Page 39 of Falling for You
Harold was a sweetheart, standing by Max even after his divorce from Ginny. Rumor in Buckeye Falls was that Harold was currently playing house with Mona, another one of the nicest people in town. Who knew, wedding bells could be in their future as well. It was like the whole town was in love.
Evan could admit it stung that Max had more support from his ex-father-in-law than Evan did in his own father. How had Harold kept Max so close, even after the divorce was final and Ginny had moved on? As if reading his mind, Max asked, “How did family dinner go?”
Evan laughed, the sound holding not an ounce of humor. “That obvious, huh?”
Max hesitated a moment before charging on with his line of questioning. “You brought CeCe this time? That was nice.”
Evan felt his heart stutter in his chest. He and CeCe hadn’t discussed the logistics of their relationship, least of all how they would share it with the people in their lives. “Uh, yeah, since it was so close to the truck. You know, no big deal.”
“Makes sense, no point doubling back when you were so close,” Max agreed, his lips turning in a Cherise-cat smile. “Was Mallory there?”
Evan squeezed the steering wheel a little too hard. “Yes, actually, all of my sisters were.”
Max traced the line of the stitching on his seat, keeping his gaze down. “How was your dad? Did you tell him about the web development contract?”
Evan bit the inside of his mouth to stop from spewing all the awful facts of the night. “Yep.”
No one spoke for a moment, until Max finally asked, “And ...?”
They had reached the intersection to Max’s neighborhood, and Evan took an extra moment at the stop sign to collect his thoughts. He waited until they were in Max’s driveway before continuing. “He was an asshole, as usual. Even though he wanted me to get into development, he’s disappointed it’s not at a firm. There is no pleasing him, and the sooner I realize that, the better.” Evan reveled in his bitter tone, savoring the taste on his tongue. Speaking the truth felt almost as nice as his goodnight kiss with CeCe.Almost.
Thinking about her brought a flush to Evan’s cheeks, but he didn’t think Max could tell in the evening light. The sun had set, and now the town was coated in a purple glow. Evan loved the sleepy feeling Buckeye Falls got this time of year, and judging from Max’s expression as he looked through the windshield, he loved it too.
“You’re a good guy, Evan,” Max finally said. He turned to face him and cupped a hand on his shoulder. “I won’t go full Hallmark movie on you, but you work hard, treat people right, and make a difference. There’s nothing else you need to do, and that includes impressing your father.”
A lump formed in Evan’s throat, but he tried to swallow it back. The last thing he wanted to do was burst into tears in front of Max. Over the last year, Max had turned from a boss into a friend, a mentor. Evan respected him too much to make a sobbing scene in his driveway.
Whether it was Evan’s headlights or the late hour, Ginny opened the front door and walked down the driveway. When Max saw her, his face broke into a mega-watt smile again. Their PDA was over the top, but Evan couldn’t help but marvel at how these two souls found their way back together. It was obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes that Max and Ginny were meant to be.
“I’ll let you get inside. Your groceries are probably melting.”
Ginny opened Max’s door and tilted her head in to say hello to Evan. “I was getting ready to panic when I saw your car.” Max stepped out and retrieved the bags. Ginny laughed when she saw both of them. “No wonder you’re late. I send you out for heavy cream, and you come back with half the market.”
Max kissed her cheek and handed the lighter bag to her. “You mind taking this inside, Gin? I’m just finishing up with Evan.”
Ginny nodded and took the bag. Before she walked inside, she turned and waved to Evan. “Pick a night and come over for dinner.” She didn’t wait for his answer, knowing he couldn’t pass up the invite.
“Thanks for the ride, and for taking CeCe to look at the food truck. It’s nice to see you two spending more time together.”
The pause after that sentence hung heavy between them. Evan wanted to tell Max the truth, but he didn’t want to overstep and betray CeCe’s confidence either. “Yeah, it’s ... uh nice to spend time with her outside of work.”
Max grinned that cat-with-the-canary smile again and nodded. “Better get this all inside.” He held up the bag like a shield. “See you in the morning.” He took a step back but didn’t close the door. “You know that I only want what’s best for you both, right? It’s pretty obvious you still have f-f-feelings for CeCe.” He hesitated before finding his words. Max only stuttered when he was nervous, and that only made Evan’s pulse beat faster. “B-b-but I know you’ll treat her right. I can tell she’s enjoying your time together.”
“You can?” Evan asked, clearly wanting Max to cite his source.
Max grabbed his cell phone from the back pocket of his jeans. “Yeah, she sent this.” Handing Evan the phone, Evan saw the picture of the truck. “Scroll through,” Max suggested.
The next picture was one of the two of them from earlier in the week, crowded around his kitchen with a stack of notes and menus in front of them.
Evan raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”
Max snorted. “You know CeCe as well as I do. Does that woman look like the selfie type?”
Evan opened his mouth to rebuke, but he couldn’t find the words. CeCe was usually very open about her opinion on PDA, selfies, and anything that showed other people how you felt. He’d didn’t always call her grumpy, but she was hardly a ball of sunshine if the situation didn’t warrant it.
“She could have easily sent a text with the menu details, but she wanted to capture the moment.” Shifting the bag on his hip, Max took his cell phone back and hitched a thumb over his shoulder. “I should get inside to Ginny, but take that for what it’s worth.”
“I will. Have a good night,” Evan said, his mind still racing back to the picture he just saw. CeCe documented their time together and shared it with Max. But what did it mean?
