Orange Blossom Brides (15 page)

“It’s what I do, Lilli. Trust me.”

She didn’t have a choice, but he’d proved he was on the job. She couldn’t ask for more.

“If your mother still insists on displaying the jewelry here after the benefit, Sanders Security will work overtime.”

“Let’s not wait until then. Hopefully she’ll realize the risk isn’t worth it.”

Max raised an eyebrow.

“Because of the wedding dresses,” Lilli explained. “They’re a big draw for the event. Come look.”

She led him to the dress forms displaying the vintage collection. “These really pull the theme of the benefit together. To me, they are at least as important as the jewelry and we need to keep them safe at all costs.”

“We will, Lilli.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to go on about this. It isn’t about the money. If anything were to happen, neither the jewelry nor these gowns can be replaced.”

“Either way, I’ll make sure both collections are protected. Today I’ll fix the back door and check all the locks. I’ll file a police report and alert the chief to make sure this office is part of a regular patrol. I’ll also stop by frequently to check on things.”

“Thanks.”

A few seconds of silence passed.

“So, this is why women get all crazy over weddings?”

“You have to admit, they are exquisite.”

He reached out to touch the lace on one dress. His masculine hand should have seemed out of place beside something so fragile, but in the movement, Lilli saw the gentle strength Max possessed.

“I know men don’t get excited about the planning part of the wedding,” she said in a soft voice. “But it’s hard to ignore the look on a man’s face when he gets the first glimpse of his bride walking down the aisle wearing a dress like this.”

Max turned his head. Her blood warmed at the heat smoldering in his eyes. Once again she had more questions than answers. If she could have found her voice, she might have asked what was going on between them.

Behind them, Mrs. R. cleared her throat. Max blinked and the moment vanished.

“I guess we’re finished here.”

Lilli nodded. Max said goodbye to the ladies, then walked out with the toolbox in his hand. Mrs. R. and Jewel moved to stand on either side of Lilli.

“I don’t think he was very happy,” Jewel said.

“It’s his job to be upset when we don’t follow security protocols.”

“I don’t know what I would have done if the collection had disappeared.” Mrs. R. swiped at her eyes. “I should let your mother know what’s going on.”

Lilli stopped her. She did not want to have to explain this to Celeste. “Nothing bad happened, so let’s not worry my mother. We’ll be more vigilant from this point on.”

Mrs. R. nodded and returned to her desk.

Lilli and Jewel returned to the area where they’d been working.

“Max probably thinks I’m incompetent. Why didn’t I ask for the pass code sooner?”

“I doubt it. He’s doing a job—simple as that.”

“I know. It’s just...”

“You seriously like Max.”

Lilli nodded, her cheeks going pink.

Jewel’s voice gentled. “Maybe you need to take a chance with him. Put yourself out there. You’ve been so busy with work you’ve cut yourself off from a lot of guys who would like to date you. Give Max the benefit of the doubt. You’re going to Tie the Knot together.”

“Not like a real date.”

“But it could be.”

“And then what would I do?”

Jewel grinned. “From the way he looks at you, girlfriend, I don’t think it’ll be long before you find out.”

“His business comes first. I can’t compete with that.”

“So make yourself unforgettable.”

Lilli groaned. “I’ve already done that. And not in a good way.”

“Then it should be easier from here on out.”

If only.

“Why don’t we get back to the task at hand.” Lilli glanced at her watch. They still had a good fifteen minutes before they had to get back to the office. “What else did you want to show me?”

Jewel grabbed a notepad she’d been using. “About the wedding favors. I have an idea.”

“That’s why we’re here. Shoot.”

“Okay.” Jewel showed Lilli a drawing. “How about a twist on the traditional wedding invitation. We take fancy card stock, emboss the front with the historical society logo. On the inside, on delicate paper, we print the fund-raiser particulars as if they were a wedding announcement. Only it’s information about the recipients of the benefit.”

“Clever.”

“We can punch a hole in the corner and add a blue ribbon for a finishing touch.”

“Perfect. See, I told Mary you’d have great ideas. She’s relieved to let you run with them.”

“I love it,” Jewel said as she gathered up her tote bag to return to work. “And I’m glad to be a part of it.”

“Me, too. Listen, tell Jim I’ll be there shortly. While I’m out I want to swing past the car dealership and see what Mr. Danielson has decided.”

“Okay. See you later.”

Jewel left while Mrs. R. chattered on the phone again. Trying to suppress the restlessness that came from dealing with Max, Lilli wandered over to the display gowns. She hadn’t taken time to truly admire them.

After she’d flown out of here on Saturday, she’d realized she needed to let go of what had happened at her wedding rehearsal. Yes, she’d been dumped. Yes, it hurt. But she’d moved on. She wanted to open her heart to new possibilities, not close it off forever out of fear.

As she looked back, Lilli saw that she’d wanted to marry Rob because it had seemed like the next logical step in their relationship. It was what everyone had expected. She’d lost track of the girl who’d stepped out of her comfort zone one summer night to be free.

Spending time with Max reminded her of that all-too-brief time in her life when she’d been willing to put aside what her parents and society expected in order to follow her heart. Maybe it wasn’t too late to revive those dreams.

What if she’d been engaged to a man who respected her decisions and goals? A man she could partner with, not against? A man like Max? He certainly didn’t mind that she enjoyed her job. Treated her as a professional equal. He asked her opinions. But could there be more between them as Jewel suggested?

Changing her line of concentration, she admired a silk Chanel wedding dress. As she read the placard, she discovered the short dress worn just below the knee with a court train was from the twenties. A cloche cap with a long veil finished the look.

Next, a slim sheath gown of white lamé with fitted sleeves and a court train cascading from the shoulders to gather delicately on the floor. A tiara held a sweeping tulle veil.

The next dress form in the row showcased an ankle-length trainless gown of white organdy over a crinoline, paired with a short bouffant veil—clearly a style from the fifties. An off-white lace minidress with a long tulle veil made Lilli laugh. The groovy style of the sixties was not her thing, but she could appreciate the workmanship that had gone into the handmade lace.

Her heart stopped when she came to the next creation. Modeled in the spirit of romance, and clearly inspired by Princess Diana, the white taffeta with seed pearls, sequins and antique lace spoke of traditional pomp and circumstance, with a bit of nobility thrown in.

Finally, an exquisite, strapless Vera Wang of ivory satin graced its dress form. Any modern bride would love to walk down the aisle in this number.

After her in-depth research about all things bridal, the gowns took on more meaning. Each decade had a new look, updating the years before as well as including new inspiration.

One thing remained the same. All the tulle, lace, satin and silk only added to the joy of a bride joining her groom on their wedding day. Hopefully, that one fact never changed.

She fingered the lace on the dress, memories of her own wedding gown filling her mind. She remembered that she and Celeste had gone shopping at an exclusive boutique, having a girls’ day out. Now that she reflected on it, though, she realized that her mother had chosen the dress. Lilli had loved the style, but there hadn’t been any real emotion behind the choice.

Frowning, she glanced down at the lace in her hand. What had happened to her gown, anyway? Her mother had taken care of it, just as she had everything else related to the doomed wedding festivities at the time. Lilli dropped the material. That part of her life had ended.

She closed her eyes, thankful she hadn’t married Rob. What a disaster it would have been. He hadn’t been honest with her about his feelings prior to the rehearsal dinner. If they’d gone through with the wedding it would have been worse.

The image of Max standing before the town, defending himself, popped into her mind. Honesty. Max Sanders had it in spades. She now realized more than ever how much that quality mattered. At some point, her admiration for Max had subtly shifted and her heart had become engaged. Could her feelings for him get any more complicated?

With a shake of her head, she collected her purse, ready to get on with the business of the day. At least with her job, she knew where she stood and had a measure of control.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

M
AX
WALKED
INTO
his office late the next morning after a successful appointment.

Blanche stopped typing and looked up. “Good morning, boss.” A huge smile filled her elfin face.

“Make that an excellent morning.”

“Tell me.”

“I’m pretty confident I nailed the Rawlings job. He needs to talk to his board.”

“Did you get more details?”

Max crossed the room to the coffee station and poured a mug. “Since Rawlings headquarters are based here, Sanders Security will continue to operate from Cypress Pointe. I’ll travel to all his warehouse locations and evaluate security. This is going to take a while. After that, we’ll implement and maintain security, and if Rawlings acquires new locations, we’ll go in there, as well.”

“So, where does that leave Bart and me?”

“I’m planning on hiring extra help to keep things going in Cypress Pointe when I’m away. I told you I wouldn’t let you go.”

Blanche fiddled with the mouse beside her keyboard. “It’s not me I’m worried about.”

Max raised a brow. “Then who?”

“You.”

“What? Why?”

“You’re starting to fit in Cypress Pointe. If you’re gone all the time, you’ll miss out on lots of things.”

“Like?”

When Blanche didn’t respond he eyed her cautiously. “What’s up?”

She nodded toward his office. “Special delivery.”

“I didn’t order anything.” He strode through the outer office into his domain, stopping short when he spied the tux hanging from his door, covered by a clear plastic garment bag with the name Buxby’s Formals printed on it. On closer inspection, he realized there were three suits.

“What the...?”

“Forget to tell me something?” Blanche teased as she handed him an envelope.

Max took it into his office, tossing it on his desk. “According to you, my life is an open book.”

Blanche followed, standing sentinel in the doorway, her hands planted on her hips as she regarded him with an amused tilt of her lips. “See, this is what I’m talking about. Working with Lilli. If you leave, you won’t have another chance.”

Yeah, he’d considered that. He and Lilli had a spark, no doubt, but he still wasn’t sure he could invest his heart only to watch her walk away. Granted, Lilli wasn’t anything like his mother, but who knew what women wanted?

“I’m doing this all for Sanders Security. You know that.”

“Bottom line, you committed to the benefit. To Lilli.”

“I did. And after that, I can commit to another job.”

Blanche frowned. “Are you mad Lilli got to you, convinced you to attend the benefit?”

“Who says she got to me?”

“It was your tone.”

Okay, there was that. “Lilli catches me off guard. You know I don’t like when that happens.”

“It’s not an off-guard tone. It’s an interested tone.”

“You can tell interest by a tone?”

“It’s my job to read people. That’s one of the reasons you hired me, remember?”

He didn’t want to go there. “Yeah, well, she won’t one-up me again.”

Blanche pointed to the tux bag. “I think she did.”

“I’m closing my door now.”

Her knowing grin said it all as she moved out of the way so he could remove the suits. Nearly tripping over a shoe box, he kicked the door shut. Then he tipped the lid of the box up with the toe of his boot, cringing at the highly polished black leather dress shoes inside.

“Miss Barclay called a few minutes ago,” Blanche sang out from the other side of the door. “I left her number on your desk.”

He stood there holding the bag, deciding this had to be his worst nightmare. He’d never enjoyed dressing up, not for any reason. But he’d agreed to volunteer, so he had to go along with the dress code. Lilli knew that.

So, here came the sticky dilemma. Should he be ticked that she sent him tuxes to choose from, as though he was so fashion challenged he couldn’t pick one out on his own? Or should he be flattered she wanted him to look his best?

He remembered how knock-out gorgeous she’d looked at the forum and decided she probably thought he didn’t have a clue how to dress.

He tossed the garment bag on the chair in front of his desk and snatched up the envelope, ripping it open to read the neat writing.
Any of these tuxedos would look wonderful with your build. Pick one and send the others back. Lilli.

Smiling, he searched for Lilli’s number on his cell and dialed. “The tuxes are here,” he told her.

“And?”

“Thanks.”

He didn’t want to admit it, but her shopping in his place had him made his life a whole lot easier.

“And I wanted to thank you for Sunday,” she said. “Taking me to talk to your grandmother helped me iron out a couple of rough spots for the event.”

“Glad I could help.” Okay, deep waters here. How much more did he want to be involved with her, besides the whole charity event? He couldn’t deny the attraction, but to pursue her? He’d gone to the forum to network, nothing more. She had a schedule filled up with work and the fund-raiser. If they did get together, would they be too busy to make time for each other? What would she expect from him? Would she want him to change, to fit in with the country club set that seemed so much a part of her life? He glanced at the garment bag. Any woman who could pick out a tux at a moment’s notice probably wouldn’t be interested in a man who lived in T-shirts and jeans anyway.

“While I have you on the phone,” he continued. “I wanted to let you know I stopped by the historical society office this morning. Everything looks okay.”

“Good to know”

“All part of the service.”

“Great,” Lilli said in a less-than-perky tone. “I need to get back to work. Big account. You know how that goes.”

What had he said wrong? “Right. Again, thanks for the tux options.”

She hung up after a soft goodbye, leaving Max to shake his head. He had to get her off his mind. He had a business to run, a tux to choose and Bart waiting for his first assignment. He turned to the window framing the pale green Gulf water sparkling in the morning sun. As much as he’d love to be out on a boat skimming the waves, his life was nothing if not demanding.

With one last longing glance at the water, he moved away from the window before he chucked all common sense and took off for the day.

By the time he made some phone calls and reviewed a couple of promising cases, the clock hit noon. He needed a breather. He stepped from his office as Blanche hung up the office phone.

“Did you pick out a tux?”

“Blanche, I have a business to run. This isn’t a modeling agency.”

“You have to make a decision.”

On so many things in his life. “Right now I’m deciding to eat lunch.”

“I’ll look forward to a fashion show this afternoon.” She shot him a wide grin.

Max scowled and jogged down the stairs, stepping out of the doorway onto the sidewalk in front of his office. Heaven save him from women. All women. From smart-alecky secretaries to persuasive society babes.

* * ** * *

L
ILLI
GAVE
UP
her free Wednesday night for an emergency meeting at the club with the historical society charity committee. If she hadn’t known better, she would have thought Marisa had staged a coup. Each woman expressed concern over some plans or failure to carry out other plans. It had taken two hours to sort through the mess. Anyone else would have thrown her hands up walked away, but Lilli’s sense of responsibility kept her from doing just that.

Finally, after nine o’clock, all she wanted to do was go home and down a few aspirin.

“Mom, where are you?” she wondered out loud in the now empty room.

Celeste still hadn’t come home. Ever the dutiful daughter, Lilli had checked in with her, keeping Celeste up to date. When Lilli asked when she’d be home, Celeste continued with vague answers. It was unusual for her mother to stay out of the action this long. Lilli had even called her father, but the call had gone to voice mail. Weird, because her father usually picked up when she called. What was up with her parents?

With a sigh, she stuffed her tote bag. The lists, which had been getting smaller, had suddenly doubled in size, and she still had material to review for a possible new account at work. She needed to focus on work more and the benefit less.

With work on her mind, she shouldered her bag, turned off the lights and stopped by the front desk to let the assistant manager, Tom, know the meeting had ended. He asked about planning, chatted about the bridal dress collection, wondering when the dresses would be brought to the club from the historical society office and assuring her the collection would be safe. His concern seemed overboard, and Max had security under control, but she appreciated his attention to detail.

After saying goodbye, she headed to the nearly empty parking lot, more than ready to get home. The meeting had sapped what little energy she had left after a full day at work. Unlocking the driver’s side car door, she tossed her bag onto the passenger seat before sliding inside. Something felt off.

She got out of the car and inspected the exterior, finding her front left tire flat. “What on earth...?” she muttered, already pulling out her cell phone. She scrolled through her numbers, trying to decide who she should call for help. She tried AAA, but the line was busy. She didn’t relish the idea of waiting alone in the parking lot at night. She supposed the attempted break-in at the historical society office still had her a little on edge.

She found a phone number for a local automotive garage, but got an after-hours message for an emergency number. She called that number, only to hear another recording stating someone would call her back.

Frustrated, she scrolled through the contact list again in hopes of finding another alternative when she came across Max’s office number. Should she bother him? He did tell her to call if she needed anything. A flat tire constituted need. She pressed the Send button, not expecting him to answer but secretly hoping he would.

He picked up on the third ring. “Sanders.”

“Max, it’s Lilli. Got a minute?”

He hesitated a beat. “Sure. What’s up?”

“I’m standing in the country club parking lot and I have a problem with my car.”

His voice went from personally bothered to professionally alert. “What kind of problem?”

“Flat tire.”

Silence. Then, “Are you alone?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be right there.”

He clicked off, not sounding thrilled at her request. She shouldn’t have bothered him. Should have waited on the line for AAA instead. Or she should have learned how to change a tire sometime in her life. It would have saved her the humiliation of a disgruntled Max Sanders showing up to save the day.

About five minutes passed until Max pulled up in his truck. He jumped out, walking straight to her.

“You okay?”

“Yes.”

He searched her face, as if looking for some hidden answer. Apparently satisfied, he nodded before turning to check out the damage. “I take it your car wasn’t in this condition when you left it?”

“No. I had an emergency meeting tonight. When I got in the car to leave, I noticed something wrong.”

“So you decided to call me?”

In the overhead light, she saw the cocky rise of his eyebrow.

“I couldn’t get through to AAA or the garage in town. Are you unhappy that I called you?”

“Of course not,” he bit out. “Pop the trunk so I can get the spare.”

Could he be any more underwhelmed? Lilli suddenly felt foolish for even thinking the spark of interest she’d sensed between them meant anything. Clearly, he didn’t want to be here. But he changed the tire, the muscles under his shirt flexing as he made short work of the task at hand. She couldn’t turn away.

“What?” Max asked as he stood to put away the flat tire and tools.

“Nothing. Look, I’m sorry I bothered you.”

“Lilli...”

She held up her hand. “I get it. You only came out here because you work for the historical society. You don’t have to be a friend. Don’t worry, unless it’s about the event, you won’t hear from me again.”

“I didn’t mind.”

At his calm tone and the concerned expression on his face, Lilli sighed. “My mother’s project is taking up too much of my time and I’m not even active in the society. A flat tire is icing on the cake.”

“You aren’t part of the historical society?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Technically, yes. My name is on the roster.” She let out a frustrated breath. “It’s a long story.”

“I have time.”

Surprised by his response, since a few minutes ago he’d seemed put out, she hesitated, not sure what to do. Should she confide in him? She wanted to. And she didn’t want to.

What a mess.
“It’s my problem and I’ve bothered you enough for one night.”

“I’m happy to listen.”

“Maybe another time.”

Max shrugged tight shoulders. “Whatever you want. I’ll follow you home.”

Much as she hated the ingrained response, her back went up. “There’s no need.”

“Humor me.”

The overhead light caught the steely resolve reflected in his eyes. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t used to having someone concerned about her welfare. “Okay, you win.”

She got into her car and headed in the direction of her apartment, Max’s headlights steady behind her. She let out a sigh. Much as she would never admit it, knowing he followed brought her comfort. Only a stand-up guy would bother seeing to her safety.

Minutes later they arrived at her apartment complex. He joined her as she locked her car. “You gonna be okay?”

“Yes, thanks.” She glanced up at him. Took a chance. “Want to come in for some iced tea?”

“You sure?”

“It’s the least I can do since you came to my rescue.”

“Let me get something out of the truck first.”

She waited. When he joined her, he thrust a large envelope into her hands. “Photos from Gram. She wants you to pick your favorites for the benefit.”

Lilli hugged the envelope to her chest. “Thanks.”

They stood under the moonlight for a long moment. The sweet aroma of orange blossoms scented the air. Lilli risked a glance in his direction to find Max’s intense focus directed at her. She couldn’t decipher the look in his eyes, but the heat that emanated from him sent a delicious shiver over her skin.