On the Rocks, page 10
“Give your new ride about five minutes, and he’ll pick you up and fill you in. Tell me you aren’t going to fuck this up before I give you the benefit of doubt.”
“Could you give me a hint, or is this payback for everything you think I did wrong?”
“I know Hayley screwed up, but she took a huge chance today, so don’t you make it worse by being a jerk.”
She opened her mouth to protest but the knocking on her window scared her into dropping the phone. She powered down the window.
“Grab your stuff and let’s go. You don’t have a lot of time,” the guy said.
“I know you don’t like me, but is kidnapping me the answer?” she said to Josie.
“Percy is many things, but he’s in no way a felon of any kind. He’d never survive prison without an afternoon martini. Shake his hand and get in his car.” In typical Josie fashion, she hung up.
“Preston Cinclair,” she said, holding her hand out to the guy as she climbed out of the back seat.
“Percy Wyatt.” Percy had a firm shake and really resembled Hayley. “Do you have a bag or something?”
“I didn’t have time to pack.” She followed him to his car after tipping her driver for the ten minutes of hell. “Where exactly is Hayley?”
“She’s gone and she’s not coming back.” Percy started down the side streets and she guessed he was dumping her at the airport. “So, tell me something before we talk about anything else. Do you love my sister?”
“Yes, I do. Eight years is a long time to be pigheaded according to my grandfather, and I came to fix that.” She wanted to cry, but she’d have plenty of time for that later. “Looks like I’m too late again.”
“Don’t be so pessimistic.” How they were back at the airport already was surprising, but Percy knew his way around traffic. “She’s gone, but where is what you should be asking, not drowning your sorrows in self-pity. You make booze for a living—try that if you’re going down that road.”
“I try never to drink to excess, and what exactly should I be asking you?”
“No time for that now. Your boarding pass is on your phone, and if you run, you’ll make it. Good luck and try not to fuck up.” Percy shook her hand, sounding a lot like Josie, and pointed to the entrance where he’d stopped. “Don’t forget to run.”
“The things we do for love.”
* * *
“It’s the best reason, Hayley.” Carter handed her a glass and smiled at her. “Love makes you crazy, but in a good way.”
Hayley could see Max in his features. “Where exactly is she?” She’d knocked on the door of the big house because she didn’t think she could get all the way to Max’s place in a cab. Carter had listened to why she’d come. She’d wanted to run when Carter told her Max was gone.
“New York,” Carter said, and she gaped at the answer. “My kiddo finally got it right and went looking for what she wanted most. If you’re wondering, that isn’t an award-winning whiskey even if she’s good at producing them.”
“Why is she in New York?” Man, they had the worst luck.
“I’m sure for the same reason you’re here. Big romantic gestures only work when you’re in the same state. Make a note for the future.”
“Thanks, Carter, you’re a huge help.”
“Call me Gramps, and I’m going to help you, so don’t get sassy, young lady. Get your bag and let’s go.”
Carter drove her to Max’s and handed her the key. “Thanks, Gramps.”
“Thank you for loving Preston. You do know all this comes as part of the package, right?”
“I’m here to stay, don’t worry.” She kissed his cheek and thought it sweet he waited until she was inside.
“Hopefully we’re on the same page on what has to happen for me to keep my sanity.” She left her bag by the door and looked around the living room. The place was neat but unlived in, aside from the comfortable chair with a floor lamp next to it. There were a few books stacked on a side table, but she didn’t want to pry to see what they were.
She sat on the sofa, texted Percy to let him know she’d arrived safely, and prayed Max believed her. It was nuts to walk away from everything familiar, and if she was totally honest, she was terrified. Her fear, though, came from how Max was going to react and not from upending her life.
If Max didn’t even want to try, she’d have to think long and hard about what her next stage of life would look like. Whatever it was, she was tired of being alone, so it was time to start taking chances. Not that this wasn’t a big gamble she hadn’t necessarily thought through, but there wasn’t any other place she wanted to be.
One day with Max, and her world had righted itself, but she wanted the whole package every day for the rest of her days. “I know you feel the same way, so please don’t be stubborn.” She lay down and stared at the ceiling, hoping the universe would come through on her wish. That’s all she thought as the exhaustion of the day gave her no choice but to close her eyes.
A loud creak made Hayley gasp and open her eyes two hours later, now terrified she’d forgotten to lock the door. She was in the middle of a cane field, for God’s sake. She was as sure there was some horror movie based on that premise, as she was there was some guy in a scary white mask now loose in the house. “That’s the last time I eat airport food,” she said softly with her hands over her face.
“You didn’t throw up on my couch, did you?”
The sound of another voice scared her into rolling off the sofa and hitting the floor with enough force to knock the air out of her. “Max?”
“Were you expecting someone else?” Max sat across from her in a greatcoat and tousled hair. “I flew to New York. You weren’t there.”
“Gramps told me, and I wanted to say—”
“Uh-uh,” Max said with her hand up. “I flew to New York to tell you something, but instead I got a lecture from Josie, followed by one from Percy.”
“I’m so sorry.” She stopped talking again when Max raised her hand higher. That gorgeous face did not look happy, so she knelt and sat back on the sofa.
“For some strange reason, everyone I meet, including my family, thinks I’m an asshole when it comes to you.” Max pointed at her, still not cracking a smile.
“I don’t—”
“Zip it.” It was rude but effective. “Let’s get a few things straight. You left me, then you came back with the delightful Ms. Simon, left again, and now you’re back.”
She nodded as Max ticked off her list, not really knowing where this was going, but it wasn’t anywhere good from Max’s tone. “Um, yes.”
“Tell me one thing before I kiss you.”
“Anything,” she said as she choked up.
“Are you back for good, or just to apologize again?” The tears in Max’s eyes and the obvious vulnerability in her voice broke her heart.
“I heard you might need someone in your life who’s marginally experienced in advertising and loves you more than you’ll ever know.” She stood when Max did and moved slowly to her. “You might not believe the love part yet, but if you give me years and years, I’ll prove it to you.”
Max wrapped her arms around her and lifted her off the floor, filling her with everything she’d been missing since their last night together eight years ago. She pressed her face into Max’s neck and tried convincing herself she was not only awake, but this was indeed happening. How in the world had she survived this long without Max?
“You don’t have to prove anything,” Max whispered.
She kissed Max’s neck and lifted her head. “I want to as much as I want you.” It was like a miracle, but the sight of blatant want in Max’s eyes was a last-minute reprieve before something essential in her died.
“The only thing for you to do is kiss me and show me I’m not dreaming.” Max still held her, and Hayley tightened her hold around her neck.
“That’s all?”
“There might be some other things on my list, but starting there would be a way to forget a sucky day.”
“Put me down and sit.” She sat in Max’s lap and placed her hands on Max’s cheeks. “What about today didn’t you like? Are you sorry you hired us?”
“No,” Max said hesitantly.
“Tell me.”
“You’re the only one who gets me.” Max’s eyes met hers, and then she glanced away. “Josie had nothing to do with that campaign, did she.”
“Not really, because she didn’t understand something important. I might not have known who your family was, but the way you treated me made it impossible to let anyone else in after I left. Now that I know your family, it’s easy to understand how impossible it was not to fall in love with you.” She caressed Max’s cheeks, moving her hands down to her neck. “Why it was impossible to fall out of love with you and forget you.”
“The same exact thing happened to me, and today I saw what it takes to make me happy.”
“And that made you feel sucky?” If Max was about to ask her to leave, that would be a total letdown.
“That worry line in the middle of your forehead hasn’t changed.” Max ran her thumb over the spot and smiled. “I looked at you, and I knew with absolute certainty that no one else would ever get me like that. I knew that, and once I hired you, I also knew I’d watch you leave this time and I’d lose my chance.” Max shrugged. “That made for a sucky day.”
“You could’ve asked me to stay.”
“If I wasn’t a total weenie, I probably could have.” Max shrugged again and that did it.
Hayley took a deep breath and leaned forward. Once Max’s lips were pressed to hers, she lost all the fear that had choked her from the moment she talked to her family. Max held her and kissed her like she had a thousand times before, but the feeling of being cherished was warring with the truth that the kiss was turning her on. She pulled Max’s hair when she opened her mouth slightly to Max’s tongue, and it made Max break the kiss and gaze at her.
“Problem?” Max asked glancing down briefly when Hayley started unbuttoning her shirt.
“Not a one.” Her voice hitched when Max’s hand slipped from her knee to the middle of her thigh. “Can we agree eight years is long enough to wait?”
“It’s plenty enough time to craft a good whiskey, but way too long when it comes to you.” Max stood and cradled her. “We can talk later.”
“Yes, so much later. Right now you need to remind me how good your hands feel on me.”
* * *
“Anyplace in particular you want me to start?” Max said after she laid Hayley on the bed and finished taking her shirt off. “My hands are getting twitchy.”
“Surprise me.” Hayley knelt at the center of the bed, reached back, unzipped her skirt, and wiggled her hips to get it to slide down. She took it off before sitting on the edge and crooking her finger at Max. “Come here.”
“Aren’t you going to finish?” Max pointed to her bra and cocked her head. “This time around I’m going to touch where I want until you scream my name.”
“I am.” Max watched as Hayley unbuckled her belt and unzipped her pants. If there had been a certainty in her life, it was that Hayley wasn’t shy about what she wanted in bed. At least, she’d been assertive about that after realizing the results it got her. “Does that mean you aren’t hard as a rock? I won’t believe you if you say yes.” Hayley smiled up at her.
“Son of a bitch.” She had no choice but to curse when Hailey reached in and squeezed her clit so hard between two fingers her legs weakened.
“It’s good to know not all of you forgot me,” Hayley teased as she pumped her fingers a few times.
“Believe me.” She had to grit her teeth for a moment while Hayley drove her mad.
“Believe what, baby?” Hayley rested her feet behind Max’s knees, her touch softening.
“That low-cut blouse you wore the first day was a good reminder to some parts of me how much you were missed. I was pissed, shocked, and horny all at once, and it confused the hell out of me.”
“Which one won out?” Hayley licked her nipple as she peered up at her. “I’m guessing pissed, since you left.”
“When it comes to you, horny always wins, and you’re distracting me from my goals.” She moved her hands into Hayley’s underwear and squeezed her ass.
“What goals?”
“The I’m going to hold out until I make you come goal.” She smiled as her pants fell to the floor and Hayley laughed. “That sounds like you think I don’t have the willpower.” Hayley laughed again, making her exhale so forcefully, her nostrils flared. “That’s not helping.” Hayley had wet her fingers and stroked her until she couldn’t say anything else.
“Know what I think?” Hayley pulled her hand free, and that made her groan louder than all the touching.
“What?” She watched as Hayley reached back, unclasped her bra, and held it in place one-handed, then snapped the fingers on the other hand to get Max’s attention.
“I know you want to get naked and lie down so I can put my mouth somewhere that’ll make us both happy.” Hayley slowly lowered the bra, and the sight made her want to agree to anything. “If you do that for me, I promise I’ll give you whatever you want.”
Max got naked as she nodded but stopped when Hayley started crying. It wasn’t the reaction she was hoping for, and comforting Hayley took precedence over everything else. “What’s wrong?”
“I forgot how much fun you are, and how much you make me feel.” Hayley put her arms around her shoulders when she hugged her. “How could I have forgotten that and left you?”
“Hayley”—she had no choice but to hold her once the tears started again—“please don’t cry.” The feeling of desire she’d experienced so acutely just minutes before was replaced by the ache from Hayley’s pain, so she moved onto the bed and lay down. “I was thinking that first night outside the distillery that I’ve never seen you cry.”
“I seldom do,” Hayley said, taking some deep breaths as if trying to calm down. “But I saw you again and it broke me. Now I’m an emotional mess, so lucky you.” She wiped her face and laughed. “Sexy, huh?”
She rolled over to be able to look at Hayley while she spoke. “I like to think of it as your head finally catching up to your heart about wanting to be here.”
“I do, honey, more than anything. Maybe we can start from where we left off, but believe I want to be here with you.” Hayley smiled but she still appeared sad.
“I hope we don’t start exactly where we left off. That would suck,” she said and winked. “But I would like to start fresh.”
“You would?” Hayley’s smiled widened.
“I do, because what I said about that head and heart connection is something I have experience with. You own my heart, Hayley Wyatt, and I’ve been waiting on you to either fully claim it or give it back.”
Hayley put her arms around her and pressed their bodies together. “I want all of you.”
“I love you, and it’s something I didn’t want to admit, but I never stopped.”
“I love you too, and that’s not something you ever have to question again.” Hayley rolled with Max and rested her head on her shoulder.
“Does this conclude the emotional part of our evening?” She placed her hand on Hayley’s butt and slapped it gently.
“Yes. I promise my tears from now on will only be from happy times. You, though, might start crying when you have to move me and help me find a job. If my father doesn’t calm down, I doubt he’ll let me work remotely, so I’ll be an unemployed squatter in your house.”
“You can work for me, and my mother will be the first to volunteer to pack you up and give your father a lecture.”
Hayley laughed, then quieted as she made random patterns on Max’s abdomen with her fingers. “I’m exhausted, but grateful you forgive me.”
“Family is why you left, and family is something I understand. Hopefully you’ll be happy once you get a full dose of mine in a city that’s not as exciting as New York.”
“The city is something you don’t have to sell me on, but it could’ve been Bumfuck USA, and I’d still be thrilled if you were there.”
“What?” She was totally confused now.
“It’s something Josie told me.”
She laughed. Ah, Josie. “I’ll just bet.”
“Hey, she told me that while trying to convince me to tell you the truth about how I felt.” Hayley rested her weight on her elbows and gazed down at her. “You changed my life the day you walked into that classroom, and I’ve never been the same. There’ll never be anyone else for me.” She placed her hand on Max’s chest. “You’re it.”
“Then we’re as good a pair as whiskey on the rocks.” There was a limit to her ability to be this close to a naked Hayley and not touch her. “I have ways of making you believe me.”
Hayley might have been upset, but she was also wet, and she bit her bottom lip when Max touched her clit. “I’m starting to.”
“Are you sure? You seem to need some more convincing.” She loved Hayley’s expression and just how beautiful she was. “I thought now would be a good time to remind you that you’re mine.”
Hayley nodded as she moved on top, giving her room to maneuver Max’s hand down where she wanted it when she spread her legs wider. They’d made love often, but Max would never get tired of the look of ecstasy on Hayley’s face.
“I need you.” Hayley moved her hips, rubbing her clit harder against Max’s fingers. “So much, baby.” She stopped talking and groaned when Max put the tips of her fingers inside. “Please…oh, please. It’s been so long.” Hayley sat up as she pleaded and came down on her hand.
There was nothing that would keep her from giving Hayley everything she wanted, and she didn’t stop when Hayley leaned down and kissed her. God, she’d missed this connection and the freedom to show how much she cared. Sex had been simply sex for way too long, but this act with this woman would never be that.
“Oh.” Hayley sat back up as if to move better and held Max’s free hand as her moans got louder. “I’m coming…Jesus, I’m coming.”
