Page 47 of Tempting Max

“Sally,” I whisper.

“So, what I’m trying to tell you is that you have to take love, real love, whenever it comes, and make it work. It’s worth the struggle, it’s worth the time. Your age difference doesn’t matter, your consequence doesn’t matter, it doesn’t even matter that less than a year ago you were engaged to the biggest creep in the continental US.”

I let out a watery laugh.

“But if it is love, and you feel it strongly. Don’t let go, okay?”

Her expression is so intense that I nod. “Okay.”

She eases back on the sofa and wipes the tears from her eyes. “Good. Now we both know each other’s secrets.” She pats my thigh in a motherly way. “Now, we should probably get to bed before we turn into pumpkins.”

“You’re right,” I tell her, bringing her against me for a hug. “Thank you. Thank you for listening, thank you for telling me about John.”

“Oh honey, thankyou. Having you here has brought so much joy. I needed a little joy.”

I smile. “Me too. I’m so glad I’m here.”

She kisses me on the forehead. “Good night, and maybe later, I’ll swing by the brewery to see what this giant man is all about.”

I chuckle. “I would love that.”

I collapse onto the sofa after Sally wanders back to her bedroom, my mind spinning. I can’t think about the love question right now, I’m too full of gooey post hot sex emotions to think clearly. But I do know one thing—I need to get my plan for Sally and Hardware Store Bob rolling now, because if anyone deserves a second chance at a happy ending, it’s her.

An idea pops into my brain that makes me grin and I head back to get ready for bed with a full-blown smile on my face.

This is going to be fun.

28

MAX

“You seem…oddly pleasant,” Elliot points out at our Monday meeting, eyeing me with the suspicion of a homicide detective.

And here I thought I was hiding my good mood. But it’s categorically impossible to be in a bad one when I have Gus in my life, when I snuck a kiss from her lips right before I walked in here. “I would think you’d appreciate it.”

“It’s not that I don’t,” he tosses back. “It’s just really fucking weird. You’ve been pissed since—”

Liam clears his throat before Elliot goes any further with his sentence and I thank him with my eyes. One mention of our uncle Patrick or Sloane is an instant guarantee that I’ll explode in ways no one wants or needs.

“Oh, come on,” Elliot presses, “I know you’ve noticed it too.” He directs this at Liam. “You notice everything.”

“I have noticed, but I simply think that if Max has something to tell us, he will.” Liam turns to look at me and the intensity in his eyes makes me swallow. It makes me wonder if he’s figured out Gus and me.

I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised. Pissed, yes, but not surprised. Knowing Liam, he probably knew before either Gus or I did.

I lean forward on the table, a move that asserts dominance over my smaller youngest brother. “That’s right. If I have something to tell you and I’m ready to tell you. I will.”

Elliot just rolls his eyes. “Fine. Let’s just get on with the meeting.”

I hide my relief and listen as Liam goes over our numbers for the last week.

“So, as you can see,” he wraps up, “not only do we need to hire two more full-timers, but we also need to do it as soon as possible. It won’t be a financial crunch. We are way above our initial figures. My guess is that if business continues like this, we’ll need to expand to keep up with the demand. I’m happy to look for suitable franchise locations if you think we’re ready for that.”

“Do it,” I authorize, knowing it will take him at least six months to crunch the numbers in the way that matters. If he can pull off what he did here in Paintbrush in another town, I’m all for it. If we can’t run Sutton Brewing, then we can certainly deliver a few punches in the craft beer department. “That way when we’re ready, we can roll.”

We both look at Elliot. “Yeah, I don’t see why not. As long as we don’t pull the trigger too soon and thin out our own fan base. I’ll need time to work the promo schedule for a new opening and research the population, so I know how to target them best.”

I can feel my face crinkle. “You do that?”

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