Seeking Forever Read online

  “They claim they just love it here and they’re looking at more ideas for the wedding. So they want a meeting with us. Today. I explained I had to check our schedules – since they didn’t give us any advance notice and…”

  They all turned at the sound of voices in the outer office.

  Ari cursed under her breath.

  With a sigh of resignation, Ellie stood. “I’ll go and…”

  “No,” Willow said firmly. “We are very accommodating to all of our clients but we do expect a certain amount of common courtesy from them as well.” She stood and smoothed down her skirt and ran a hand over her hair. “And personally, I don’t appreciate someone not respecting our time or that of our other clients. This has gone on long enough. We’ll handle it.”

  “But…” Ellie began.

  “I think I saw Max heading back toward his office,” Gussie said, her voice soft and her eyes sympathetic. “Go take a little break and maybe have a drink with your man.”

  Ellie wanted to argue – she really did – but it appeared her bosses were pulling rank and doing it graciously. With a small smile, she waited until they all walked out to the reception area and then made her way out the back door.

  Out in the sunshine, she sighed. This wasn’t how she wanted to spend her day – not that she minded going and having a little time alone with Max – but this whole situation put a damper on her good mood and that really pissed her off.

  As she made her way along the path that would lead her to Max’s office, she tried to calm down – to find the happy feeling she had just thirty minutes ago. When his office came into sight, she forced a smile on her face and reminded herself that all was okay. This was just another minor bump in the road. This was…

  “They’re back,” Max said as he opened his door for her.

  Ellie stopped short. “How did you know?”

  “I was mowing by the valet and saw them get out.” He shook his head and stepped aside so she could get out of the heat. “Did they have an appointment with the girls or…”

  “Another spur-of-the-moment getaway,” she interrupted. “I told the girls I was done hiding. I’m done playing this childish game of hide-and-seek. It’s not who I am and I’m not going to do it anymore!” Her voice rose with each word and she almost jumped when Max’s hands gently grasped her shoulders.

  “And yet…here you are.”

  Dammit. She sagged a little. “Not by choice. They pulled rank on me.”

  He chuckled and pulled her into his embrace. “So what do you want to do?”

  “I want to be able to do my job and come and go around Casa Blanca as I please. That’s not asking too much, right?”

  Taking a step back, he studied her face. “Okay then. Let’s do it.”

  “Do what?” she asked, looking at him as if he were crazy.

  “Let’s go take a walk.”

  Take a…was he serious? “They’re in with the girls now and the girls know I’m here with you so…”

  He shrugged. “So? We’ll just go and walk around and head down by the beach and just…be seen.”

  If she wasn’t already falling in love – hard – with this man, this would have done it for sure. Unable to help herself, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. “How did I get so lucky?” she murmured against his shoulder.

  “You didn’t seem like you were feeling so lucky a minute ago,” he teased.

  “Yeah, well…then I realized what an amazing man you are and it snapped me out of my pity party.”

  He hugged her tightly right before letting her go. Without a word, he walked over and grabbed a bottle of water for each of them and handed one to her.

  “You sure you want to do this?”

  “I’m game if you are,” he said, smiling.

  It was one thing to say she was ready to confront them but it was quite another to actually do it. But when she looked at Max’s face, she knew that no matter what she decided to do, he would support her. And really, it was the only boost she needed.

  “Let’s go.” Max took her hand as Ellie took a steadying breath. “Ready or not…”

  ****

  She was tense. Max could feel it radiating off of her as they walked. Maybe he was wrong to push her to do this. Maybe he should have waited until it was Ellie’s idea and not his. But…hell. Enough was enough. Not that he blamed Ellie for feeling the way she did – it had to be rough having your ex pop up unannounced and ready to flaunt his wedding to the woman he cheated on you with.

  If it were him dealing with a situation like this, he would have punched someone in the face already and moved on. Then he almost chuckled at the image of Ellie punching good ol’ Harry in the face. The guy totally deserved it. And Max would love to be the one to do it. And that image really made him grin.

  “What are you smiling about?” she asked quietly as they walked along the path toward the main building.

  “Just thinking about the look on Harry’s face if you hit him. Or I did,” he replied, still grinning.

  She shook her head but did laugh. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  They took the path to the right that would lead them down to the beach. Ellie stopped and kicked off her sandals and held them in her hand before they continued on. Max wasn’t sure what to say. This should be nothing – it was just the two of them out for a walk – so why did it feel so…weird?

  “So you’ll have off on Sunday, right?” he asked after a few minutes of complete silence. They were on the sand and walking toward a row of cabanas.

  “It’s a light weekend. The girls told me most weekends are booked but once in a while we’ll have a slow one. I’m kind of looking forward to it.”

  “Me too,” he said as he looked out at the waves crashing on the beach. “I was thinking…I normally go over to Naples and have dinner with my family on Sundays. I mean, not every Sunday but…a couple of Sundays a month.” He paused and felt like a babbling idiot. “Anyway, I’m supposed to go there this weekend and was wondering if you’d like to go with me.”

  He didn’t look at her as he asked and they kept walking at a leisurely pace. He was a grown man, for crying out loud. Why did it feel so weird to ask her to go to dinner with him?

  Because it’s to meet your family, he chided himself. Big step. Meeting the family is always a big step. And even though she hadn’t asked him to meet hers yet…

  “I’d like that,” she said after a moment.

  A curt nod was his immediate response. “Good.”

  There were people scattered around on the beach and a few of the cabanas were in use and Max suddenly felt as if a great weight had been lifted, like they’d made a big step here. Now if they could get rid of this whole Harry and Monica issue, he felt like everything would be just right. Sure, they wouldn’t have any reason to play around and hide and find themselves in confined spaces – something he really enjoyed – but it would be worth it. Besides, if they really wanted to, they could. It just wouldn’t be out of necessity. And he was going to miss that little bit of silliness for them.

  Glancing to his right, he spotted an empty cabana and quickly pulled her inside, wrapped her in his arms and kissed her. He kissed her until she completely relaxed in his arms. Her sandals fell to the sand along with her water bottle. When he lifted his head, her eyes were glazed and her lips were wet and a little swollen.

  “Wow,” she sighed. “What brought that on?”

  “I just realized that by going on this walk and essentially bringing an end to this game of hide-and-seek, we wouldn’t be doing anything like this again.”

  “Well…I wouldn’t say it like that,” she began with a hint of sassiness. “I mean, who’s to say I won’t just be overcome with lust when I see you walking around sometime and won’t grab you and drag you into a closet somewhere and climb you like a tree?”

  “Promise?”

  Raking her hands up into his hair and pulling him down for another kiss, she murmured, “Definitely.”
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  Max’s mind was swirling with the thought of closing the sides on the cabana and letting her climb him right here, right now. He knew no one would bother them but…at least he thought no one would bother them.

  Oh, hell, he thought. There was no way he was going to take that risk. No one needed to see them…climbing.

  “You know,” he said a few minutes later after they’d caught their breath, “I think if you ever get a weekend off, we should make reservations here and check out all the amenities ourselves.”

  “Really? You’d want to book a weekend where we both work?”

  Taking her hand back in his, he led them out of the cabana and back toward the main building. The beach ahead of them was fairly isolated and if the whole point of this walk was to be seen, they needed to be where people were.

  “Sweetheart, have you ever seen the villas here? They’re magnificent. Completely private and have their own pools.”

  “Seriously? Each private villa?”

  He nodded. “I haven’t been in many, but the few I have seen are amazing. Kind of always wanted to stay in one, but…”

  “But what?”

  Shrugging, he said, “Never had anyone I wanted to stay in one with.” He saw her eyes go a little wide and then the slow smile cross her face. “It’s true.”

  “I bet there have been plenty of women who would have loved to stay in one with you.”

  Max playfully nudged her shoulder as they walked on. “Doesn’t matter. There’s only one I want to stay here with.” He waited a beat. “So what do you say? Think you’d like that?”

  Ellie stopped walking and waited as Max faced her. “I think I’d love that. As a matter of fact, I may have to go back to the office and look at our calendar for the next couple of months and find a weekend that’s light so I can put in my request.”

  Honestly, Max was a little bummed about having to wait that long. What if…

  “What about tomorrow night?”

  This time her eyes went really wide. “What?”

  “Tomorrow night. After the wedding. We’ll see if they have any villas available and we’ll stay here.”

  “Max…that’s crazy! And…and we wouldn’t get to fully enjoy it! The wedding will be over by five but then I won’t be done until about seven and then we’d have to check out by noon on Sunday. It’s not a lot of time and…we’re going to see your parents on Sunday.”

  “If we checked out at noon, that would give us plenty of time to get ourselves together and over to Naples.”

  She looked up at him and as much as he hated it, the look on her face said it all. And she was right. When they did finally get to stay in one of the villas, he wanted it to be for an entire uninterrupted weekend.

  “Okay. We’ll wait. But you can’t blame me for being anxious,” he said, hoping he sounded light and not like he was pouting.

  “It was a very sweet idea,” she said soothingly. “And I promise I’m going to look into it this afternoon and find us the perfect weekend to stay and relax.”

  He sighed dramatically. “I guess that will have to do.”

  ”I’m sorry.”

  “There’s always hide–and-seek,” he teased.

  “I knew it! I knew you were hiding around here and now we’ve found you!” Both Max and Ellie stopped and stared as Monica Olsen and Harry Elliott blocked their way off of the beach.

  Ten

  FOR A MOMENT, ELLIE could only stare. This was it. She was finally facing her fears.

  No, that wasn’t the right word. She was finally facing her…nope. Fears. That was the word.

  “I knew you were working here and just too afraid to face us,” Monica said in that snooty tone of hers.

  “Wait,” Harry said, taking a step back, “you knew Ellie worked here? Is that…is that why you wanted to get married here?”

  Wow, Ellie thought. How could she have been so stupid for all those years? It was obvious Harry was not the one in control of his relationship with Monica. Hell, he wasn’t even an equal partner.

  “Of course I knew,” Monica said, barely sparing him a glance. She was too busy looking at Ellie with a superior expression on her face. “So this is what you’ve been reduced to? Working as a secretary at a destination wedding resort?” She paused and tilted her perfectly-coiffed blonde head to the side. “Doesn’t it bother you? Seeing so many people in love, in real relationships, while you’re…you know, not?”

  Beside her, Ellie felt Max stiffen but she just gripped his arm a little tighter, silently willing him to let her handle this.

  “Monica,” she began pleasantly, a serene smile on her face. “It’s so nice to see you standing upright. And with pants on.”

  Max let out a cough that was clearly hiding a laugh, but Ellie kept her focus on the woman in front of her. “Nice to see you could get off your back for a little while and see how…classy people live.”

  Monica sputtered, searching for something to say, but Ellie had stopped paying attention. She focused on Harry.

  “And you,” she said, her tone a little crisper. “Are you seriously going to stand here and pretend you had no idea why your fiancée was obsessed with getting married here on Mimosa Key? Or why she suddenly had an interest in Barefoot Bay? Are you really that damn clueless?”

  “Um…I just thought…it has a wonderful reputation,” Harry stammered, refusing to look Ellie in the eye. “I just figured it was a coincidence.”

  “Right,” Ellie said sarcastically. “Just like it was a coincidence I happened to come to your office to find you screwing her on your desk. After you’d left me a message telling me to stop by.”

  “Wait…what?” Harry said, and this time he looked right at her even as he paled.

  Rolling her eyes, she snorted with disgust. “Oh, come on, Harry! You know damn well you asked me to come to the office that day! If you didn’t want to get married, you could have just manned up and told me! You didn’t have to set me up to find you!”

  “You think…you honestly think I wanted you to find me screwing Monica? Do you have any idea what a nightmare that was when people found out?”

  “Good thing it was the boss’s daughter or you could have been fired,” Ellie said dryly.

  “Hey!” Monica cried. “I’m not going to stand here…”

  “Oh shut up!” Harry yelled, looking directly at his fiancée. “For once, just shut the hell up!” Then he faced Ellie again. “I never left you a message to come to the office, Ellie. I swear to you! I would never…I mean…I’m not that heartless!”

  She could only hope the look of disbelief she gave him while she tried to come up with the right words would be enough. “Heartless? You’re not heartless? We were going to be married, you jackass! And the whole time we were planning our wedding, you were screwing her!”

  “I have a name,” Monica snapped.

  “Sweetheart, I believe you have many names,” Ellie said sweetly. “I’m just too nice to mention them.” She focused on Harry again. “What would you call what you did, Harry? If it wasn’t heartless? Gutless? Cowardly? Sleazy? Because I believe we can find more than enough adjectives for it.”

  Clearly she’d made her point because Harry simply hung his head and took a step back.

  “That’s it?” Monica cried at Harry. “You’re not going to defend yourself? Or us?”

  He looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. “You did it…”

  She paled, her mouth opening and closing but no words came out.

  “You sent Ellie the message to come to the office,” Harry said slowly. “You were pressuring me. I told you I didn’t want to break things off with Ellie. That you and I were…” He stopped, seemingly remembering they had an audience.

  “You thought you could just seduce the boss’s daughter and that would be that?” Monica asked snidely. “You really are an idiot, Harry.” She sighed loudly. “I could have had you fired. I would have had you fired if you didn’t call off your wedding to Elizabeth!”


  “It’s Ellie!” Harry yelled. “Why on earth can’t you ever remember that?”

  Ellie glanced at Max and saw him doing his best to hold in his own laughter. She knew she was seconds away from bursting out herself. This was beyond entertaining and yet…part of her pitied them. They were both so damn clueless. Monica had clearly manipulated Harry and Harry? Well…he really was just pathetic. How had she ever thought that she loved him?

  “Because she’s irrelevant!” Monica replied. “I got rid of her because she’s nothing. A nobody! She didn’t deserve you!”

  “Actually, I have to agree,” Ellie interjected sounding syrupy sweet. Then she smiled at the two of them. “I deserve a hell of a lot better. And that’s what I have now.” Max took his arm from hers and slid it around her waist, pulling her close.

  “With the gardener? Seriously?” Monica asked with disgust. “That’s what you consider better? Harry’s a lawyer. He’s successful and works for one of the biggest law firms in Boca!”

  “And he’s a spineless, gutless, pathetic excuse of a man,” Ellie said firmly. She looked up at Max and smiled. “Come on. We have a calendar to look at.”

  They started to walk away but Ellie had one more thing to get off her chest. Turning, she looked at Monica one last time.

  “Oh…and he’s a cheater. Good luck with that.”

  And with a shared laugh, Max pulled her close, kissing her on the head, and they walked back to the Barefoot Brides offices.

  ****

  “Tell it again! Tell it again!” Ari said giddily a little while after Ellie and Max had returned to the office and told the girls about their encounter.

  “I was very proud of her,” Max said from his perch on the corner of Willow’s desk. “She handled that with such class and dignity…you know it just ticked the two of them off even more!”

  Ellie looked at him and smiled. “I was really scared at first. I had no idea what I was going to do or what I was going to say, but…once I got going…”

  “She kicked some serious ass without lifting a finger,” Max finished for her.