Page 79 of Primary Seduction
“No, Jocelyn decided to go to uni this morning because she had work to hand in, but she’ll probably be at home later on.”
Maria brought his food over. “Thanks, Maria.”
“Are you at Pop’s by any chance?”
Max laughed. “I might be. Who’s asking?”
Trent’s laughter warmed his heart as it flowed through the phone into his ear. “Well, I best go. Harper’s shouting me. Enjoy your lunch, Max. I’ll see you later.”
“Okay, I love you.” Max rolled his lips in trying to keep from smiling like a lovestruck teenager.
“Love you too. See you soon.”
They hung up, and Max began on his cheeseburger and chips. He couldn’t wait to see Trent later.
****
Max pulled up at his next appointment. The house was a small, detached property in a good area, and from the looks of the garden, it was well kept. He grabbed his folder and laptop and knocked on the door. Mr and Mrs Lowell were a middle-aged couple who didn’t want to spend excessively but still wanted their house to look neat and tidy. Max could understand that. He talked them through the options available to redecorate their hallway. He enjoyed this type of job because the clients knew what they wanted and what they liked so could make decisions easier. The appointment didn’t last long, and Max was on his way home to make some phone calls and source swatches, antiques and wallpaper.
It was only as he parked up and saw Trent’s car that he realised he’d driven to Trent’s apartment instead of his own house. He debated carrying on to his place, then thought about Trent and realised he wanted to see him. He shut off his car, grabbed his paperwork—he wouldn’t leave confidential information on his front seat—and his bag and headed up in the lift, after saying hello to the security staff.
As the lift ascended, he thought about how much his life had changed in the short time since the opening of Crush’s Garden Bar. He never believed he’d be in a relationship with Trent; he always thought he would have to watch him from afar.
He was a little concerned about how well Trent had taken to being gay though, and he kept waiting for Trent to freak out and change his mind. Max didn’t know if that was his own insecurities playing with his mind or whether it was a real issue he should be concerned about. Mistress Staci had told him to trust his instincts, but he couldn’t quite figure out what they were telling him. He shook his head, he just needed to let it play out however it happened, and if Trent ended it, then Max would have to deal with it.
Exiting the lift, he walked to Trent’s door and knocked. Harper opened the door and, after a brief hesitation, smiled at him. “Hey, Max.”
“Afternoon, Harper. How are you doing?” He leaned in slowly to kiss her cheek, waiting to see if she’d pull away before he got to her, but surprisingly, she let him.
“I’m all right. I didn’t quite realise how much stuff I had,” she said with a laugh, “so it’s taking longer than planned to get my room sorted.”
Max took his coat and shoes off and hung up his bag before resting his folder on the table, so he’d remember to take it with him later. “A girl your age should have loads of things. It’s a rite of passage, isn’t it?” They laughed. “Do you need any help with anything?” He knew she’d say no, but his manners dictated he ask anyway.
Harper bit her lip. “Actually…” she scrunched up her nose. “Nah, it’s okay. I’ll get it done.”
“No, what were you going to ask?”
“I wondered if you’d help me decide where everything goes?” she said, quietly, looking at the floor.
Max was surprised at the change in Harper, but maybe he shouldn’t be. She’d been brought up by TrentandTrish, and it was only the last few years that she’d been subjected to only Trish. And she’d had a huge blow to her confidence. He was glad she was trying to build bridges, just as he was.
“I’d love to. It’s part of my job, after all.”
Harper looked up at him and smiled. “Thanks, Max. And…I’m sorry for being so unkind before.”
“Consider it forgotten.” He put his arm around her shoulders and walked her back to her room.
They found Trent in there, trying to move some boxes. He glanced up and smiled when he saw them. “Two of my favourite people.” He put the box down and came over to them. He kissed Harper on the cheek, then turned to Max. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.” Max felt dumbstruck every time he saw Trent. He was gorgeous. Trent came at him and pressed their lips together. He felt Harper pull away.
“Uh, you guys, not around the innocents, okay?” Harper laughed and danced away as Max and Trent tried to grab her.
“As if you’ve never kissed someone.” Max chuckled when Harper went red, and Trent narrowed his eyes.Uh-oh.“Changing the subject. What needs doing Harper?”
Seeing relief and gratitude in her eyes, Harper explained what she had. There were boxes that needed emptying, currently on Jocelyn’s bed, and then there were some pieces of furniture, which had already been put together. Max could see that it wasn’t going to work in the current design.
“Hold on.” He went to get his laptop from his bag. Going back into the room, he brought up his usual design program and set to work with creating the basic layout. A few minutes later, he called them over. “Right, I’m going to design what I see, and then you can have a look and see what you think to it and make changes if you need to, all right?” he asked Harper.
