Page 56 of The Charming Checklist
He quirked a brow and tipped her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “That surprises me because I wouldn’t be okay with that. I don’t do flings anymore. This is just you and me. We’re whatever you want us to be. I’ll follow your lead.”
“Oh, Max. You’re not at all who I thought you were.”
“And that would be a hired assassin, right?” His eyes smiled. “I can’t kill you with one finger, but I think you know I can do a lot of other special things with my finger.”
“Wonderful things. I do love that finger of yours.”
“Any other questions for me before I ravish you again?”
Chapter Sixteen
Max spent early Monday morning out on the waves with Cole. As usual, Max had arrived first. Dawn broke as Cole pulled into the parking lot moments later.
“Hey, sorry I’m late.”
Sub bounded ahead of them as usual, eager as always to reach the water. Max nodded to Cole and waded out first, carrying his board, then going on his stomach to swim out to the swell of the waves. Charming wasn’t exactly known for their surfing community, though the numbers had grown in the past year since he and Cole started coming out. At this point, only the diehards were out, trying to catch a wave or two. Max always consulted his nautical wristwatch and gave Cole the full report, often leaving him feeling like a weatherman.
Today the sky was a swirl of blue and gray, the water cooler than normal. The Gulf was usually a bit like a big hot tub. Having been all over the world with the US Navy and his SEAL team, and in every sea and ocean, he preferred the near-arctic temperatures. But he’d made the best of it here and the Gulf had grown on him. At least in the Gulf there was no need for a wet suit.
Max and Cole didn’t much indulge in small talk, the way he preferred it. But after about an hour or so surfing, Max had his fill. Besides, more surfers were arriving, crowding them.
“Valerie wants to have a baby,” Cole said, carrying his board.
Sub followed along happily, ecstatic to simply be included.
“Whoa. No kidding. You’re not even married yet.”
“We’re going to do that part first, even though she says she doesn’t mind walking to the altar already knocked up. She’s going to be thirty-one next month, and she says we better get crackin’.”
“Such a hardship. Getting your woman pregnant.” Max snorted.
Cole grinned. “I’m not complainin’ or anything.”
“Are you ready?”
Cole was almost two years younger than Max, and two years ago Max was nowhere near ready to settle down.
“To be a father? I thought my father screwed me up for good, but with Valerie, I can’t go wrong. She said the best thing I can do for my children is to love their mother. And that’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”
“I think it’s going to be a lot harder than that.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. Anyway, we’ll figure it out.” Cole hauled his board into his truck bed and smiled. “Is it wrong of me not to want her to get pregnant right away?”
“Whengettingher pregnant is going to be so much fun?” Max slapped Cole’s back. “Not at all, bro. Not at all.”
Next to his vehicle, Max did the surfer change shuffle, underneath a carefully placed towel. A skill Cole had taught Max years ago. Before Cole, Max hadn’t been much of a surfer. Though he’d been raised not far from the coast in California, where there was a big surf scene, he’d stuck to swimming. The Monterey Bay was freezing, and he’d learned how to swim there. It wasn’t uncommon for him to swim a mile at a time and he’d pushed himself to go farther every time. He’d been the strongest swimmer in the county, which had been a great start to his navy career.
Max normally went home to shower and change, but today he’d brought along his laptop and wanted to work in the office for a few hours before going home to change. Later, he had a Chamber-sponsored networking event with some of the other business owners in town that he made it a point to attend every chance he got.
He and Cole walked down the boardwalk on their way to the bar, Sub following dutifully behind them. The Salty Dog was at the end of the wharf and past the Ferris wheel and storefronts just now opening up. An ice cream shop that served the best waffle cones on the coast was kitty corner to the Ferris wheel. A souvenir gift store next to them sold magnets in the shape of Texas. The Lazy Mazy Kettle Corn storefront on the corner was a favorite with locals.
Sub occasionally barked a greeting to his favorite people, and more to the point, Cole waved at everyone. That was Cole, a friendly person by nature. Max wasn’t much of a waver, but more of a nodder. He now nodded a greeting to Karen, manager of The Waterfront, the fine dining seafood restaurant next to them.
Cole stopped to chat, and when it became clear that he would be engaged in conversation regarding Karen’s turbulent love life, Max went ahead. There was a reason they’d decided early on in this enterprise that Cole would be the on-site manager. He had the gift of gab.
Max unlocked and unrolled the cage that covered their storefront. Switching lights on inside, he made his way to the office. It hadn’t changed much back here since he and Cole saved the Salty Dog from bankruptcy last year by bailing Cole’s father out. The plain office was wood paneled, a real throwback look that didn’t suit Max. Otherwise, there was just a desk, a couple of chairs and a short leather love seat behind a coffee table. Sub’s dog bed and a few chew toys sat in one corner.
First things first. Max opened his laptop and pulled up the spreadsheets he lived by. A P&L report was generated by income and regular expenses. Cole may have wanted to buy the bar to save his father from humiliation, but Max didn’t make warm and fuzzy business decisions. He was a numbers man through and through. Numbers didn’t lie or tell a person what they wanted to hear. Max went to work trimming expenses, switching accounts and moving money around.
