by Julia Imari
Thea came down the stairs. He was relieved to see her because he couldn’t continue to lie to her grandmother any longer. “Your room is all set, Max. If you’re ready, I can show you.”
He drained his drink. “Thanks for the coffee, Grandma. I’d like to take a nap for a bit.”
“Oh, you do need a lot of nap time, young man,” Grandma said.
Thea watched her grandma before turning to him. He stood and looked down at his boots so she couldn’t see his eyes. He wanted a clarification from Dorothea before he told her grandma the truth about the mistake.
They went upstairs and the moment he stepped inside his room, he smelled something soft, something pretty. He scanned the room. The curtains, in pastel colors with a scallop design; the repeated patterns on the duvet cover on the bed…. He looked at Thea. “This is your room. I thought this large house would have a guest room?”
“The guest room needs a lot of cleaning. Don’t worry about it.”
“I can clean it, Thea. You don’t have to treat me like a hotshot. Show me the room.”
“Look at yourself. You’re half-dead, Max. You don’t want to get sick in this weather. We’re far from civilization out here.”
Okay. He walked over to the bed and plopped himself on the frilly covered mattress. “If you say so, Miss Boss Lady.”
“I’ll wake you when dinner's ready.”
He heard her, but her voice was fading away. Then he felt his shoes falling off, and then his body was warmed as a blanket covered him.
***
THEA TOOK MAX’S shoes off. Then she tucked the edge of the quilted blanket under him before she left. Closing the door with a quiet click, she padded downstairs. She’d thought this ruse could solve her problem about Grandma's wish. But apparently she’d had no clue that instead of getting Grandma to stop pestering her about getting a husband, she had only aggravated the matter. And the poor man didn’t even know what hit him. Blame it on Sienna. She was the one who’d made her do a stupid thing like this. Now, she had to brace herself for the negative impact when Max would accuse her of taking advantage of him.
And when she thought about it, his likely accusation wouldn't be baseless either. To a certain extent she did take advantage of him. What did he do for a living again? He had said a musician and singer, but she’d never heard of him. Judging from his mannerisms, he looked clean. No body piercings or even tattoos. Unless the tattoos were all hidden under his long-sleeved sweater. But despite not knowing anything about him, once she saw tiredness written all over his face, her nurturing instinct kicked into high gear. The need to take care of the poor man prompted her to come forward and help him with a solution.
Yeah. Right. Don’t forget about your bet with Sienna. Ten bucks. Sienna owed her a crisp ten-dollar bill for winning the bet. Her friend had dared her to approach Max and his assistant, and comment about his falling moustache. She’d overheard his agony about wanting to hide. So, she came to his rescue. Sort of.
Tomorrow she would stay home due to the snowstorm. Thinking about Max in her grandma's house, she started to panic. You’d better set the facts straight, Thea.
Feeling both dread and guilt, she dashed to the kitchen. The aroma of a delicious meal wafted to her. Grandma was mincing garlic when Thea approached. She lifted her head and her eyes shone with a smile.
“Want me to help?” she asked.
Grandma continued to slice cloves of garlic. “No, I’m almost done. Sit down and tell me about this boyfriend of yours.”
She poured a mug of hot water and slipped a tea bag inside. Watching the woman who had raised her since she was born, the need to set the record straight prompted her to sigh. “Actually, he’s not my boyfriend.”
Grandma glanced at her. “But he said he’s your boyfriend.”
She put the mug down on the table before burning herself from the hot beverage. “When?”
“Oh, we had a long conversation while you were upstairs. He said he finished with his shoot. And now he finally has a chance to be with you.”
“He said that?” she asked, chuckling in disbelief. He was cooking up a lie and Grandma bought it right away? “He’s a musician, Gram. And a burned-out singer. Not an actor.”
Grandma smiled. “They’re all the same in my book.”
“He went to the café where I work to hide. For like hours. So, I decided to offer him a place to recuperate.”
“He seems like a nice young man. You shouldn’t fake a relationship with him.”
Her frustration thickened. “You need to be around other elderly people. A nice assisted living home is best for your own peace of mind, Grandma.”
“Dorothea! You talk like I’m on my way to my grave.”
Thea stood. They had argued about this issue over and over. After she’d graduated from film school in New York City, she returned to be with Grandma. She had been trying to persuade her to move to assisted living, but Grandma refused. She threw obstacles in her way. For instance, Grandma asked her to get a boyfriend and get married. "I'll move to assisted living, if you have a boyfriend," Grandma had said. And now Thea brought a man to her house who was a musician and a stranger. Wouldn’t it be nice if she could fake it and say that yes, Max was indeed her boyfriend? But she couldn’t do it. She didn’t know him that much to fabricate a black lie.
Or maybe I should talk to him.
But she was afraid to even hope. After all, he must have a girlfriend. A sexy man like him surely had a long list of women. At least ten on his waiting list. Maybe he was even married! She didn’t want to steal someone else's husband. She had enough problems with her writer’s block that she didn’t need to tack this on. Her plan to pursue her career in the Big Apple or LA was halted for now. While trying to finish her script, she worked as a waitress and to take care of Grandma.
Speaking of script, she hadn’t touched her writing for a week. The desire to flip the pages had returned when she and Sienna plotted a mischievous, daring plot. “I’m going to do some writing, Gram. You okay with all this?”
“I was a chef in my young life, Dorothea. And doing all this cooking is nothing. Go and do your work.”
Thea hugged her grandma before dashing off to her home office, next to her new bedroom. Outside, the wind picked up speed. If the sky dumped a lot of snow, she wouldn’t be surprised if the electricity went out. Tommy, the cat, wasn't in his usual spot on the sofa. He's hiding somewhere.
Chapter Three
MAX OPENED HIS eyes when something soft touched his face. He couldn’t see what it was. The room was pitch black. But something was fanning his cheek. A steady and soft vibration hummed next to his pillow. He groped blindly and a furry ball caught his palm. What the heck? A beast in my bed! “I thought you hated me,” he mumbled. Lifting his upper body with an elbow, he reached for the lamp on the side table. He turned it on but nothing happened.
Blackout.
He fished out his phone from his jeans pocket. When he turned it on, he was barely able to see the room. Turning to his side, he saw the furry ball lay curled on the pillow. The culprit. “What are you doing here?” The cat opened its yellow eyes and they were as big as an owl's eyes. “You’ve mistaken me for your mistress, haven't you?”
The cat lifted his head and gazed at the door. He arched his back to stretch before he jumped down to the floor. His face was facing the door now. Then a knock made the cat scoot closer to the panel. “Max?” a woman’s voice called his name. “Can I come in?”
Dorothea. He grinned. “Come in.”
The door opened and the cat was pushed to the side. The darn beast. The light from the candle in her hand brightened the room in an instant. “Our electricity is out.” She looked down. “Oh, hey Tommy. How did you sneak in here?” She looked up at him. “Sorry about that.”
He grunted and rubbed the sleep from his face. “I bet the blizzard is raging right now.”
“The snowstorm intensified an hour ago. So, yeah. Most of Eastern Massachusetts has no elec
tricity right now.”
“Well, we'll just have to hunker down. Wait for the storm to stop.” This was the first time he’d been trapped in a state due to bad weather. Usually after his band wrapped up a tour they would go to the airport right away to fly off to their next destination. But this time, he was in pain. His ankle needed rest, and before he knew it, he was smack in the middle of the farmhouse.
“Are you ready to have dinner?” she asked. “Grandma wants you to come down—if you’re ready.”
He rubbed his stomach. “I want to go to the bathroom first.”
“Sure. Take this with you.” She handed him the candle. Unlike a real one, the battery-operated candle's flame stayed calm, making it easy for him to see where he was going. “To your left,” she instructed.
Later, he returned to the room and Thea was still waiting. She reached out for the candle and he gave it back to her. Both of her hands grabbed the candle base and their hands touched. He felt a jolt of warmth shoot through his veins. A rare occurrence, considering he barely knew her.
“Follow me,” she said with an uneven voice.
“Right behind you.” Something had happened between them and he was aware of it. Her cozy room had comforted him into a peaceful sleep. Now that he was wide awake, his brain could work normally again.
When they entered the kitchen, candles were everywhere. He stood there blinking for a few seconds. The smell was so delicious, his stomach grumbled. “Wow. Look at this,” he murmured. “Are we going to have a party tonight?”
Grandma entered with a casserole dish in her hands. “Max! Have a seat. Time to have dinner.”
He pulled out the chair for Thea. She hesitated for a second and then murmured her thanks to him before lowering herself. He would do the same for Grandma had she not already taken her seat. Then he took his seat next to Thea. “Did you cook this?” he asked both women. His eyes sought their faces for an answer.
“Grandma made them. She was a chef in one of Boston's top restaurants. And after retiring, she still thinks and acts like a chef,” Thea said, looking at her grandma with adoring eyes.
He beamed at Grandma. “I’m glad, because I came here on an empty stomach.”
“Oh this is just simple food, kids. Let’s eat,” Grandma said. “Especially you, Max. You'll need to be healthy for your next filming.”
Thea gave him a pointed look and he grinned and winked at her. She looked so adorable when she rolled her eyes like that. Grandma was too busy piling food on his plate to notice anything. If it was up to him, he wouldn’t want the snowstorm to end. He could just hole up in this house all the way to New Year's Eve and stuff his face with all the delicious food.
An hour later, a dessert of creamy and delicious pumpkin pie was served. He could barely stand up. His stomach felt warm and his mind clear. He helped Thea to clean the kitchen while Grandma took the leftovers to the porch to cool.
“Grandma, go sit down in the living room,” Thea said. “I’ll bring in your coffee after this.”
“All right, Dorothea. And Max? You don’t have to do that.”
“I need to move around to make room for cookies, Grandma.” The sprain in his ankle had lessened and he could move around with ease.
Both women laughed and he too chuckled, but he was serious. The smell of cookies baking in the oven prompted him to get the cleaning done as soon as possible.
When there were just the two of them in the kitchen, he realized how normal it seemed. How can this even be possible? Usually, he didn’t do any of this when he stayed in his former girlfriend’s apartment. That was over six months ago. And after they broke up, he wanted to be alone. Then Christina came back to patch things up with him. But he was too frustrated with relationships that circled around manipulative and guilt-trip behavior to even care.
“You shouldn’t mislead my grandmother, Max. You need to tell her the truth.”
He returned his attention to the woman who was wiping the farmer's table with a wet towel. “Me tell a lie to her?” he asked. “I wonder who started it in the first place.”
Thea eyed him in frustration. “I never planned for this to happen. You see, I returned to Summerfield to take care of her and to prepare her for assisted living. Instead, she wants me to find a man or else she won’t go to live in a nursing home.”
He dried his hands on a clean towel and stepped forward to erase the space between them. Holding her elbows, he said, “She loves you, Thea. I saw it in her eyes when we talked in the living room.”
She stepped back and his hands fell on his sides. “Well, Grandma is the only person I have in my life. I want her to be around people, to socialize with people her age. Assisted living is the best place. But she’s stubborn. Instead of agreeing, she asks me to find a husband. If that’s not a rejection on her behalf, I don’t know what is.”
He smiled, empathizing with her dilemma. “Well, I have several band members who are ripe for marriage. I can introduce you to one of them.”
Thea glared at him. “I regret betting with Sienna about taking you away from the public sphere.”
He rubbed his face, trying to hide his keen interest to find out more. “Yeah. I knew you and your friend were talking about me.”
Her face reddened. “We were mocking your wig and moustache. Nothing personal.”
He stepped closer again, closing the distance between them. “Admit it, Thea—you’re attracted to me. Have you ever had a musician boyfriend before?”
Her eyes widened. “No. Never. Why?”
He crossed his arms against his chest. “You’re in trouble. Big trouble.”
She whipped the wet towel at his arm. “You don’t have to tell me. I know who you are. Replacing women like shirts. I saw it when I was on set. Actors are just like musicians.”
“True,” he admitted. “That’s why I can help you solve your problem. Just like you helped me solve mine.”
“Then what?” she asked.
“Then she’ll agree to your suggestion to move to assisted living,” he said in a low voice.
Her face withered as she resumed the task of drying the dishes. He helped alongside her with the chore. They turned quiet for long moments and he could feel the heat from her body, although she wore a thick cardigan and sweatpants. When their hands touched, he wanted to press his body to hers, feeling her soft skin against his.
“Let me get the kettle on the gas stove. I promised Grandma a cup of coffee. You want some?” she asked.
“Sure. I want cookies, too.”
She giggled. “Let me put them on the plate.”
***
MAX WAS RIGHT. She was in trouble. Big trouble. His guess about her attraction toward him was correct, too. When she saw him stride into the café, she froze upon viewing his masculine face. Despite the hideous wig and equally unsightly moustache, he was dangerously handsome. Standing more than six feet tall, his broad shoulders looked sinfully sexy when he removed his winter coat. The muscles strained under his fitted T-shirt. She had to look away. Blame it on the bad weather. She and Sienna had been waiting on customers since the café opened early in the morning. Due to the news about an approaching major snowstorm, they could count less than a dozen patrons for breakfast. So when eye candy as handsome as Max stepped inside the café, she couldn’t help but gawk. The most embarrassing thing was that he saw her brazen stare.
“We’re finished here,” Max said, reminding her about the hot drink and cookies.
With Max in tow, she brought the tray to the living room. Grandma was leaning back with her eyes closed. She was asleep, Tommy curled on her lap.
After setting down the tray, Thea added more wood to the fireplace. The warmth in the room increased.
“Grandma. Do you want to go to your room now?” she asked.
Grandma opened her eyes and straightened up. “Yeah, I think so. It’s only nine. You kids continue talking. I’m beat.” She stood and Max watched both of them. His facial expression was unreadable.
&n
bsp; “I’ll go with you to your room,” Thea said.
When they reached her bed, Thea held the thick duvet so her grandma could slide inside. “Goodnight, Gram. I’ll see you in the morning.” Thea pecked at her cheek.
“Max is a nice man, Dorothea. A little lost, but you can nurse him back to life.”
“Grandma. He’s a musician. You know what that means? They’re nomads. They don’t stay in one place very long.”
“But they’re human too, Dorothea. Don’t you see?”
She opened her mouth to argue. Instead, she said, “Night night, Gram.”
“Goodnight,” her grandma whispered.
She returned to the living room, determined to get Grandma to agree with her plan. Max’s head was resting on the sofa arm while his eyes were glued to the phone. When he saw her, he returned to a sitting position and patted the empty space next to him. She lowered her body not far from him and sat Tommy between them. Tommy meowed, then climbed into Max’s lap and curled up.
“Can you check your mail?” she asked, trying to distract herself from thinking about his offer. She wondered what he could do to convince her grandma to agree with her. Oh she knew he would pretend to be her boyfriend, but would that be enough? She didn’t think so. Pretending to have a boyfriend didn't interest her anymore. She had wasted time trying to be someone else's girl. It didn’t yield any positive results. She was still single. This time, when she found a man, she wanted a commitment to Forever. And that was her dilemma. All the men she met were averse to the word Forever.
“The internet is still down,” he said and slid the phone on the coffee table, facedown. He was hiding something from her. Of course it was none of her business, but she felt a bit disappointed for being dismissed. She tried not to feel bad about it.
“I almost finished all the cookies. I hope you don’t mind.”
She smiled. “No, take more.”
“I better not. I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight and I'd start bugging you.” He glanced at her as he put his hands above his head. “Grandma told me you’re a writer.”