Page 27 of Written with Love

Iian pointed them to a corner booth, promising drinks on the house, and Max followed Juliette through the maze of tables, her ponytail swaying, her laughter trailing back towards him as someone called out her name.

She stopped a few times and introduced him and quickly caught everyone up on the progress of the lighthouse. Which is all anyone wanted to talk about, it seemed. Still, it was nice.

Yeah, small-town life wasn’t so bad.

Once they were settled, he stretched his arm along the back of the booth behind her, more to feel close than anything. “So,” he said, “how does it feel to be locally famous?”

She snorted. “Oh, please. You’re the one slumming it with the small-town nobody, remember?”

He remembered the article’s words and winced. He hated that they’d called her a nobody. She wasn’t a nobody. She was the most amazing person he’d ever met.

He let his gaze linger on her. “Honestly? Feels like an upgrade,” he admitted truthfully.

She ducked her head, pretending to study the menu, but he caught the smile she was trying to hide.

“Just so we’re clear, I’m not hiding out here after the Gabriella fiasco. And I can assure you, I am not slumming it now.” He touched her arm lightly and felt her relax against him.

She blinked, then laughed. “I know. I can’t decide if I should be honored or insulted?”

“Definitely honored. They have no idea you’re the one actually running the show. I’m just the guy holding the hammer.”

She smirked. “Speaking of which, maybe we should post a video of you actually working. Just to silence the haters.” She nudged him in the ribs.

“Ouch. After today’s work, I’m counting the days until my new shower is installed. Dreaming of it, actually.”

“You can always head down to the Boys and Girls club. The showers there are good.”

“Not a bad idea. Beats using the hose outside like I did last night.”

She shivered. “That must have been freezing.”

“It was. My toes are still numb,” he joked. “You know sign language. How?”

“I worked here a couple summers in school, before I moved over to Pride Pueblo Cocina. Since almost everyone here knows it in order to work efficiently with Iian, I took a night class. How about you?”

“My family took a class together with Faye.” He felt the darkness seep in about his sister and all that she was losing.

Before Juliette could ask him more, their drinks arrived. She wrapped her hands around the glass, cheeks still slightly flushed from laughter. God, she was… radiant. He hadn’t realized how dark things had felt before her.

“You know,” he said, taking a sip of his cider, “in some cultures, the fact that I have proposed to you twice makes us basically married.”

She nearly choked but recovered as she glanced around as if to see if anyone had overheard him.

He shrugged, grinning.

Juliette laughed so hard she had to set her drink down. That sound? He could live on it.

“Wow. That explains why you’ve been getting so handsy lately,” she teased.

He leaned in, voice low. “Just embracing tradition.”

A few people waved in Juliette’s direction, and he watched her wave back, fully aware that the town was probably dissecting every look and smile they shared.

But honestly? For the first time in years, Max didn’t care what anyone thought.

Sitting there beside her, hearing her laugh, watching her eyes light up…

Yeah.

This felt like exactly where he was supposed to be.