Liz's Monday morning started out like any other. Monday's were always the busiest day of the week, new projects to start, planning meetings to attend, staff problems to sort out. There never seemed to be enough time in the day. Usually Liz loved it that way. Usually she was able to throw herself into her job and block out the world, but today something was off and she wished it wasn't so busy.
As art director, Liz was in charge of assigning the workload and she usually took it upon herself to finish all of the work the other artists couldn't get to, often staying late and working weekends. A couple of times she had wondered if hiring a couple of part-timers would help take the pressure off but she had always dismissed the idea. Today the idea resurfaced and refused to go away. Maybe if she did hire a couple of people she could even leave work on time once in a while.
A voice broke into her thoughts.
"Um, Liz Parker?"
Liz glanced up into a large, colorful bouquet of wild flowers in a ceramic vase. A delivery girl peeked out from behind them trying to get her attention.
"Yes, I'm Liz Parker."
"Oh, good, these are for you," she said irritably, hefting the vase onto Liz's cluttered desk and pushing a clipboard under her nose. "Just sign here," she added, motioning vaguely.
"Who are they from?" Liz asked scanning the paper as she signed.
"Don't know, but there's a card in 'em," the girl drawled.
Liz reached for her bag and handed the girl a tip with the clipboard. "Thank you."
The girl looked at the tip and smiled for the first time. "Thanks."
Liz opened the card as the girl left.
A reminder of the gardens
and a great day.
- Max
A smile immediately lit Liz's face as she saw his name and a familiar shiver, that she now associated with Max, ran through her. The flowers were beautiful and there was a large variety and Liz studied them trying to remember the last time someone had sent flowers to her. She had certainly never received any from Kyle.
Over the next couple of hours she couldn't stop herself from sneaking peeks at the flowers. Just looking at them made her feel happy, almost giddy and she unknowingly had a dreamy smile on her face when Kyle walked into her office.
"Well you're in a good mood today," he said approaching her desk and noticing the flowers. "Wow," he motioned to the flowers, "who sent those to you?"
For some reason Liz felt reluctant to tell him. "Oh, they're from a friend," she said simply.
"Nice friend," Kyle intoned blandly. He frowned slightly but continued with a more cheerful note in his voice. "I just stopped by to see if you wanted to grab some lunch while we discuss the new layout for the Perkins account."
"Sure,” she agreed eagerly. The flowers from Max were nice, but the situation was completely impossible. Nothing could happen between them, she wouldn’t let it.
She turned to Kyle with a smile. He was safe, predictable, controllable, everything she needed. Yes, Kyle was definitely the better choice.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The rest of the week dragged by as Liz wondered every day when Max would call, but the phone remained annoyingly silent. Of course, she told herself, when he did call she would have to refuse him. She couldn't risk getting involved with a man like him, but she had been so sure he would call.
On Friday morning she answered the phone to a masculine voice and felt her pulse respond before realizing who it was. Liz was careful to hide her disappointment as she greeted her cousin. "Hi Alex."
"Liz, I just wanted to let you know everything is still on for tomorrow up at the cabin,” he said excitedly. “Mom is bringing a ton of food. I think she's using it as a rehearsal for the real thing."
He spoke a few more minutes about plans for the weekend but Liz wasn't really listening. All of her attention was focused on figuring out a way to nonchalantly bring Max into the conversation.
"Oh, and Liz how was your date with Max Sunday?" Alex teased.
Glad that Alex was the one to have mentioned Max first, Liz exhaled her tension. She answered carefully, trying to keep her voice casual. "I wouldn't really call it a date Alex. We just went to brunch."
"Okay, okay," Alex relented, "how was brunch?"
"It was nice," she prevaricated.
"Nice? What kind of word is nice? What is it with everybody and nice?" he asked teasingly. "All I'm asking is how did it go? Did you like him? Did you get along?"
"Well, didn't Max mention it?" Liz asked, trying not to sound too curious.
"No, not really," Alex said. "When I asked him, he just said it was nice too."
Liz felt somewhat deflated, not knowing what she had expected.
Alex continued, "Well, I'm glad you think he's nice because he's going to be driving you up to the cabin and I'd hate to think of you spending all that time with someone who isn't .... nice." He chuckled. "He'll be at your house at nine sharp so have everything ready...."
"Wait a minute Alex," Liz interrupted. "What are you talking about? I'm going with Maria."
"No,” he said, “Maria had to cancel. Didn't she call you yet? She was here this morning when a call came in from her boss. A big project was dropped in her lap and she has to work this weekend. When Max heard the situation would leave you without a ride, he offered to bring you up with him,since he's coming anyway."
"Oh, I didn't know you'd invited him," she mumbled somewhat distractedly, while inside she was turning cartwheels at the thought of seeing Max again.
"Sure I invited him,” Alex said. “You were there, remember, when we were at my house? This isn't a problem, is it Liz?" he asked suddenly concerned.
"Oh no, it's fine Alex," she rushed to assure him. But not wanting to appear too eager she casually added, "I just didn't realize he'd be coming."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Later that evening, Liz sat across from Kyle in the restaurant, trying desperately to concentrate on what he was saying.
Kyle had been late as usual when he picked her up because a meeting had run over. He had taken her to the theater to see a comedy, and even though it was one of her favorites she hadn't been able to stop her mind wandering to a certain golden-eyed man.
All night thoughts of Max had filled her head. His handsome face, his sparkling eyes, his deep, rumbling voice, his quick wit and humor; there wasn’t a single thing about him that didn’t fascinate her.
She could still feel the imprint of his lips on her hand and the reactions it had caused, and more and more often she found herself wondering what it would be like to kiss him.
It had been almost a week since she had seen Max but he was coming for her tomorrow and they would be spending the whole weekend in the same house. His eyes still invaded her thoughts and dreams, but they no longer haunting her. Instead they beckoned and coaxed her to follow to a new and exciting world.
And she was tempted.
Smiling dreamily she turned her attention back to Kyle.
"Yeah," Kyle continued, "and I really liked the part in the play when the werewolf put on a purple tutu and started singing the national anthem."
Liz was dumbfounded. "Kyle, what are you talking about? There was no werewolf in that play."
"Oh, so you are listening." He paused, studying her. "You've been in your own little world all evening."
Liz looked down at the tablecloth. "I know, I'm sorry. I guess I’ve been working too hard. I’ve got a lot on my mind."
Kyle looked at her closely but didn't respond.
The silence was starting to get a little uncomfortable and Liz wondered if Kyle suspected what was really on her mind. Finally she spoke. "Actually I'm pretty tired. Would you mind taking me home now?"
Kyle nodded. “Of course.”
They walked to the car and Kyle paused before opening her door. “Liz if something is wrong I hope you’d feel comfortable enough to talk to me about it.”
Liz smiled at him. He was such a nice guy. “Thank you Kyle, you are a good friend. But everything is fine,” she lied. “Everything is just fine.”
She felt extremely guilty because Kyle had been so good to her. How could she tell him she was distracted by another man?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Liz was up early the next morning. Sleep had refused to come and finally deciding it was a lost cause, she got up. She had lectured herself over and over that she shouldn't be as excited about the weekend as she was. After all, she was an adult, not a teenager and she couldn't allow any man to have such a huge effect on her. Max was just playing with her, she reminded herself. He had let an entire week go by without calling.
Willing herself to calm down, she started looking around the house for jobs she could do to keep her mind otherwise occupied and decided to clean out the refrigerator. It seemed logical. Being gone a few days, she should make sure she didn't come home to any spoiled food, right?
An hour later, having scrubbed the refrigerator top to bottom, she noted there would be just enough time to take a shower and get ready before Max came for her. But thirty minutes later, showered and dressed, she sighed when she saw she still had twenty minutes to kill. Having already packed the night before and set her luggage next to the door. There was nothing more to do and she felt ridiculous acting like an excited four-year old going to the circus for the first time.
Suddenly, she remembered that she hadn’t taken out the garbage. Great, she thought as she hefted the bag, it would take five minutes if she went really took her time. But just as she closed the lid on the trash can, a car pulled into her driveway.
Max is here! she screamed to herself. And he's early! Inside she was jumping for joy, but she carefully smoothed her clothes and tried to put on a calm demeanor before stepping out around the garage.
Max was just opening his car door when he noticed her coming toward him. He paused for a moment and then gave her one of his brilliant smiles.
Liz felt her knees turn to putty as his gaze slowly worked its way from her jeans-clad legs up to her hair that, for once, was loose around her shoulders. His eyes met hers and she felt the warmth of his gaze spread through her.
"Hey Liz."
He was also wearing jeans and a dark brown button-down shirt that brought out the gold in his eyes. She returned his smile shyly. "Hi, Max."
She felt the pull of his eyes but struggled against it. "Um, I wanted to thank you for the flowers. They were beautiful."
"I'm glad you liked them," he rumbled softly.
Liz felt a shiver of pleasure go through her.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked.
"Yeah. I'll just get my bags and lock up."
He followed her into the house and their hands touched as they simultaneously reached for the handle of her suitcase. A surge of electricity raced up her arm and her eyes immediately shot to his face wondering if he was also affected. He was watching her carefully but if he felt it too, he gave no indication.
"Please allow me," he offered graciously, hefting the larger cases.
She responded breathlessly, "Oh, um, thanks."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The ride up to the cabin was pleasant but too short. Liz had feared the awkwardness that had crept into the time at the gardens might return, but it didn't. After the slightly shaky beginning at her house, Max soon had her feeling at ease again.
They talked and laughed and admired the scenery and Liz almost forgot anything had marred the day when they had gone to brunch. She was glad they had this chance to be alone together and talk, to work out any awkwardness there was between them. After all, she reasoned, Max was a friend of Alex's and they would probably be seeing each other occasionally.
They had been getting along so well, she almost regretted when Alex's cabin came into sight. The cabin was larger than she had expected, rising two towering stories, and it appeared to be composed of almost as much glass as wood. Liz had wondered where Alex was going to put all of the relatives, but she could see space wouldn't be a problem. Quickly taking in the precisely landscaped yard, she noticed it was surrounded on three sides by trees that quickly became a dense forest. If there were close neighbors, the trees blocked them from sight.
Alex heard them arrive and ran out to greet them. He pulled Liz into a tight embrace as she got out of the car. "How's my girl?"
"Alex, It’s good to see you. I know Maria is sorry she couldn’t come.” She gestured around her. “You place is really beautiful."
"Thanks,” he said proudly. “I fell in love with it when I first saw it. Maria will get to see it soon enough though. I guess when you're in the advertising business you get used to working weird hours." He released her and turned to Max, clapping him on the back. "Max, glad you could come, especially since you brought my favorite cousin with you."
"Alex, it was my pleasure,” Max said with a grin.
Liz looked from one man to the other wondering if she had imagined the look that passed between them. She could feel a blush starting and she turned toward the car so they wouldn’t see. "Let's get the bags inside," she said. "I can't wait to see the rest of the place."
Alex's mother Diane was waiting for them inside and Liz quickly took in her appearance. She hadn't changed a bit; same trim figure, same blonde hair peppered with gray, same sparkling blue eyes.
"Liz, how wonderful to see you," her aunt exclaimed pulling her into a hug. "You're just as lovely as your mother," she whispered.
Liz felt tears prick her eyes and whispered, "Thank you, aunt Diane."
She kept her arm around Liz's shoulders and turned to Max. "It's good to see you again, Max. It’s been a couple of years."
"Thanks Diane,” Max said. “You look exactly the same as the last time I saw you."
"Well don't just stand there," Diane said, "come and give me a hug." She released Liz long enough for a quick embrace and then her arm settled back around Liz's shoulders. "Alex, let's show them around the house and get them settled in their rooms."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Liz looked around the room she had been given with a smile. It was spacious and comfortably furnished but she was drawn to the glass door that opened onto the balcony. She had noted that the deck wrapped around the entire second floor but was the view that held her attention. It looked out onto the back yard and the mountains beyond. The scenery was breathtaking and Liz could see how Alex had fallen in love with the place so easily.
Eager to get back to the others, Liz quickly left the room. She walked down the stairs and turned toward the kitchen, but paused when she passed the sitting room. Through the glass doors she could see Max and Alex outside in the yard.
Carefully staying out of sight, she allowed her eyes to follow Max's progress. He was so handsome and his graceful movements were making her stomach do flips.
She watched until they disappeared around the back of the house, then she continued toward the kitchen.
"Liz," her aunt greeted her, "I'm glad you are here. The boys are outside so we can have some girl talk."
Liz felt a groan rising in her throat but stifled it before it could come out. "Aunt Diane..."
Diane held up a hand, "I just want you to tell me what's going on between you and Max."
"Nothing is going on between us," Liz instantly denied.
Her aunt gave her a conspiratorial smile and leaned in to whisper, "That's not what Alex says."
Liz couldn't believe her ears. "What exactly did Alex tell you?" she asked incredulously.
"He told me there was a spark between you two when you first met," Diane said with a wink. "Max asked him for your number the next day and then took you out the day after. He also said that Max practically jumped at the chance to come up here when he found out you were coming, and he volunteered to drive you here when Alex mentioned Maria had to cancel."
Liz gasped. "That isn't what Alex told me. He said Max offered to bring me because he was already coming up." She felt her pulse quicken. "Are you saying that Max didn't even have plans to come here until yesterday? Is Alex trying to throw us together or something?"
Diane smiled indulgently at her. "Would it be a bad thing if he were, honey?"
Liz was suddenly confused. "Well no. Yes!" She shook her head, "I just don't like being manipulated."
"Alex isn't trying to manipulate you," Diane soothed. "He just thinks the world of both of you and Max and he's hoping there could be something between you."
Liz's gaze was drawn to the glass door that revealed the back yard where Max and Alex had just come into sight.
Diane followed the direction of her gaze. "What would be wrong with that?"
"I admit whenever I'm around him I feel things...," Liz trailed off, "but I don't even really know him."
"That's why Alex brought you together, so you can get to know him."
"Okay, okay," Liz acquiesced. "I know I'll never win in a circular argument with you. Please just ask Alex to back off. If something is going to happen, it will."
