thought Rachel had sacrificed her own happiness and peace of mind so that Hailey could go to a good college. Rachel was no more going to burden her sister with guilt than she would burden her with four years of college debt.
An awkward silence had settled over the table. Rachel could almost hear Hailey’s thoughts as she sifted through the subtext of the conversation.
“I remember that trip,” Hailey said. “It was the summer before my senior year. You were really different when you came back. Quiet. Except when you were trying too hard to be upbeat. You never mentioned you met someone.”
With Max watching her, his expression a cement wall, Rachel swallowed a mouthful of her drink. “Max and I met at The Lucky Gull and hung out for a few days. It was …”
Rachel’s eyes slid sideways toward her sister. She kept her face as expressionless as possible. She’d kept the truth about her troubled marriage from Hailey for the same reason she’d protected her sister before and after their father died. As the big sister, Rachel was responsible for Hailey’s well-being.
“Casual,” Max supplied, his voice as smooth as butter. “No big deal. We enjoyed each other’s company for a short time and went our separate ways.”
If he intended for this description of their affair to cause her damage then his aim was flawless.
“Casual,” Rachel agreed, increasingly worried that her feelings for Max were anything but.
While the sisters talked about plans for the upcoming weekend, Max tucked into a delicious dinner of shepherd’s pie and pondered what the hell he hoped to accomplish by digging into Rachel’s life. What was it about her that kept him from just leaving well enough alone? Because as soon as he got her away from her sister, he intended to get to the bottom of what was going on.
Was he looking for ammunition to use against her because five years after the fact he was still angry about being an unwitting accomplice in her infidelity? Sure, he had a hard time letting go of things that bothered him, but he’d only known her four short days. Not enough time for his emotions to get engaged. They’d had fun. Lots of great sex. The connection between them might have seemed real, but it had been a vacation fantasy.
As the debate raged inside him, Max grew less certain of his rationalization.
He’d come away from that long weekend in Alabama a changed man. Before he’d met Rachel he’d been an easygoing bachelor, happy to date a series of women with no distrust of love. After their time together, he closed himself off to emotions and made sure anyone he dated knew he wasn’t interested in getting serious.
Until recently, he’d assumed his motivation for doing so was born out of being lied to by Rachel. In the last few days, he’d come to realize it stemmed from the fact that he’d experienced the four most amazing days with her and couldn’t imagine feeling that way with anyone ever again.
A shriek went up across the table from him. Max’s gaze shot to Rachel. The delight that glowed in her sapphire eyes and flushed her creamy skin rosy catapulted her from merely lovely to truly gorgeous. Happiness banished the shadows masking her eyes. The genuine love for her sister revealed her true heart. She was as beautiful on the inside as on the outside.
Her effect on him put his chest in turmoil. Heart and lungs competed for space in his ribcage. As he contemplated what a foolish move it had been to pull her back into his life, Rachel threw her arms around her sibling.
“Where’s the ring?” Rachel demanded, snatching her sister’s left hand and frowning at her bare fingers.
“Being sized.” Hailey wore a concerned frown as she peered at her sister. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
“Okay?” Rachel echoed, her pitch lower as excitement gave way to confusion. “I’m thrilled. Leo is a great guy. You two have been dating for two years. Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“Because we won’t be living together anymore.”
“And you’re worried about me being on my own?” Rachel laughed. “Are you kidding? I can’t wait to turn your bedroom into a home office.”
Whether or not Hailey picked up on her sister’s bravado, Max heard it loud and clear. Rachel was thrilled for her sister, but that didn’t mean that she was ready for the major change in her life. It didn’t take a genius to see that the sisters were tight, or that Rachel regarded her younger sibling as a child she was responsible for.
“Congratulations,” Max interjected when the sisters paused for breath. “Have you set a date?”
Hailey answered after a quick glance at Rachel. “November fifteenth.”
“So soon?” Rachel sagged in dismay. “There’s so much to do before then.”
“No, there’s not. We’re going to have a small wedding, just immediate family.”
“But that’s not your dream. And you’ve been saving for a huge blowout wedding since the day Leo asked you out.”
Hailey held her sister’s gaze, her expression determined. “Leo and I discussed it and we really don’t want a huge wedding.”
“But that’s what you’ve been saving for. Your dream wedding.”
“We want you to have the money.”
A-ha!
Max’s palm hit the table hard enough to cause plates and glasses to bounce, but the sisters were so focused on their battle of wills, neither turned his way. Confirmation that something was going on with Rachel’s finances.
“You’re being ridiculous,” Rachel insisted, her tone scolding. “I’m not taking your money. You earned it. If you don’t want a big wedding, use it as a down payment on your dream house.”
“But what about—”
“It’s okay,” Rachel interrupted, gripping her sister’s arm. She followed it up with an emphatic, “Really.”
Max leaned forward with interest and pinned Hailey with his gaze. “Why would your sister need money?”
“Quit poking your nose into my business,” Rachel said before Hailey could answer. “She has this silly idea that she should repay me for taking care of her all these years and paying for her college. It’s ridiculous. I love her. That’s why I did it. I wasn’t expecting anything back.”
There was more to it than that. Max could tell from Hailey’s sudden silence and Rachel’s fierce scowl.
“If you need money, I can help you out.” He’d expected her definitive head shake. “Call it a personal loan. No strings attached.”
He couldn’t resist adding the latter. The way Rachel glared at him sent his libido into overdrive. He imagined her thinking of all the ways he’d use the loan to gain the upper hand in their arguments, as well as other areas. Her expression had never been more transparent. He studied her, his level gaze causing her color to rise. At last she locked eyes with him. The hard glint in their depths warned him to back off.
Sensing Rachel would continue to deny him answers until he got her alone, Max dropped the matter. Then, deaf to the protests of the two independent career women across from him, he settled the bill.
They exited the restaurant only to discover the day’s heat had lingered into evening. Rachel’s gaze followed her sister as Hailey headed off to where she’d parked her car. The shadows were back in her eyes.
“She’s on top of the world,” Max remarked, pacing beside Rachel as she retraced the path they’d taken an hour earlier.
“She’s really happy.”
Max cursed the strong desire to put