Page 32 of It's Not Home Without You

Our town wasn’t too big, so the UPS store had no drivers. Everything had tobe picked up; nothing was delivered. Sunny Pines was missing out on online shopping. That glorious feeling after a long day at work and coming home to boxes stacked outside your door—was there anything better? I didn’t think so. Amazon and I had a great relationship back in the Bay Area, but it also ended when Ashton and I did. Thinking about Ashton, I forgot I turned off my cell phone in the morning, that way I wouldn’t have to waste time ignoring his calls.

As I was turning my phone on, I heardhimspeak. I hated the way my body vibrated with need at the sound of his voice. I hated that I reacted to him at all.

“Freya, may I have a word?” Maximilian was standing on the other side of the cookie display. He was wearing a pale blue, button-up long sleeve with navy blue pants, and he looked divine. If I was still chewing, I might have choked.

“We’re a little busy,” I replied without looking around. I blamed his eyes. Oh, how I could get lost in those green orbs. Max looked around then raised an eyebrow at me. Shit, when I looked around, no one was in line, and the few people whowere in the shop were eating peacefully.

“Is this man bothering you, Freya?” Quincy attempted to intimidate Max. It was cute, like a little puppy standing up to a Rottweiler.

When you get older, you realize you have to do things you don’t want to, like making sure you eat veggies because you need them. Stopping yourself after two glasses of wine after a long night because it isn’t socially acceptable to kill a whole bottle, and now I would have to talk to Mr.Politebecause I still wasn’t sure if what he wrote on the board was about me.

“It’s cool, Q. He’s not bothering me.” As I headed around the counter, Quincy came up and whispered that if I need help to holler.

Wasn’t that sweet?

Max led us to one of the back booths, making it harder on those who were in the store to pry into our conversation. It was one thing to be close to Max when it was the first timeseeing him again because the shock wouldn’t let me react. It was another thing seeing him withher,but now it was just us two, and my fingers itched to touch him.

“After you.” Max motioned a hand for me to slide into the seat in front of him. His gaze unraveled me. I would not back down, not now at least. Didn’t he know any better?

“What’s up?” I asked when I sat down. I was trying not to take deep breaths, because Max always smelled good and his cologne was my kryptonite—well, after his eyes,his smile, and how good he looked in those clothes.I reallyshould stop ogling Max.

“I owe you an apology, Freya,” Max said, and I refrained from saying “Aha, I knew it, you big jerk,”but I was a woman, and like most women, I played stupid to milk his apology. “I don’t want things to be awkward between us. Obviously, you’re back in town, and I want you to know that there isn’t resentment on my part. We will bump into each other. It’s a small town, so it’s unavoidable. I would like it if things were friendly between us. There’s no reason for things to get complicated. Our past, well, that was a long time ago. We were children back then; it shouldn’t affect us today. I would appreciate it if we were on the same page. My—Abigail would appreciate itas well.”

Max, say what?

This was so not the apology I had hoped for. What about the quote about the distance thing? He wanted us to be on friendly terms? Was he for real? Could he really sit across from me and tell me he didn’t hate me a little bit? Did he not care at all? I stared at him in confusion, and a part of mewondered if this was some sort of joke. But Max brought her up. He was talking to meto make sureIbehaved because he cared about Abigail, and he didn’t want me to hurt her feelings. A tiny whisper echoed in the back of my mind, asking,But what about mine?

“You want to be friends… with me?” I pointed at myself, still going on autopilot.

Max gave me a small smile, and I was trying to see through it, but I couldn’t.“Civil. I want to be civil. This town isn’t big enough for the both of us to run around without seeing each other.”

“Are you saying I can’t do civil?” I raised my tone, and I hated that he raised his eyebrow, as if saying he had just proved his point.

“That’s not what I said.”

“You suggested I had to be civil; therefore you expected me to do what exactly?”

“Don’t put words in my mouth,” he said through gritted teeth, and a part of me perked up. He was angry, right? That had to mean something.

“You’re the one who brought it up.”

“You know what, forget it. My fiancée and I will keep our distance,” he snapped, and I felt a little fragment of my heart break.

I smiled at him to hide the pain I was feeling. “Like you said, we were just kids, right?”

I watched Max get up; he was so different from the boy I remembered, and part of me was fascinated, but also repulsed. His shadow fell on me, and I wondered if I shouldhave gotten up, that way he wouldn’t be looking down at me.

“Exactly nothing special,” he added.

I flinched. I could feel myself beginning to crack. I couldn’t help but open my big fat mouth and ask, “So what you wrote on the chalkboard wasn’t about me?”

Max stopped before he got to the door. He turned to look back at me, his face blank, and he said, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Freya. Have a good day.”

Then he left. Never had Max lied to meso well. He was a crappy liar, but I couldn’t forget this wasn’t my Max anymore.

My blood might have boiled; still, I didn’t ponder it for long, not the fact he lied to meor the fact thatwe werefriendlyor the fact that the most precious moment of my life got reduced to nothing special.Nothing special my ass.I wanted to demand answers. I was about to go out the door and follow Max and not be civil, but Emma chose that moment to walk in.

“Hey, Emma, be right back,” I told her without meeting her eyes.

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