A Turn in the Road - Debbie Macomber [51]
Max seemed to recognize her indecision the moment he approached her. She started to talk, but he stopped her by pressing his finger against her lips. Taking her by the shoulders, he smiled down at her. “Haven’t you heard that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas?”
She nodded.
“I respect what you told me. I appreciate that you’ve got a weighty decision to make. All I ask is that you give me today. I won’t ask for anything more. Can you agree to that?”
Again she nodded.
He smiled and slipped his arms around her, and they hugged.
His embrace felt warm and familiar as if this was where she belonged. Wasn’t that what he’d said—that she belonged in his arms? It was exactly how she felt, too. Why, oh, why did he have to be the one who made her heart flutter? Why, oh, why did it have to be now? If she was confused and uncertain when it came to Grant, meeting Max only complicated that situation.
“I could hold you like this all day,” he whispered into her hair.
She wanted that, too. Maybe, she mused, she was using Max as a distraction to avoid thinking about Grant.
“I have no intention of wasting what’s left of today,” Max said, clasping her hand. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Okay.”
When they went outside, the summer sun beat down on them. The heat hadn’t reached its zenith and wouldn’t for several hours, but the sun shone with a brilliant intensity. Bethanne put on her sunglasses as they walked. “Where are we going?” she asked.
“A place I know not far from here.”
It turned out to be an ice cream shop a couple of blocks off the Strip. Bethanne slid into the booth and Max took the seat across from her. He ordered a vanilla ice cream soda, while Bethanne had coffee.
They talked for four hours straight. Four hours. The conversation drifted naturally from one subject to another. They discussed music, politics, books and friends. She learned he was in the wine distribution business. That was the reason Rooster had commented on her preference for wine over beer. Rooster owned an advertising agency and had worked with Max on his company’s account.
He asked her plenty of questions, too. He wanted to know about her children and she described Andrew and Annie with pride. In fact, they talked about everything—except Grant or Kate or his daughter. It was as though the subject of the people they’d once loved was strictly taboo.
About halfway through their conversation, Ruth phoned to say she was feeling a bit under the weather. Too much sun, too much food and her dismay that Vanna was a lot greedier than she’d expected. Bethanne was concerned, but Ruth claimed she’d feel better if she didn’t interrupt Bethanne’s fun with her Texas oilman. Bethanne didn’t enlighten her mother-in-law about where she really was or who she was with.
“Tell me more about your business,” Max said after she’d put away her cell. He held her card in his hand and turned it over two or three times as if there was some invisible message scrawled across the back.
“I never dreamed Parties would be as successful as it is. All I set out to do was make enough money to take care of my children and keep our home. The shock was how timely this idea turned out to be.” She smiled. “There was an article about me in the Wall Street Journal when we added birthday parties for cats and dogs.”
“You’re joking, right? Parties for dogs?”
“Cats, too, and the idea’s really caught on. Baby boomers love their pets and are willing to spend hundreds of dollars to throw them birthday parties.”
“That I don’t understand.”
“You don’t need to, but trust me, it’s big business. I’ve had offers to franchise, but it doesn’t feel right. Not yet. The problem with so many companies is that they expand too quickly. I don’t want to do that. Once the five stores are all operating at a comfortable profit margin, I’ll look into it again, but for the moment, I’m content.”
“It sounds as if you have a good head for business.”
“I like to think so.” She didn’t mention that most of what she’d learned had been gleaned from her years with Grant. She’d often remained in the background,