Page 30 of Tide and Seek (Dr. Maxwell Thornton Murder Mysteries #8)

“Wonderful. I’ll go get your wine.” Marcus smiled and disappeared, leaving us alone with the view and the sound of the ocean.

We sat in silence for a moment, watching a pelican dive for fish in the distance, and listening to the chatter around us.

“It’s strange being back here at Geoffrey’s with you,” he said softly, and then he grimaced.

“What I mean is, I like how intimate this feels. I used to come here for business dinners, and the hospital administration liked to hold Christmas parties here sometimes if they were feeling generous. But as much as I liked coming here, this feels different. Better.”

I leaned back in my chair. “I’m glad.”

We paused our conversation when Marcus returned with the bottle cradled in one arm. “The Sancerre you ordered, sir?” he said, showing the label to Max.

“Yes, that’s it,” Max replied smoothly.

With a practiced flourish, Marcus uncorked the bottle and poured a small taste into Max’s glass. Max swirled it, sniffed like he was auditioning for a sommelier’s guild, then took a sip. After a beat, he nodded. “It’s perfect.”

Marcus smiled knowingly and began filling our glasses with the pale gold liquid with practiced efficiency. “Are you ready to order? Or do you need a few more minutes?”

I looked at Max. “Would you want to order for me? Seeing as you know the good stuff on the menu.”

Marcus laughed. “Oh, it’s all good, sir.”

“I’m sure that’s true.” I grimaced. “But Max knows what I like.”

Max looked flattered at the idea of ordering for both of us. “Absolutely.” He grabbed the menu that I’d barely looked at and scanned it quickly. “We’ll start with the lobster ravioli to share,” he said without hesitation.

“Very good.” Marcus nodded approvingly.

Max continued. “For the main courses, my partner will have the prime New York steak, medium rare, with the truffle mashed potatoes. And I’ll have the miso-marinated sea bass with seasonal vegetables.

” He handed the menus back to Marcus with a smug little smile.

“If we have room, we’ll decide on dessert later. ”

“A man who knows what he likes. I’m impressed.” Marcus beamed, giving Max an admiring look. “All excellent choices, sir. I’ll just put your order in now, and please let me know if there’s anything else you need.”

“Thanks,” I said, smiling at Max.

Once Marcus was gone, we clinked glasses, and I sipped the crisp wine. It was delicious, and I immediately took another sip, meeting Max’s amused gaze over the rim of his glass.

“It’s good, isn’t it?” he asked.

I nodded. “Probably the best white wine I’ve tasted so far.”

“It’s my favorite.” He held up his glass, examining the pale wine. “I looked into having some shipped to Rainy Dale once.” He winced. “Let’s just say, it wasn’t cost effective.”

“Maybe one of the local restaurants in Rainy Dale could order it for you, since they get discounts through their food service deliveries.”

He brightened. “I never thought of that. Is that allowed?”

“I don’t think the restaurant would mind, and the food service people would never even know.” I took another sip. “It would be worth a try.”

He smiled slyly. “Look at you, breaking the rules. That’s not like you, Royce.”

I held his gaze. “I guess I’ve changed too. I’m trying not to be too straight-laced.” I gave an exaggerated sigh. “Naturally, it’s a struggle, because I’m such a good boy.”

Max’s lips twitched. “That you are.”

I took another long sip of wine and Max laughed. “Don’t drink too fast. You don’t want to be drunk before the party tonight. We have to pace ourselves.”

I held my wine glass with my pinky distended. “It’s just so much fun being sophisticated.”

Max’s laugh was warm. “I love seeing you this relaxed. I don’t know why, but it makes me happy.”

“You make me happy, Max.”

His smile faded slowly. “Do I?”

“Absolutely.” I frowned. “You doubt that?”

“No. I know you love me.” He hesitated. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” I straightened slightly because his demeanor had changed so drastically from a few moments before.

“Remember—” A hint of pink touched his face. “Remember a few months ago, when I said we should get married?”

I swallowed loudly. “Of course I remember.” Never in a million years had I expected him to bring that up this afternoon.

“You seemed really shocked.” He watched me under his brows. “Like the idea had never even occurred to you.”

“Well, I… I was shocked.” I grimaced. “Not because I didn’t like the idea, but because you were the first one to bring it up.”

“Why would that matter?”

I chuffed. “Because it was so unexpected.”

“Was it?”

I laughed gruffly. “Come on, Max. You’ve always avoided any conversations about marriage. To be honest, I always figured if I wanted to marry you, I’d have to hogtie you and drag you to the church.”

“What?” He blinked at me. “That’s not true.”

“You definitely never seemed pro-marriage or pro-kids.”

He winced. “It’s true I’m not particularly pro-kids. But I’ve started to think maybe marriage isn’t such a horrible thing.”

“Have you?” My pulse sped up because this conversation was scary, but also exciting. I was nervous I might say the wrong thing and he’d bolt like a skittish colt, but it also felt like if I was ever going to try and nail him down about how he saw our future, this was a prime opportunity.

“But when I brought up getting married,” he continued, “you seemed to reject the idea.”

“What? No.” I reached across the table for his hand. His fingers were clammy and he didn’t grip my fingers very tight. “I wasn’t rejecting you, Max.”

He studied me. “You should be completely honest, Royce. Don’t sugar coat things for me.”

I laughed. “I ain’t sugar coating anything. Hell, I’d marry you tomorrow if that was what you wanted.”

“You would?” His dark brows rose.

“Yes. I love you, Max. You know that. I’d be honored to be your husband. I just wasn’t sure you meant it. I thought maybe you were just joking around because you never brought it up again.”

“I wasn’t joking,” he said quietly.

I felt like hyperventilating. “So you really see us getting married some day? You see a real future?”

“I do.” He shrugged. “I never thought I’d want that. Never thought I’d meet anyone who would want that with me.”

“I want that with you.”

He bit his bottom lip. “I’m relieved to hear that, although I do worry you’re too traditional. You like the idea of settling down, and of starting a family. What if I can’t give you the second part?”

My heart twinged. “I won’t lie and say that’s not disappointing. I think we’d both be great parents, and I’d love to share that with you. But I’d never force you into that. Nobody should be a parent if they don’t want to be.”

“But you do want to be.”

I shrugged. “Yeah. I always thought I’d have kids. But if my choice is move on so I can have kids with someone else, or marry you and not have kids, I choose you, Max.”

“And if you change your mind later?”

“I don’t see that happening. Once I commit, that’s it.” I smiled at him. “I’m just happy to know you see us having a real future. Means the world to me, Max.”

“And I know I don’t say it often enough,” he said in a hushed voice, “but you mean the world to me.”

We were interrupted when Marcus returned with the lobster ravioli, and we dropped the subject.

Max was a little stiff at first, but as we drank more wine and enjoyed the amazing food, he relaxed.

While it was bittersweet to think I might never be a father, I was relieved and happy to know that Max could see me as his husband.

I was a realist, and long ago, I’d realized that you couldn’t always have everything you wanted in life. But if I could have Max as my husband one day, I’d definitely feel like I had more than enough.