His jaw tightened, and he ushered Anna toward the booth where Sky sat with Billy Ray. Her expression revealed nothing, which scared the hell out of him. She should be angry at least, hurt even, yet her countenance showed none of that.
Before he could take two steps, Big John clamped a huge paw on his shoulder. “Y’all are late,” he boomed loud enough to be heard in the kitchen. “We were going to order without you.”
Confused, Max simply stared at his friend.
And then Sky was in front of him, a smile on her face as she patted his chest and turned to Anna. “I hope he didn’t rush you too much.” She looked at him again, and her smile grew. “He can be a bit bossy.”
Anna frowned and blinked. “No. Well, maybe a little.”
Billy Ray stood and held out a hand to Max. “I tried to talk her into ditching you and going out with me.”
He grinned as Max numbly shook his hand, confusion increasing by the second.
“But she’d have none of it.” He turned toward Anna. “Hey, Anna Sue. You probably don’t remember me. I graduated before you.” His grin widened. “But I remember you from the Dairy Barn.”
“Um, I …your face is familiar.”
“Billy Ray Thomas. Friends call me Bill.” He gave her an appreciative glance. “You’re even prettier than you were then.”
“Save the sweet talk, Bill,” groused John. “I’m hungry.”
Max stared at the group in turn, unable to form a coherent thought, much less a sentence.
John didn’t appear to notice anything askew as he lowered his voice. “You and Sky need to sort your stuff out and get on with the program.” He turned and extended his hand to Anna. “I’m John Andrews, Miss Anna. How about we grab us a booth over here and order a bite.”
“Mind if I join you?” asked Bill.
“You already ate,” said John.
“But I haven’t had dessert.”
The two men moved away, with John guiding a silent Anna along.
Sky hooked her arm through his and pulled him into the booth beside her.
“What’s going on?” he whispered. “What did I miss?”
“I’ll explain in a minute.”
He met her earnest gaze and fought to stay focused. “I don’t understand.”
She touched his face with her fingertips. “I admit, I was a little behind the curve myself at first. But when John said what he did, I knew immediately what I should do.”
“Which was?”
She lowered her voice. “There’s not a person in this room who hasn’t heard the talk.” Sky placed her arm through his again and laced their fingers together. “They wanted to see a show. So we gave them one. Just not what they were expecting.”
His whole body tensed, and he tried to pull his hand free. “So, this is all just a put-on? A show?”
She tightened her grip, refusing to release him. “No. Of course not.” She glanced around, then back to him, cheeks a lovely shade of pink, her eyes glistening. “I admit I was taken aback earlier.”
Further explanation wasn’t necessary.
She looked down, one hand rubbing the tight muscles of his forearm. “The ugly head of jealousy will rob a perfectly normal and sane person of all rational thought.”
“Jealousy?”
“I’ve never been jealous before, so it took me a while to figure it out.” She inhaled deeply and met his gaze. “Common sense should have told me all I needed to know. But, well…I was jealous and a little hurt, too, and…overreacted.”
He immediately sobered. “She’s an old friend, Sky, who had a meltdown. I didn’t know what else to do.”
When she smiled this time, the lead weight around his heart disappeared.
She reached up and touched his lower lip with her index finger. “I know I’ve said this before but it bears saying again. You’re a good man, Max, with a good heart.” She reached up and kissed him lightly on the lips. Right there in the diner. In front of God and everybody.
“And I’m crazy about you.”
The kiss was spontaneous and not something she would normally do. But this was not a normal situation. One look at Max’s face when he saw her with Bill, and she knew. He experienced the same hurt and confusion she’d suffered earlier.
Because he cared. He may not love her as she did him, but he cared. And that was a start.
Sky didn’t regret her actions. It was her way of telling Max, the town, Anna, and anyone who watched—he’s mine. I’m his.
His jaw muscles tightened and released. “God, I’m crazy about you, too.” He sealed his vow with a tender kiss. “I don’t ever want to go through that kind of hell again.”
“Me neither.”
