Page 49 of Race to the Beach

When they reached his cart, he said, “I hope you had a good evening.”

She turned to him.“I did.Thank you for bringing me here, but you have to stop paying for all of our meals.I’m picking up the check next time.”

“I like the way you think.”When she sent him a confused look, he said, “About there being another date.”

The next thing she knew, he was lowering his head.Oh my!Her heart pounded.Her eyes fluttered shut.And then his lips were pressing against hers.The breath caught in her throat.

For the slightest moment, she didn’t move.But as his lips moved over hers, she gave into her desire.She was drawn to him as if by magnetic force.

The part of her that said this was a bad idea got drowned out by the pounding of her heart.As his arms wrapped around her waist and drew her close, her hands slid up over his broad shoulders and wrapped around the back of his neck.

As she leaned into him, she wondered if he could feel the rapid beating of her heart.Their first kiss had been fantastic but this one… It was off the Richter scale.

The sound of voices had them jerking apart.How was it that every time she was with him, she ended up doing the exact opposite of what she’d promised herself?

Now that things were starting to spiral out of control, she needed to be bluntly honest with him.“We need to talk.”

“Not here.”He helped her into the cart, and then they drove off into the evening.

All the while she struggled to figure out what exactly to say to him.Her stomach shivered with nerves because she didn’t want him to look at her differently when she told him the truth about herself.But she knew she had to put things right before they got in any deeper.

Chapter Eighteen

Dinnerhadgonebetterthan he’d imagined.

And now he didn’t want the evening to end.

Owen drove them toward the beach.The sun had sunk low in the sky.If he wanted to have anything real with Maxi, he knew he had to be honest with her.

His chest tightened at the thought of revealing his past to her.What would she think of him once she heard what a fool he had been?

He parked the cart near Beachcomber Park.They walked together down the steps to the beach.Maxi slipped off her dress shoes and walked barefoot in the sand.

He took her hand in his.It made him feel calmer when their fingers were laced together.Then he searched for the right words.

With the crash of the ocean in the background and the sea breeze rushing past them, they walked just out of the reach of the water.He could envision doing this for the rest of his life.And the funny thing was that before Maxi entered his life, he had written off sharing a future with someone.Now he could imagine a lifetime of strolls on the beach with Maxi by his side.The acknowledgment was powerful.

He swallowed hard.“I never thought I’d feel this way about anyone again.”

Maxi was silent.He wondered if she was feeling the same way, but he wasn’t going to push her into admitting her feelings.If she was going to speak them, they had to come from her freely.

Right now, he needed to get this admission out in the open.“I was in a relationship last year.”

“The woman that your mother mentioned that she never met?”

He nodded.“Her name’s Regan.I should have seen the warning signs.She never wanted to go out in public, and she was totally opposed to meeting my family.I had convinced myself that she was an introvert and that once she felt safe and secure in our relationship that she would get to know my family.”

He paused, waiting for Maxi to ask questions, but she didn’t.It was like she was waiting for him to tell this story at his own pace.He appreciated it.

After a few more steps, he said, “I thought we had a strong relationship.I thought we had a future.It was the end of summer, and I didn’t want her to leave.I…” He paused, surprised to find that recalling that time didn’t get him all worked up.It was finally behind him.“I wonder if Regan suspected that I was going to ask her to stay and that’s why she bated me into the argument.In the middle of the fight, she threw out the revelation that she was married and they had a child.”

He expected Maxi to say something about how stupid he’d been to fall for a married woman.He wouldn’t blame her.The signs had been everywhere, including the phone calls that Regan would slip into the bedroom or bathroom to take in private.

“I had no idea that she had a family.Maybe I should have asked her more questions.I don’t know.Shouldn’t I have figured it out?”

There was a slight pause.Then Maxi spoke in a gentle tone.“Not necessarily.She was hiding it from you, and you trusted her.”

He nodded.“I did trust her.And then she ripped my world apart.I had everything figured out in my head.At least I thought I did.Then again, I thought she loved me.I had never been so wrong about anyone in my life.”

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