t cook worth a damn, and breakfast had basically sucked.
But it wasn’t like he could’ve eaten at Jessa’s house. Well, unless he’d been able to convince her to come back to bed…which hadn’t happened. So his only option had been to go home to eat. Because, unfortunately, cold pepperoni pizza didn’t coincide with a healthy lifestyle. At least not in his way of thinking.
And that sucked too.
Max pulled his truck into the bar’s parking lot and drove around the back. He parked next to her food truck and then walked over to see if she was inside. A short Hispanic male with stocky shoulders and big biceps glanced over at him. “You Mario?” Max asked.
“Who wants to know?” the guy asked warily.
“I’m a friend of Jessa’s.”
The guy gave Max a once-over and shrugged one shoulder. “Yeah, she said you’d be stopping by. She’s in the kitchen,” he said, pointing toward a solid metal door at the back of the building.
“Thanks,” Max said, heading for it.
He opened the door quietly, poked his head inside, and caught sight of Jessa standing alone in the kitchen. Thank goodness for that. Maybe he wouldn’t have to worry about running into Mrs. Howard, after all. “You busy?” he asked, stepping fully inside the room.
Jessa’s head snapped up. “Oh. I almost thought you weren’t coming.”
“I told you I would.”
“Yeah, but that was earlier when I still had time to show you around. Now I’ve only got a few minutes before I have to head out on the truck.”
“Sorry about that. I got…held up.” By the shitty breakfast he’d made for himself…and his conscience. “I guess we’ll just have to reschedule for another day.”
Out of his peripheral vision, a figure moved into view, and a scratchy older female’s voice asked, “What is it that you need to reschedule?”
Mrs. Howard had apparently been bent over a counter on the other side of the upright freezer, so he hadn’t noticed her standing there. Just great.
Jessa smiled. “Oh, it’s nothing. Max was going to inspect the kitchen for any problem areas.”
Mrs. Howard’s mouth drooped at the corners. “Is there something wrong with the electricity that I don’t know about?”
Shit. Jessa opened her mouth to respond but Max beat her to it. “I’m sure everything here is perfect,” he said quickly. “I was just going to have a look around. But since Jess has to leave soon, we’ll do it another time. Right, Jess?”
The elderly woman looked over at Jessa and shook her head. “That won’t be necessary. I can stay and show Max around for you. I know exactly where the circuit panel is, as well as the outside electrical box.”
Jessa cocked her head at Mrs. Howard. “Why would he need to look at those?”
Damn it. He was so busted. There was nothing he could do now to stop Mrs. Howard from throwing him under the bus and running him over with it. Twice.
Mrs. Howard’s mouth quirked up with amusement. “Well, Max is an elect—”
“Electrifying individual,” someone blurted out from across the kitchen.
Max’s head snapped up, and his eyes fell on Logan Mathis entering the room from a door that apparently separated the bar from the kitchen.
As if things weren’t bad enough?
“Logan,” Max said with a cordial nod.
“Max.”
Super. Just what he needed. This smug jerk to witness his embarrassing demise. If Max was going to go down in flames in front of someone, why did it have to be Logan of all people? Damn it. “What are you doing here?”
Logan propped his hip against the counter and grinned. “I own the building.”
“I know that,” Max said, stifling the urge to roll his eyes. “But why don’t you stay on your own side of it?”
“Max,” Jessa blurted out, her eyes pinned to him. “That was rude.”
Logan grinned. “It’s okay, Jess. I know Max is just kidding around. Just like that time he kissed my girlfriend’s neck. Yeah, funny stuff.”
Max let loose a sardonic chuckle. “Still pissed about that, huh? Valerie wasn’t your girlfriend at the time. She was as single as I was, and what happened between us is none of your business.”
Logan’s heated gaze sliced into Max. “Nothing happened between the two of you. I know because Valerie said so.”
He was absolutely right. Nothing had ever happened between Max and Valerie. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t still get on Logan’s nerves about it
. “Maybe.”
Valerie’s pissed-off fiancé took a step toward Max. “There’s no maybe about it, asshole.”
“Logan Mathis!” Mrs. Howard yelled in that stern tone she’d perfected over the years. “If I hear you use that kind of language in front of us ladies again, I’m going to…to…call your mother.”
Logan winced and his shoulders relaxed. “Uh, sorry, Mrs. Howard.”
Max grinned. Thank goodness he hadn’t been the one to curse in front of them. Mrs. Howard didn’t know his mother, but the last time he’d slipped up in front of her, the old-fashioned schoolmarm had given him a twenty-minute lecture about cleaning up his vulgar vocabulary. And all he’d said was shit.
“Well, this has been lots of fun,” Jessa said sarcastically. She glanced at her wristwatch. “But I’ve got to hit the road so I can get there on time and start setting up. Max, why don’t we just do this another day? I really don’t want to inconvenience Mrs. Howard. It is quitting time for her, and she was just getting ready to leave.”
“Works for me,” he replied. The last thing he wanted to do was spend the next hour listening to Mrs. Howard drone on and on about her women’s poker night or something even worse. Like her bunions.
But Mrs. Howard raised one wrinkled hand. “It’s no bother.”
“Actually,” Logan said with a pompous grin, “why don’t you let me show him around the kitchen. I need to discuss something with him anyway.”
That piqued Max’s curiosity, but he shook his head. “We don’t have anything to talk about.”
Logan grinned again. “I beg to differ. I have a few things I need you to…inspect,” he said, emphasizing the last word. “And since that’s apparently your job now, I think you might want to reconsider your position.”
Sonofabitch. The bastard knew something about what was going on. But if that was true, then why wasn’t Logan outing him in front of everyone, including Jessa? Surely Logan would love the chance to get back at him, and it wasn’t like Max could blame him.
Max nodded firmly. “All right. Then I guess it’s just you and me, buddy.” Though the words came out friendly, the tension between the two men was palpable.
“Um, okay,” Jessa said, her high-pitch tone lending some inconsistency to her agreement. Her eyes trained on Max. “But I’d like to have a word with you first, if you don’t mind.”
“I’ll wait for you at the bar, Max,” Logan said, heading to the inside door that led to his side of the building. “I’m pretty sure that we’re both going to need a strong drink for this conversation.”
The moment Logan disappeared through the doorway, Mrs. Howard turned to Jessa. “Dear, do you think it’s wise to leave these two alone together? Especially while they’re drinking? I’m pretty sure nothing good will come from that.”
Jessa shrugged. “Well, they’re two grown men. I think they should be able to have a simple conversation without it turning into a full-out brawl. Don’t you?”
Mrs. Howard laughed as she looped her oversized purse on her frail, skinny arm. “Good luck with that,” she said, heading out the door.
Once they were alone, Jessa turned her concerned gaze onto Max. “I know you and Logan don’t have the best relationship, but I hope you’ll be on good behavior today while you’re talking to him.”
“Define good.”
“Max.”
He grinned. “Okay. I won’t kill him. How’s that?”
Jessa sighed. “I guess that’s about the best I can hope for.”
“It’ll be fine,” Max assured her. He glanced around the kitchen at his surroundings. “How did you even meet Logan anyway?”
“I ran into him after I got into town. I was in the grocery store talking to one of the cashiers as she rang me up. I had asked her if she knew where I could rent some kitchen space, and she suggested I check with the owner of Sweets n’ Treats. But that wouldn’t work out.”
“Why? Leah wouldn’t be able to help you?”
“I don’t know. I never asked. Unfortunately, bakeries just don’t have the right kind of equipment that I need. When I said that to the cashier, Logan happened to be standing behind me in line and overheard the conversation. We got to talking, and he mentioned that he had a fully equipped kitchen at his bar that he wasn’t even using.”
“That was pretty convenient, I bet.”
“I know. I couldn’t believe my luck!” Her face brightened. “It was as if fate had stepped in and the stars had all aligned perfectly. Like we were meant to be.”
Irritation settled in Max’s gut. He didn’t like hearing her talk about another man like that after she’d spent the night in his arms. “You do know that Logan’s off the market, right?”
She stared blankly at him. “You’re kidding me.”
“No. Logan is really engaged to Valerie. They’re getting married soon.”
She scowled at Max. “Not about that. I meant you’re kidding that you seriously think I’m interested in Logan in that way. God, Max. We’re just friends. Nothing more. Logan has been very kind to me and went out of his way to help me out. And I know he’s engaged to Valerie because she and I are friends too. They’re adorable together.”
He hesitated thoughtfully. “Okay, then what was up with the whole fate and stars bit?”
“You don’t believe in stuff like that?”
Max shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I never really thought about it. But I take it you do.”
“My mother believed in it wholeheartedly. And well, yeah, I guess I do too since I said all of that without even thinking about it. I guess I just find it pretty amazing how one person can come into your life and affect you so much without you or them even realizing it. Then before you know it, you’re attached to them and it’s too late to do anything about it.”
His heart thumped in his chest. Hard. “Yeah. I know exactly what you mean.” As strange as it was, he was starting to feel that way about Jessa.
She smiled and glanced at her watch again. “Anyway, now I’m really late. I have to go.” She grabbed her keys from the table. “Will I see you later tonight?”
Max hesitated, knowing he should put a stop to all of this now. But remembering how great last night had been, he couldn’t seem to do it. “Sure,” he said, glancing at the closed door to the bar. “If I’m still alive, that is.”
She smirked lightly. “I’m sure you two will be able to find some kind of common ground. Who knows? Maybe you will even become friends.”
“Yeah. Maybe.” Don’t hold your breath.
“Just try, please.” She leaned up on her tiptoes and brushed her lips firmly against his. “If you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for me.”
He cupped his hand around the back of her neck and brought her mouth back to his. When he broke the kiss, he said, “That’s a lot to ask, ya know?”
“I’ll make it worth your while when I see you later tonight,” she said with a wink.
That one little gesture foretold all the dirty, delicious things she would do to him. Maybe he believed in this fate and stars shit, after all. “You’re on. I’ll keep my hands off Logan. But later with you? That’s going to be an entirely different story. Count on it.”
“Good to hear,” she said with a smile, and then headed for the door. “By the way, Mario will be locking this door up when he leaves. So just have Logan let you out when the two of you are done.”
“Okay. Drive safe.”
“Always do,” she replied, waving as she walked out.
The moment she started her truck and drove away, Max headed into the bar to find Logan. It wasn’t hard to do since he was exactly where he’d said he would be. Max walked straight up to the bar and slid onto the black vinyl stool. “Okay, so what is it that you know?”
Logan grinned wide. “I know it’s early in the day, but I’m going to drink a beer anyway. Want one?”
“Okay. Give me a Bud Lite and then start talking.”
“Maybe it’s you who should start talkin
g,” Logan said, grabbing Max a bottle of beer and popping the metal cap off before sliding it toward him. Then he grabbed himself a Corona and did the same. “You want to tell me what the hell’s going on between you and Jessa?”
Max took a long pull from his beer. “None of your damn business, that’s what.”
“Bullshit. You made this my business the moment you showed up at the building I own pretending to be something you’re not.” He chuckled. “Isn’t that right, inspector?”
Max ground his teeth together. He had a feeling Logan had somehow figured it all out. “It’s not what you think, damn it.”
“Funny seeing how I don’t have a clue what to think. I have my reservations about you, Max. Always have. But I’ve seen how you are with Valerie and Leah, and never in a million years would I think you’re such a lowlife that you would use a job title to get into a woman’s pants. So why the hell would you let Jessa believe that you’re the new city health inspector?”
He sighed. “It’s a long story, but the summed-up version is that I was trying to get her to leave town because she was taking Pops’ customers away from him and he’s about to go out of business.”
Logan lifted a brow. “Pops is that old guy who owns the Empty Plate Café, right?”
“Yeah, he’s a good friend of mine.”
Logan smirked. “You sure about that? I still find it hard to believe that anyone other than Sam actually likes you.”
“Very funny, smart-ass.” But Max grinned. It was probably true. “You want to hear this or not?”
“All right. Go on.”
“Okay, so here it is. The old man is a friend of mine and he’s losing money every day because the Gypsy Cantina has been parking across the street from his restaurant. He won’t be able to stay open much longer so I told him I’d pretend to be the new inspector and run the truck off. I was just trying to help him out.”
“By hurting Jessa?”
Max shook his head furiously. “No. I didn’t know that she was running the food truck at the time. And by the time I figured it out, it was too late. I’d already put my foot in my mouth. But I haven’t done anything all that bad. I’ve made up some ridiculous fake city code violations and told her to fix them. Other than that, I didn’t do anything to hurt her.”