Page 53 of Barging In
“He’s a looker — if you like Ken dolls.”
“What areyoudoing here, anyway?” Clem sniggered, placing her jacket on a table behind them. “I thought Jasper seconded you to blow up some balloons.”
“He did. Then I stayed to help him set up. He asked if I would man the bar and promised me payment beyond mywildest dreams.” He wiggled his eyebrows, then turned away with a grin.
Clem followed Max’s gaze to where Jasper was standing. He gave Max a wink. Clem rolled her eyes at the pair of them.
“Sounds like a very professional arrangement. What is it with gay men admitting they’re attracted to each other immediately?”
“Hormones.”
“Hmm. I haveplentyof those, but it can still take me six months to even ask a woman out.”
“Any woman in particular?” Max teased, nodding at Victoria. “She’s looking stunning tonight.”
“Married,” Clem shot back a little too quickly.
“Again — not denying it.”
“I can’t deny it,” Clem admitted with an exasperated breath, her tongue looser than she’d like after drinking a glass of wine whilst getting ready for the party.
“Tell me more,” Max demanded.
“There is nothing to tell. As you said, she’s stunning… She’s beautiful.”
“Makes your little heart scream, does she?”
Clem chuckled. “Something like that.”
“Ha! Knew it. It wasn’t five minutes ago that she was boiling your blood.”
“In the past,” Clem retorted. Then, changing the subject, she added, “You own a tuxedo?”
“You own a dress,” he retorted.
Clem narrowed her eyes at him.
Max looked down at himself. “Jasper lent me his old one. It’s a little big around the waist, but the belt’s holding up well. His apartment is amazing.”
“You’ve been in his apartment!” she enthused. “Fast work indeed.”
“Just to change!”
“You’ve been almost naked in his apartment.”
It was Max’s turn to narrow his eyes. “Very funny. But yes, partially. I’m hoping I’ll be back in it by the end of the evening.”
Clem shook her head in mock disbelief.
He nodded towards the buffet table. “You two did a great job with the food — you make a good team. Everyone has been complimenting your Victoria sponge.”
She had to admit they did, and she admired the table as Max turned his attention to a thirsty guest. A relentless day’s work that had left her exhausted had rewarded her with Victoria’s appearance on the jetty — even if it had resulted in a bump to the head when she’d been so quick to exit Florence. She’d only nipped back to the house after realising she had nothing suitable aboard to wear to the party. When she pulled a few items of clothing from the suitcase she'd left in her parents’ garage — half expecting them to smell musty — she was surprised to find they still carried the faint scent of washing powder.
Sharing the quiet of the canal in the early evening with someone she admired — a little too much, if she was honest — had brought a sense of unexpected peace. Neither of them had spoken, but nothing needed saying. When they reached the wharf, she sensed Victoria was reluctant to step off Florence. Clem was, too. She was itching to kidnap her and float off down the canal for the rest of the evening.
She’d felt a little awkward arriving with Victoria. All eyes had been on them — her especially, when they were likely expecting to see Drew. Then Victoria and Jasper had shared a celebratory moment, making her feel even more like a spare part, so she excused herself in favour of the buffet table.
Two men appeared at the bar. With Max busy attending to other guests, she handed them a bottle of beer each. Max and Jasper made a great team, too. They had transformed the room into a celebratory hall, proving her point that the café held more potential than it was currently being utilised for.
