Page 80 of Tide and Seek

He let out a long sigh.“No.I… I’d rather stay in.I don’t feel like being around other people right now.”

My pulse skittered alarmingly.Why didn’t he want to go out?He’d been talking about taking me to all his favorite places the whole time, but suddenly he wanted to stay home?Why, so he could have a serious talk with me maybe?

“You didn’t change your clothes,” I said.

Max glanced down at his suit as if surprised to find himself still wearing it.“No, I...got distracted.C.J.called while I was upstairs.”

“Everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah.She wants me to see her new yoga studio tomorrow.She’s very excited and proud.”He gave a weak smile.“I hope it’s okay with you if I go?You can go too if you want, but I didn’t think you had any interest in yoga.”

“I don’t.”

Neither do you, Max.

Usually.

But I didn’t say any of that out loud.I bit my tongue and forced a smile.“You should go.It’ll make her happy.”

“I probably will.”

It was obvious he was hiding something behind his back, and I was getting more and more nervous about his odd behavior.I decided to just say something.“What have you got behind your back, Max?”

He looked like a deer in the headlights.“Nothing.”

I laughed gruffly.“It’s obviously something.”

He cleared his throat.“I bought some champagne.”As he spoke, he awkwardly pulled a bottle of bubbly from behind his back.“Dom Pérignon.”

I lifted my brows.“Wow.That’s pricey stuff.”

He frowned.“Are you going to start worrying about money again, Royce?”

“No, I wasn’t being negative,” I said quickly.“It was more of an observation than anything.Is it chilled?”

“Yes.”He moved closer, his face tense and his mouth a grim line.“I thought we might celebrate.”While it was a nice thought, he looked more like he was at a funeral than a celebration.

“Celebrate what?”The question came out more cautious than I’d intended.People didn’t celebrate break-ups, right?But then again, Max didn’t do things the way regular people did.Maybe he thought breaking up with me and then getting me drunk would soften the blow?

“I thought we could celebrate the time we’ve had together.”He made a vague gesture with his free hand.“Not just this trip but also our time in Rainy Dale.It wasn’t a waste of time.”

“No, of course not.”My heart was racing so fast I felt breathless.“Why would it be a waste of time?”

He grunted.“I just mean this vacation has given us a chance to figure out what we want our future to be.”

“I already know what I want, Max.”

His jaw clenched and then he said, “I do too, finally.”

Why does he sound so cryptic?

“We’ve had some really good times together, Royce.”His voice wobbled, and he looked frustrated.He cleared his throat.“It’s been fun.”He winced.

“Yes.It’s been… fun.”My gut churned as I searched his face for some clue where this was going.But he just looked so uptight, it wasn’t comforting.I was completely confused by the bottle of champagne combined with his grim expression.None of it made sense.

“You’re a really good person and man, Royce.It’s been an honor getting to know you.”His words sounded forced, like he was following a script he wasn’t comfortable with.

“Thanks.”My throat was so tight it was hard to speak.This felt like a farewell speech, and if it was, I wasn’t sure I could handle it.I watched him carefully, noting the way his grip tightened on the bottle’s neck, the slight tremor in his hand.He definitely didn’t look like a man about to deliver good news.