Just as I was about to thank everyone for being there the door chimed again. Abby walked in with a look of apology on her face. My brow creased, wondering what she was worried about, then the door chimed again.
And Max walked in.
Connor was out of his seat before I could leave the room. He nodded at me and I knew he wouldn’t let Max get close to me. Max knew how important Bite Me! was to me and he wouldn’t jeopardize it, I was sure of that.
Max kept his eyes on me as Connor approached him. He held a bouquet of pink flowers in his hand. I could feel my heart shredding inside my chest with every second our eyes were locked. Eventually I closed my eyes and looked away, wiping the tears that were threatening to fall.
“Max, what are you doing here?” Connor asked quietly, glancing back at me.
“Connor, I just wanted to wish her well on her first day. I have something for her.”
Connor looked at me, asking me with his eyes what I wanted to do. I shook my head and he turned back to Max. “She isn’t ready to talk to you. Listen, I know you love her. Not today though. She needs to have today.”
Max shook his head. “I can’t do that Connor. I respect the hell out of you and I know you’re trying to protect her, but so am I. I’ve been sitting outside all night, wishing I was inside with her like I was supposed to be for her first night here. I saw the first lights come on inside. I almost bolted through the door when I saw her unlock it. I knew you guys would be here. I’m asking you, man to man, would you back off if Riley was upset with you?”
“You know I wouldn’t.” Connor crossed his arms over his chest, making him appear even bigger.
“Then you know how I feel. I’m not giving up. I’m not here to ruin the day-“
“Except you are,” Brady jumped in, standing shoulder to shoulder with Connor. “Charlie’s standing over there as if she’s afraid to move. If her reaction to you isn’t enough to convince you she doesn’t want you to be here, nothing will.”
Max looked at me. I knew he was watching me, deciding for himself how I was really feeling. Max had always been able to read me, like I was a book and he was the author. There weren’t any secrets from Max when he wanted to discover something. The problem was, I didn’t want him learning my secrets anymore. He’d lost that right.
Especially since at the moment he was likely to see how much I’d missed him. How much I still wanted him. How much I was hoping he could explain it all away and we could be together again.
“Guys, I mean no disrespect, but I’d like to hear it from Charlotte that she doesn’t want me here. That she doesn’t want to see me again. I need to hear those words fall past her beautiful lips. If she can tell me that, to my face, then I will leave and never bother her again.”
He spoke the words to Brady and Connor but his eyes held mine the entire time. Max knew I couldn’t do it. I’d never be able to tell him to go away.
I still loved him in spite of all he’d done.
And he knew that just by looking into my eyes.
“She doesn’t have to tell you anything, Max. We’ve told you for her. We’ve repeated the words she’s said. You left her alone for the last month. Why now? Why when she’s finally getting herself back? Today is the first time we’ve seen her acting like herself. Please don’t ruin today for her.”
“But not once has Charlotte told me to leave. As for coming back today… I knew I had to respect her wishes. I knew if I didn’t leave her alone she wouldn’t trust me that I was going to put her first. It killed me every day to listen to Abby tell me about the things they were doing. To hear my sister spending time with the woman I loved. It wasn’t fair, but it was what Charlotte needed. I wasn’t going to take that time away from her. I hoped Abby would put in a good word for me and help us get back together, but she refused. Abby knew if she kept talking about me that Charlotte would just close up and leave. Abby gained a friend, a group of friends,” Max gestured to where Abby was sitting in the middle of our group. “And I lost everything. I know you guys are here to protect her, but that’s my job. I love her. I put her first for a month so she could heal. So she could forgive me. I told myself if you replied to my text this morning that I would come here and tell you I love you and ask for another chance. Nothing made me happier than hearing from you after a month of nothing. When I saw you at Lexi and Mike’s house I couldn’t bear not charging in and dragging you home with me. When I went to SkinnyCakes and knew you were in the kitchen it took all my strength to not do the same.”
“How did you know I was there?”
“I saw your car. I was hoping Abby would give you up, but she didn’t. We fought about it that night.”
I glanced at my friend as she ducked her head, telling me Max wasn’t lying.
“I drove by Lexi and Mike’s house every day hoping to catch a glimpse of you. I sat outside SkinnyCakes waiting for you to leave. Abby and I have barely spoken because she wouldn’t help me. But she was right. You needed time to yourself. To decide if you could ever forgive me. What I need to know is if you can.”
I knew everyone was watching me. It was hard to stand there and listen to everything Max said with an audience, but I knew the people there loved me.
Just like I knew Max did.
“I don’t know if it’s enough.”
“What will be enough? What can I do to prove to you that I’m telling you the truth? To show you that I’m not going anywhere and that you are first in my life.”
I glanced at Abby, wondering if she told him what I’d said. She shook her head slightly, indicating she hadn’t said a word. Which meant Max had listened. And took my words to heart.
“I don’t know, Max.”
“Do you still love me?”
I sucked in a breath, not wanting to tell him the answer, but knowing I couldn’t lie to him.
“If you can tell me you don’t, say the words to my face, then I’ll leave you alone. I’ll accept that you’re done with me, with us. But until I hear those words, I can’t give up on us. Because I still love you. With every last piece of my heart and my soul. With every last breath in my body. With every last ounce of my blood, I love you, Charlotte. That will never change. Not today, not tomorrow, not in a month or a year or a lifetime. But if you can stand there and tell me that it has changed for you, that what we’ve shared is over for you… then I will let you go on with your life. Because I love you enough to want you to be happy. And if I’m not that happiness then I will back out. But you will always be it for me. You will always be love for me. You will always be life for me. You will always be enough for me. That’s why…” he pulled out a box and dropped to one knee, “I came here today to ask you to let me be enough for you. To give me the chance to be enough for you every day. Please, Charlotte, will you be my wife?”
~*~
What did a heart attack feel like? I didn’t know anyone who’d had one, but I’d read about it once. Aside from chest pain, you get pain in your arms, neck, or back, feel short of breath, and break out in a cold sweat.
I was definitely having a heart attack. Because there was no way in hell Max was proposing for real.
My entire body started trembling. I was actually shaking. Sweat poured down the back of my shirt and I shivered from the cold I felt. Someone opened the front door and the cold sweat turned to ice.
My back got tight, like all the muscles in my body seized. My fists clenched rhythmically. My jaw grew sore as my teeth ground together. I seriously thought my head was going to burst.
Then I started hyperventilating. I honestly couldn’t breathe. My breath stopped after he got down on one knee and once it started again it was erratic and I felt like I was drowning. I had to get out.
After I told him exactly what I thought of him.
“How dare you! Do you really think I’m such a pathetic woman that I would jump on a marriage proposal after hearing nothing from you for a month? Do you think so little of me? Did you ever really love me? No man who truly loves me, the way you professed so many times, would ever propose to me like this. Would think he could show up after a month and tell me he did it for me and that he was ready to put me first.”
Carrie was at my side. “Charles, not here. Go outside or upstairs, hell, even in the kitchen, but not here, honey. You’ve worked too hard for this.”
I glanced around the room at the shocked faces of my customers then glared down at Max, still kneeling in front of me. “Outside. Now,” I growled at him.
I weaved my way through the tables and slammed out the front door. It was still early enough that there weren’t a lot of people out for dinner so we had the sidewalk to ourselves.
“How could you do that Max? Do you have any idea how humiliating that was for me?”
Max cocked his head to the side and looked at me like he was confused. “For you? Baby, I’m the one who just got rejected while I was begging for you to marry me. Talk about humiliating.”
“Why are you doing this to me, Max? Why are you here today? Why won’t you just let me go?”
Max ran his hand through his hair. I noticed the black box was still in his other hand, but it was closed. The glimpse I’d had of the ring was stunning, but a pretty ring wasn’t enough of a reason to marry someone. Trust had to be there too. And dedication.
Max reached out to me but I stepped back. If he touched me I knew I’d be done. I knew I’d never say no to anything with him. One touch and I’d accept his ring, his marriage, and whatever version of a happily ever after he could give me.
“Charlotte, I’m not giving up on you. I know you still love me. I just told you I’ll never stop loving you. Until you tell me you’re not in love with me, I’m going to keep trying. I let you have your time. I respected your wishes to have some space. But I’m done letting you slip away. I’ll be here every day just like I was before. And every day you’ll have to tell me to leave. Until you are able to tell me you don’t love me, I’ll be back.”
“You hurt me, Max. Yes, I still love you. But I’m not sure I’ll be able to go back.”
“Charlotte, please believe me. I never wanted to hurt you.”
“What the hell was this proposal about?” I cut him off. “Why would you think I would be okay with something like what you did?”
Max grinned. His dimple winked at me and I felt my insides jumping up and down, waving around, and trying to get his attention. I was so screwed.
But why was he smiling?
“I knew I could get you alone if I did that. It would piss you off enough that someone would tell us to go somewhere else.”
“So you wanted to ruin my business with a little display? Did you record it on your phone so you can post it on You Tube later? ‘Bakery Owner Flips Out: SkinnyCakes Captures Failed Business.’ Sound about right? Putting Abby first?”
Max shook his head solemnly. “No. That never crossed my mind. I would never do anything that would jeopardize your future. All I wanted was a chance to talk to you, without the bodyguards between us.”
“Max, I just don’t know. You really hurt me. I told you how hard it is for me to trust and you broke that.”
“No, baby, I didn’t break that. I bruised it, yeah, and I was stupid. I’m sorry I hurt you, Charlotte, truly I am. Haven’t you ever made a mistake?”
“Don’t do that, Max. Don’t try to make it seem like what you did wasn’t a big deal.”
He shook his head. “I’m not. I made a mistake because I wanted to get to know you, spend time with you. Everything I did was for selfish reasons because I didn’t want to give you up. It wasn’t fair to you, I know that, but every word I’ve told you was the truth. I love you, Charlotte. And I meant every word I said in there.” He gestured toward Bite Me!
I didn’t want to think about what he said inside. His declaration of love. His proposal. It was a gimmick. A production, apparently to get me alone.
“Max, I know you weren’t really proposing. I know you love me-“
“No, Charlotte, you don’t know. The way I feel about you isn’t love, it’s more than that. I brought you this.” He held out the bouquet of flowers. “These are called evening primrose. They mean ‘I can’t live without you.’ That’s how I feel about you. What I said inside, that if you tell me to leave, I will, but I’m not going anywhere until you tell me yourself that you’re done with me.”
I covered my face with my hands. I still couldn’t say it. I couldn’t tell him I was done. I wanted to be. I was hurt. But losing him forever was too painful to consider.
“Charlotte, I can see it. I know you’re not done. Please give me another chance. I promise I will never lie, deceive, or hide anything from you again.”
I took a deep breath. He was right. “I’m not ready to let you go, but I don’t know if I’ll trust you completely knowing how easy it was for you to keep something so big from me the first time.”
“Oh, baby, it wasn’t easy. Every day I wanted to tell you. Every moment I let pass without telling you the truth… I knew I was making a mistake. I promise you it won’t happen again. Let me prove that to you.”
I chewed on my lip. He was convincing. With every word I was starting to see his side. I believed him. He knew what he did was going to hurt me, but he did it to be with me. I was softening and starting to see that as a sweet thing instead of the horrible thing I’d held on to all month.
Could I give him another chance? All my friends gave their men another chance. They all had the strength to try again, and every one of them was happier for it. When Max and I were first together I was happy. Happier than ever before. I didn’t want to be without Max. That was the truth.
“If you screw up one more time, Max-“ I began.
He interrupted me before I could finish. Max’s lips were on mine, urgent and possessive. He parted my lips easily and I drunk in as much of him as I could. His arms closed around me, his fingers diving through my hair and the other hand pulling me close to him.
The hard planes of his body met my soft ones. My hands clutched at him, greedily covering his body and remembering the feel of him. Max. Firm muscles and heat met me. He felt right in my arms, and I felt right in his. I finally felt normal again, like I was where I was supposed to be.
Way too soon Max pulled away from me. My eyes didn’t want to open and my body didn’t want to separate from his. He chuckled softly and tucked my head under his chin. “Baby, I’m sorry. God, you’re so perfect. I want nothing more than to finish what we’re starting here, but I have to know one thing.”
“What’s that?” I asked drowsily.
“Well, Charlotte, you never answered my question. I was wondering if you could give me an answer.”
“What are you talking about? What question?” I asked. I was genuinely confused. I stepped back so I could look at Max.
Max stepped back even further and knelt down in front of me. “I meant every word I said inside. You are enough for me. You’re it for me. I know this seems sudden, but it’s been a struggle for me to wait this long. I’ve known I wanted to marry you for a long time. I’ve been planning it for a while. Those gifts were working up to my proposal. Of course then you wouldn’t talk to me, but that was my fault. I know this month hasn’t been what we expected, but it hasn’t changed how much I love you or how badly I want to marry you. So, again, Charlotte Elise Black, will you be my wife?”
Oh shit, that heart attack was back. Cold sweats? Yep. Chest pains? Yep. Body aches? Yep.
“Max, you can’t be serious.”
“Completely. I love you. I can’t live without you, and more importantly, I don’t want to. I know I screwed up, but I plan to spend the rest of my life making it up to you and proving you are first in my world. Please, Charlotte, give me that chance.”
Married? To Max? I’d dreamed of it. Only in my fantasies did I ever think I would get married, let alone to Max. I knew, without a doubt, those dreams would never happen.
Except it was. Max was before me, on one knee, on the sidewalk in front of Bite Me!, asking me to marry him.
Why was I hesitating?
“Are you sure?” I asked him, still not believing he wanted me.
“More sure than about anything else in my life.”
“Yes,” I finally whispered.
“Yes? Did you say yes?” Max asked, looking up at me with a grin. His dimple peeked out and made me smile.
“Yes, Max, I’d love to marry you.”
Max whooped and jumped up, lifting me into his arms as he did. “Oh, Charlotte, I love you so much. I’ll make you happy, sweetheart, so happy.”
“You already do, Max.”
Max opened the box again and I saw a large pink emerald cut diamond with triangle diamonds on the sides, leading to a platinum band. It was stunning.
“Oh, Max. It’s beautiful.”
“No, Charlotte, you are. I think it’ll match that necklace you’re wearing,” he smirked.
I grinned. Yeah, I’d worn his necklace. It was beautiful and made me think of him. The weight of it around my neck felt like he was with me. Even though I was mad at him, I loved him. And I loved my necklace.
“Yeah, yeah. So you were right. I love you, even though I was hurt and mad.”
“I know,” he said, his voice sobered. “It won’t happen again. Now, do you think we can go back inside and put everyone out of their misery?”
I glanced to the window and saw my loyal customers and my best friends with their noses pressed to the window. Smiling.
“Yeah, I guess we should share the good news. Charlie’s finally found herself a husband.”
“And she’s not gonna shake him. Oh, and by the way, we’re getting married soon. I’m not going to wait long to call you my wife.”
“That works for me,” I said as we walked in the door to cheers and tears and smiles from the people who meant the most to me. I looked up at the picture of Grams and me, and knew she sent me Max. My love. My life. My man.