Page 46 of Primary Seduction
Trent chuckled. “Well, you did invite us. Of course, we’re here.”
“No, I mean…on time! Max is never on time. In all the time I’ve known him, he’s never been on time.”
Trent looked at Max. “By any chance, are you always late?”
Max looked sheepish but nodded. “Almost always.”
“Are you going to let them in, or are you going to let all the heat out of the house instead?” Asher’s voice carried down the hallway from the kitchen.
“Sorry, come on in,” Sean said.
Trent and Max stripped off their coats and shoes in the foyer before following the scent through to the kitchen.
“That smells amazing. What’s for dinner?” Max shuffled in and sat with a small grimace, which was less pain-filled than it had been the previous day.
“Spaghetti carbonara,” Asher said with a grin. “Thought you might need something slightly healthy to tuck into.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Max said. “We’ve done well with chinese and pizza takeaways this week, Trent, haven’t we? They’re healthy…they have vegetables on or in them.”
“Yeah, not sure you can get away with saying they’re healthy, Max,” Sean said as he walked into the room with a little lady following behind.
“Max!” Janie leapt towards him, but on instinct, Trent caught her around the waist before she could jump on him. “Uncle Trent, put me down!” Janie said, laughing.
“I will, pipsqueak, but you need to be careful of Max. He’s got a few bruises on his tummy and face.” He carried on when she stopped struggling and looked at Max. “He’s okay, sweetheart, you just need to be careful, that’s all. Okay?”
Janie nodded. “Yes, Uncle Trent.” She walked up to Max. “Hi, Max.” Her face was one huge grin.
“Hey, darling. Look at you! You’ve grown since I saw you a couple of weeks ago. Have you been sticking your feet in compost so you’d grow quicker?” Max looked at her with a twinkle in his eye, making Janie and the rest of the room, chuckle.
“Don’t be silly, Max. I’d get muddy feet.”
Max sighed. “Yeah, I guess you would. Never mind, then.” He closed his arms around her for a hug and kissed her head.
Trent watched the interaction with a smile. Max was amazing with her. He’d seen him in action before, but each time, it blew Trent away how well Max got on with kids. He hoped, one day, Max had a family of his own with loads of kids running him ragged.
“Food’s ready,” Asher said.
“Oi, pipsqueak!” Trent waited until Janie looked at him. “Where’s my hug?” he pouted.
Janie ran up to him and jumped into his arms. “Love you, Uncle Trent,” she said in his ear, squeezing him tight.
“Love you, too, pipsqueak.” He let her jump back down, and they all sat around the table.
During the meal, they kept the conversation light. With Janie being there, they couldn’t discuss “adult” subjects, like how Max’s case was doing, but Trent could tell them some funny things that happened at school the previous week. When they’d all finished eating, Janie asked if she could go and watch the end of her movie, which Asher agreed to.
“Now we have no little ears, have you heard anything from the police, yet?” Sean asked, leaning forward.
Max shook his head. “No, not yet. It’s likely to take a while, Sean. They’re not going to find whoever did this within a couple of days. If they did, I’d be surprised.”
“I’m going to chase it up with Logan when I see or speak to him next. I don’t know what shifts he’s doing so it probably won’t be until tomorrow, but hopefully, he’ll have some information by then,” Trent said.
“How are your injuries?” Asher asked.
“Not too bad,” Max said. Trent snorted. “All right, they could be better, how’s that?”
“Still an understatement,” Trent argued. “He’s black and blue from chest to groin. It hurts for him to sit too long; it hurts for him to stand too long. Stop pussyfooting around, Max.”
“I’m okay, Trent. Stop worrying. You’re like a dog with a bone.” Trent knew Max was exasperated with him, but he wouldn’t change his ways, and Trent also knew that Max liked his fussing, even though he’d probably deny it with his last breath.
