Read Online August: Calendar Girl Book 8 by Audrey Carlan - Free Book Online
Authors: Audrey Carlan
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pressure gets too much. Heck, there’s even a Zen garden for people to walk through to feel in touch with nature.”
“Wow, sounds like you do a lot for your staff.”
He smiled and waved a hand at one of the waiters passing by. “We try. I want my team, regardless of where they fall on the scale, to work hard and know that they are appreciated, valued, you know?”
I nodded. “I mean I get it in theory, but I’ve never experienced that myself. Well, until now. Millie takes good care of me.”
“Millie?”
“Oh, sorry. Ms. Milan, as she prefers to be called. She’s actually my aunt.”
“On your dad’s side?” he asked immediately.
Twiddling with the saltshaker, I shook my head. “Nope. My mom’s.”
Max put his elbow on the table and rested his head in his hand. “Tell me about her.”
If I’d been thinking normally, not swayed by the coolness factor of the environment and the ease with which I found myself talking to Max, I would have found his interest odd. Who cared about someone’s random aunt? “Um, I guess for starters, I’d say I got my looks from her and Mom.”
“That’s true,” he said, and I narrowed my eyes. How would he know if that statement were true?
Before I could ask, we were interrupted by the waitress. We both ordered the same thing: a combination plate with a tostada and a cheese enchilada, but Max added two tacos. The guy was a massive wall of man. It had to take a lot to fill him up. He probably ate his wife out of house and home on a daily basis.
“So continue. Aunt Millie is your mom’s sister and she runs Exquisite Escorts. Right? And that’s how you got into the business?”
“Yeah, I needed to make money and fast.”
“Can I ask why?”
I huffed. “I just don’t understand why you care.”
He looked away, his cheeks pinking. “Call it curious. I like you as a person, Mia. I can tell already you’re good people, and I want the rest of your time here to be worth something. At the very least, when you go home, you’ll have another person you can count on. I’d like to be that person.”
I’d learned through this journey not to be so cynical about these things. Tai, by nature, was the same way. A man who protected women, all women, not out of some kind of outdated, old-fashioned idea, but because he cared. Max had that vibe as well. I took a deep breath and decided I’d be honest. Lay it all out there, and if he thought differently of me for it, so be it. I had to take chances in life. Real chances with people and relationships, if I wanted to have any that mattered in the long run.
“My pops got into some trouble. He’s a drunk most of the time, but a gambler all of the time. Usually he’d bring home just enough to cover the rent. The rest—food, utilities, the other things people needed to live comfortably—had to be paid in other ways.”
Maxwell’s eyes turned icy. “And how did those things get paid while you were growing up?”
I tipped my chin and focused on the tea the waiter set down in front of me, adding my heaping dose of sugar and squeezing in the lemon. “Usually, I worked to make the extra. Bought clothes for Mads and me at local thrift stores. I’d be really careful with my clothes, knowing that I’d need to pass them down to her one day. And you know what, she never once complained. She’s the better of the two of us, my girl.”
Talking about Maddy made my heart hurt. As soon as we got back to his ranch, I was going to check in. It had been too long, and I needed to give her an update, especially the fact that I’d moved in with Wes. Maybe I could get her and Matt to fly out for Christmas. I guess that all depended on where I’d be during the holidays. I still had a fat debt to pay.
“You two must be really close.” His voice was gravelly, emotional in that way I’d come to recognize with him.
“Yeah, as close as two people can be. We pretty much only had each other after Mom left and Pops went on a bender. He
“Wow, sounds like you do a lot for your staff.”
He smiled and waved a hand at one of the waiters passing by. “We try. I want my team, regardless of where they fall on the scale, to work hard and know that they are appreciated, valued, you know?”
I nodded. “I mean I get it in theory, but I’ve never experienced that myself. Well, until now. Millie takes good care of me.”
“Millie?”
“Oh, sorry. Ms. Milan, as she prefers to be called. She’s actually my aunt.”
“On your dad’s side?” he asked immediately.
Twiddling with the saltshaker, I shook my head. “Nope. My mom’s.”
Max put his elbow on the table and rested his head in his hand. “Tell me about her.”
If I’d been thinking normally, not swayed by the coolness factor of the environment and the ease with which I found myself talking to Max, I would have found his interest odd. Who cared about someone’s random aunt? “Um, I guess for starters, I’d say I got my looks from her and Mom.”
“That’s true,” he said, and I narrowed my eyes. How would he know if that statement were true?
Before I could ask, we were interrupted by the waitress. We both ordered the same thing: a combination plate with a tostada and a cheese enchilada, but Max added two tacos. The guy was a massive wall of man. It had to take a lot to fill him up. He probably ate his wife out of house and home on a daily basis.
“So continue. Aunt Millie is your mom’s sister and she runs Exquisite Escorts. Right? And that’s how you got into the business?”
“Yeah, I needed to make money and fast.”
“Can I ask why?”
I huffed. “I just don’t understand why you care.”
He looked away, his cheeks pinking. “Call it curious. I like you as a person, Mia. I can tell already you’re good people, and I want the rest of your time here to be worth something. At the very least, when you go home, you’ll have another person you can count on. I’d like to be that person.”
I’d learned through this journey not to be so cynical about these things. Tai, by nature, was the same way. A man who protected women, all women, not out of some kind of outdated, old-fashioned idea, but because he cared. Max had that vibe as well. I took a deep breath and decided I’d be honest. Lay it all out there, and if he thought differently of me for it, so be it. I had to take chances in life. Real chances with people and relationships, if I wanted to have any that mattered in the long run.
“My pops got into some trouble. He’s a drunk most of the time, but a gambler all of the time. Usually he’d bring home just enough to cover the rent. The rest—food, utilities, the other things people needed to live comfortably—had to be paid in other ways.”
Maxwell’s eyes turned icy. “And how did those things get paid while you were growing up?”
I tipped my chin and focused on the tea the waiter set down in front of me, adding my heaping dose of sugar and squeezing in the lemon. “Usually, I worked to make the extra. Bought clothes for Mads and me at local thrift stores. I’d be really careful with my clothes, knowing that I’d need to pass them down to her one day. And you know what, she never once complained. She’s the better of the two of us, my girl.”
Talking about Maddy made my heart hurt. As soon as we got back to his ranch, I was going to check in. It had been too long, and I needed to give her an update, especially the fact that I’d moved in with Wes. Maybe I could get her and Matt to fly out for Christmas. I guess that all depended on where I’d be during the holidays. I still had a fat debt to pay.
“You two must be really close.” His voice was gravelly, emotional in that way I’d come to recognize with him.
“Yeah, as close as two people can be. We pretty much only had each other after Mom left and Pops went on a bender. He
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