Free Lovers at Heart by Melissa Foster Page B

you. I want to tell you.” He looked down at her and she was drawn into the sincere and hopeful way he looked at her.
    She felt like metal, and he was the magnet, but as she felt his legs stop walking, it was too much. Her determination was fading, and she needed to hang on to it so that she didn’t make the same mistake twice. She drew her eyes back to the sidewalk and broke the connection. Her rapid pulse, however, didn’t take the hint.
    “Everyone expected me to help Dad run the ranch, and as much as I wanted to help him, it would mean reliving those memories—the memories of what I couldn’t do—and that was too much for me.”
    “I’m sure your family understands,” she said.
    “No. I never told them. I still haven’t. I can’t. I’m too ashamed.”
    There it was again, another crushing blow to her resolve. What man admitted to being ashamed of anything, much less something so intimate?
    “I don’t think I ever did more than any other older sibling does. I let them crawl into my bed at night. I listened when they cried. I told them everything would be okay. You know, normal stuff.”
    It was after midnight, and because of the festival, the restaurants and cafés were still open. Max paused, taking in the sparkling lights that glistened through the large windows along the sidewalk and the sound of music that filtered out of the restaurant doors, soaking in the romantic feel of the little town as she listened to Treat.
    “I wish I had a brother to listen when I cried when I was younger. I would have done anything to have someone to confide in,” she admitted. “I still wish I did.”
    “You have Kaylie,” he said, then winced.
    “Yeah, I do.” She’d almost forgotten that he’d met Kaylie and the rest of the wedding party in Nassau.
    “I have to confess, I called Blake to ask for advice about reaching you, and he gave me Kaylie’s number. He said that if anyone could reach you, it would be her. It was Kaylie’s idea to try to get you to come outside…for me.”
    Kaylie? Chaz’s texts. Ugh, how embarrassing.
    “You called her?” She didn’t know if she should be flattered that he’d go to such an extent or angry that he’d put his nose into her personal business.
    “I did,” he said with a straight face.
    When she smiled, he did as well.
    “I’m sorry. I just wanted to talk to you,” he said honestly.
    “How long were you waiting outside the festival?”
    “Since you wouldn’t see me when I brought the cake.”
    “Oh, my God. You’ve been waiting since dinnertime?” Flattered. Definitely flattered .
    “Kaylie called and said that Chaz couldn’t get you to leave early, so…”
    Is there anything he won’t do? She had trouble deciding if that was good or bad.
    Max’s stomach growled.
    “Wanna grab a bite?” he asked. “I haven’t eaten all day, and you’re obviously hungry.”
    Max was surprised to realize that she no longer felt sick to her stomach. “Yes, I’d like that.” Way to stand your ground .
    They sat in the back of a little Italian restaurant. Max scanned the menu. Although she was hungry, she knew she wouldn’t be able to eat a whole meal while butterflies were tap dancing in her stomach, not to mention how late it was. When she’d tried to share a meal with…the guy she refused to think about…he’d called her cheap and gross. She’d never again asked another man to share.
    “It’s late. Would you like to share a dish instead of getting two whole meals?”
    She looked up at him incredulously. How could he possibly know?
    “I’m sorry. Are you not a sharer? I forget that some people don’t like to eat off of other people’s plates.”
    Damn him. Chalk that up to one more thing to like about him. “No. I love to share. I just…Most guys hate to share food. Why don’t you choose? I’m no good at making food decisions,” she admitted.
    “Most women don’t like men to order for them, either.”
    His smile held so much contentedness that Max