up to his potential.
“Did you ever ask my grandfather why I left?”
“I didn’t know him then. By the time I did, it wasn’t important anymore.”
That’s not what her tone said. She was taking something very personally. Two could play that game. “For the record, I didn’t desert anyone.”
“No?”
“No.”
“But you did leave town?”
“Of course I did,” he snapped. “And I had good reason.”
“But Sweet Spring was your home—”
“It’s his home, not mine. In spite of everything he did, I got an education, including a master’s degree. I found out I was good at saving failing corporations from the brink of disaster and started my own free-lance consulting business. I do what’s necessary—reduce staff, consolidate, or sell off unprofitable businesses.”
“A heart of gold,” she murmured.
“My reputation as a business fixer is well known,” he shot back. “I’m justifiably proud of my level of success, and I did it without his help.”
“Obviously he did something for you. You said you owed him enough to see him.”
“Yeah.”
The vibes he was getting from her said she was dug in on the old man’s side. So what did he care? He was no longer a kid who didn’t know where he belonged. But it did stick in his craw that she was loyal to the man who hadn’t been loyal to his own flesh and blood. Apparently she saw a side to his grandfather that Max had never glimpsed.
“Tiny’s BBQ is up ahead,” she said, pointing toward a sign sporting a pig and a cow, nose to nose.
Max steered the car into the lot and waited while Ashley went inside. She wasn’t gone long.
“Nothing,” she said, after sliding back into her seat.
“I’ll call the house. Maybe there’s news.”
Max pulled his cell phone out and hit the programmed number. The housekeeper answered and said she hadn’t seen Mr. Caine but would let Max know if his grandfather came home.
He slid the phone into his pocket. “It’s time to bring in the big guns.”
“The sheriff’s office is just down the street,” she said, reading his mind.
“So do you believe no news is good news like the sheriff said?” Ashley asked Max. “That Mr. Caine will probably turn up tomorrow?”
“Yeah. For now, leaving the looking to the professionals seems like the best thing to do.” His mouth thinned to a straight line. “Although it’s frustrating. By this time I figured I would be on a plane back to California.”
Had it really been a decade since she’d stared wide-eyed at bad boy Max Caine in the company cafeteria? Sitting across from him again, Ashley felt an odd sense of déjà vu. Then, she’d been flattered by attention from charismatic Max Caine. But now that she knew his true colors, she wasn’t sure why she’d agreed to his dinner invitation.
The waiter left their check and Max took it. She got the feeling the gesture was automatic. Dinner out with a woman was probably par for his course, but hers had been seriously lacking in men. She didn’t think Max was her type, which was a relief. Although she wasn’t sure she had a type.
She’d been too busy working her way through college to pay much attention to the male of the species. And given the disastrous romantic track record of the Gallagher women, which included her mother, her sister and herself, she’d been grateful for the too-busy schedule that had kept her from dating.
In the cloud that was her struggle for a business degree, not dating had been the only silver lining. All of her relationship experiences had been disastrous. For her, dinner out with a man was a prequel to perdition. This wasn’t a date. There was no reason to hang around and make small talk. The check had arrived. She was ready to leave now.
But Max took a sip of his half-finished beer, then set the longneck on the table showing he was in no hurry to go.
“Why are you so loyal to my grandfather?” he asked.
“He’s always been there for me.”
“When no one else was?” His gaze never left hers.
“Why would you go there?” she asked, defensive because his remark had hit way too close to the mark.
He raised one broad shoulder in a casual shrug. “I don’t know. Nine times out of ten someone will say ‘he was there for me when no one else was.’ I filled in the blank.”
“I don’t need you to fill in my blanks. In my experience, your grandfather is fair and caring.” When he opened his mouth to say something she held up a finger to silence him. “And before you ask, I’ve got plenty of support—family support.”
But this guy didn’t know the first thing about what she shared with her mother and sister. There was no point in discussing the fact that her father was a leaver, just like Max.
She dragged a finger through the condensation on her water glass, then met his gaze. “And I’m concerned about my family.”
“What about them?”
“My mother and sister work at Caine Chocolate.”
“Are they in management, too?”
She shook her head. “A college degree is a requirement, and I’m the first in the family to get one. Your grandfather created the position of manager of specialty and seasonal items just for me. He told me the idea came to him out of the blue on my birthday—” She stopped because she was blathering like an idiot.
“When?” Max asked.
“On my birthday. It’s February twenty-ninth.”
“Leap year?”
She nodded. “Jordan and Rachel, my two best friends, were born the same day. Because of the unusual date, our families kept in touch. Since we only have a birthday once every four years, we celebrate together. This year it was in New Orleans.”
“And that’s when my grandfather came up with the idea?”
“Yes,” she said, an odd feeling raising goose bumps on her arms. That was the night they’d recovered the tacky brass lamp, à la Aladdin. The grateful shop owner dressed like a gypsy, had insisted they each rub the lamp and make a wish. Hers had been money and power—not that she was going to share that with Max. He’d think she was crazy.
“Mr. Caine waited to announce my promotion until I had my degree in my hot little hand.” Had her wish been granted with the promotion? No, that was too weird.
Max looked at her. “After doing the math, it occurs to me that it took you a while to get that important piece of
