“I’ll leave you two to settle in.” Joette winked and disappeared.
“Oh, damn.” Max winced. “I forgot to tell her I’d broken up with Sam. She must think we’re together.” He touched Liam’s arm and a buzz went through him. “Give me a second and I’ll sort this out.”
Before Liam could say he didn’t mind sharing, Max was gone. Liam dumped his backpack on the ground, looking wistfully at the bed. He hadn’t shared one with someone in… too long to count. His past relationship tally was pathetic but he didn’t want to think about that now.
The rest of the room was comfortable. Aside from the bed, there was a dark wooden cupboard, with a floral design carved into the doors, as well as a dresser for clothing. On top was a photo of Joette and Max laughing with each other. He looked out the large window onto a backyard blanketed in snow. It looked soft enough to catch him if he wanted to jump out.
Max came back in with his hands clenched, the distress clear on his face. “I’m so sorry. There’s no spare bed. The kids are taking over one room and Noel’s sister and brother-in-law are taking the other.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I completely forgot about it with all the stress of the software project… You sleep here and I’ll take the couch.” He picked up his bag and hurried for the door with his head down.
“We can share the bed.”
Max stopped and stared at him. “Really?”
“Really.” Though how was he going to keep his hands to himself? “Unless of course you snore like a bear or are a massive bed hog, then I might have to think twice.” He smiled.
Max frowned. “Won’t you be, you know, uncomfortable?”
It was the perfect segue. Liam opened his mouth as a small missile shot into the room and flung herself at Max’s legs. “Uncle Max!”
Damn it.
“Hiya, Trina.” Max scooped her up into his arms, giving her a big kiss. “How’ve you been?” The girl was about four or five, had a mass of dark curls and was dressed entirely in pink, from her sneakers to her sparkling head band.
“I’ve been good, even Santa said so.” She turned to Liam. “Who are you?”
“This is my friend, Liam. Liam, my niece, Trina.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“You sound funny,” she said.
“That’s because he’s from Australia. I’ll show you where it is on the map. Where’s Shiona?”
“Downstairs.”
“All right, let’s go say hello.” Max gestured to Liam. “Come on.”
Liam followed them out of the room.
He’d have to find another opportunity — soon.
Chapter 4
Max’s mind was going a million miles an hour as he walked down the stairs hand-in-hand with Trina. What the hell was he going to do about the sleeping arrangements? He didn’t fancy sleeping on the couch, but he was a snuggler and always ended up spooning his partner. He could imagine how awkward that would be in the morning.
But Liam hadn’t seemed bothered.
Which was kind of odd for a straight guy.
Was he just saying that because he didn’t want to be a pain? Max didn’t know him well enough to be sure. He’d hate Liam to be uncomfortable the whole time he was here.
In the kitchen he greeted Noel and introduced Liam to him and baby Shiona.
Joette was slicing up a crusty white loaf of bread.
“Can I help?” Liam asked.
“No, it’s fine,” Joette said. “We’re having soup and fresh bread. It won’t take a moment to heat up.”
It was nice Liam had offered to help. Sam had always sat on his ass expecting things to come to him.
Not that he was hoping Liam would be a Sam replacement, but his next boyfriend was going to exceed any bars Sam had set.
That wouldn’t be difficult.
The more distance Max had from his relationship with Sam, the more he recognized it for what it was — his desire to be loved blinding him to the truth. With his best friend, Hayden about to marry the love of his life, Max wanted that as well.
Now he knew better than to look for more than what was actually there.
He deserved better.
***
After lunch the falling snow confined them to the house. Max was content sitting in the warm living room, while they chatted and drank coffee. It was comforting to be with his family again. He’d missed Joette since she’d moved here six months ago.
Trina jumped up. “Uncle Max, you haven’t seen my unicorn!”
“Oh, my God.” He put his hand on his heart. “You have a unicorn?”
She nodded, her head bouncing like a bobble-head. “Wait here. I’ll get it.” She raced out of the room and Joette groaned.
“You’ll wish you never saw it,” she said. “Or heard it. It makes five different sounds and all of them are annoying.”
Before Max could respond, Trina tore back into the room.
“Slow —” It was all Joette managed to say as Trina tripped on the edge of the rug and crashed head first on to the coffee table.
Max’s stomach lurched as her screams lit the air and she lifted her head. Blood poured from her forehead.
Joette lunged for her daughter and pressed a tissue against the wound. Shiona started to cry too.
“I’ll get the first aid kit.” Noel ran out of the room.
There was so much blood pouring down Trina’s face. Max crouched by his niece, holding her hand as Joette soothed her. Trina’s cries subsided and so did Shiona’s. Max looked up. Liam cradled her in his arms, rocking her back and forth.
Max’s heartbeat tripled. “Thanks.” Liam was doing all the right things.
“No worries.”
Trina sniffed bringing Max’s attention back to her. Joette had stuck a band-aid over the cut.
“Are you going to show me your unicorn now?” he asked.
She squeezed the unicorn’s hoof and it let out a God-awful noise that may have been meant to be a high-pitched version of a neigh, but sounded more like a squeal it would emit if it had broken its leg. Max winced.
“Isn’t she great?” Trina beamed at him.
“Sure.” Max cringed as he was treated to the other four sounds in the toy’s repertoire — none of them better than the first. Perhaps he’d help it get lost.
Liam pulled a face behind Trina’s back and then grinned. Max’s mouth went dry as Liam’s eyes lit up in a cheeky sparkle. He had to find out if Liam was gay, otherwise he would be crushing on a straight man.
“I’d better clear the driveway again.” Noel sighed as he got to his feet. “Rita won’t be able to get in at the rate it’s coming down.”
“Do you want a hand?” Liam asked.
Noel’s eyes widened. “I can tell you’re not used to snow,” he said. “Otherwise you’d not be volunteering, but I’ll take you up on it.”
Joette laughed as she took Shiona from him. “He’s mostly kidding.”
Max admired Liam’s firm ass as he walked out of the room and then turned his attention back to his sister. She was staring at him with her eyebrows raised. “What?”
“You said Liam was just a friend,” Joette said.
His face flushed. “He is.”
“Hmm.”
“He’s a work friend,” he assured her.
“And both of you keep looking at each other when the other isn’t looking,” she said. “I think the attraction is mutual.”
He shook his head. “He’s probably just unsure about what to do. I think he’s straight.”
Joette laughed. “Honey, no straight guy looks at a gay guy the way he’s been looking at you.”
“Really?”
Joette nodded.
“Uncle Max, pay attention!” Trina grabbed his hand and Max turned to his niece who was playing with the unicorn.
This vacation could be a whole lot better if what Joette thought was true.
But he wouldn’t get his hopes up just yet.
***
Rita’s famil
y arrived mid-afternoon in a tornado of noise and laughter as everyone greeted each other. Any concerns he had of Liam fitting in melted away. He had no problems chatting to the others and also spent time playing games with Trina, and Rita’s two older children, Jessica and Lizzy.
It was as the adults started making noises about going to bed that he remembered they hadn’t had a chance to finalize sleeping arrangements. His stomach clenched. Should he come up with some excuse why he couldn’t go to bed yet? Maybe if Liam was already asleep by the time he went into the bedroom it would be easier.
“I’m going to bed.” Liam glanced at Max. “Are you coming?”
The nerves morphed into excitement and Max tamped them down. That wasn’t the type of invitation he wanted it to be. But he could hardly say no. “Sure.”
Together they walked up the stairs to the bedroom, the nerves pricking his skin making him hyperaware. What if he stuffed this up? He opened his mouth to speak as Liam stripped off his sweater and shirt.
His mind went blank. Liam’s smooth, pale, taut skin begged him to run his hands over it. Then Liam stripped off his jeans so he was standing in boxer briefs. Max forgot he shouldn’t be looking.
The man had booty.
He longed to squeeze those globes of perfection and he hardened.
“Are you all right?” Liam asked.
Startled, his gaze shot to Liam’s face and his cheeks flushed.
Damn. He couldn’t straight out ask Liam if he was gay, not when they were about to sleep in the same bed. It would make things awkward if Joette was wrong about the way Liam had been looking at him. He could imagine the disgust on Liam’s face, the horror of the whole situation and not in a good B Grade movie kind of way. No, this would be straight back to the day he’d told his parents he was gay kind of horror.
He’d invited Liam here as a friend. No way was he going to perpetuate the old myth that gay guys wanted to screw any man no matter his sexual orientation. “This isn’t going to work.” He gestured to the bed. “I’ll take the couch.” He hurried out of the room before Liam could say anything.
He was so stupid. If he’d asked Liam if he was gay earlier this wouldn’t be a problem. He’d know for sure and they could have come to an arrangement. But asking just before they were going to sleep in the same bed together was plain wrong.
Tomorrow was another day though. Tomorrow he would raise the topic and get the answer once and for all.
He dragged a spare quilt out of Joette’s linen closet and dumped it on the couch. It wasn’t going to be the most comfortable night’s sleep but he’d deal.
And maybe tomorrow he’d be sleeping next to the sexy guy upstairs.
Chapter 5
Liam woke and stretched, his hand brushing the cold, empty side of the bed where Max should have been.
He closed his eyes and groaned.
When he’d seen the look on Max’s face last night, the way he’d been biting his bottom lip as he ogled Liam’s ass, he’d known for sure that Max found him attractive, had thought they’d end up in bed together, but no. For some reason he’d hightailed out of the bedroom so fast that Liam hadn’t had a chance to ask him to stay.
It was his own fault. He should have outed himself weeks ago, but he’d been worried Max would rescind the invitation to Minnesota. But that was stupid.
This constant tension was needless. He knew Max was gay and the worst that could happen was for Max to say he wasn’t interested. He’d been turned down before and survived the rejection. It was no big deal.
Except he really liked Max and it would hurt a lot more than usual.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and he stood to gain a lot if Max liked him as well.
With the resolution firm in his mind, he dressed and wandered downstairs to the kitchen where the adults were gathered.
Max was seated at the kitchen table wearing the same clothes as he’d worn yesterday, had probably been waiting for Liam to get up before he went to change. He had a plate full of pancakes in front of him and large mug of coffee, the same as Rita and Rory.
“Morning, Liam. Did you sleep well?” Joette asked from where she was standing by the coffee machine.
“Yes, really well, thank you.” Liam smiled cautiously at Max, who nodded back at him.
“Would you like some pancakes?” Noel lifted up the spatula he was wielding and pointed to the frying pan.
“Yes, please.” Liam took a mug of coffee from Joette and sat next to Max, determined to figure out how Max felt. “Did you sleep well?”
“It was fine.” The smile on his face seemed forced.
“The plough’s going past,” Trina yelled from the front room.
Noel put Liam’s pancakes in front of him. “I’d better get started on the driveway.”
“I’ll do it,” Rory said, getting to his feet. “You haven’t eaten yet.”
“I’ll help when I’m finished,” Max called.
It was nice how they all helped each other. It was hard to comprehend having to shovel snow every time you wanted to go anywhere. How often did they get snowed in?
“Liam, we’re going to get our Christmas tree this morning,” Joette told him.
“A real tree?” Liam asked. He didn’t know anyone who did real trees any more.
She laughed. “Of course. Don’t you have real trees in Australia?”
“Most people have plastic ones.”
She shuddered and Max pulled a face. “The phrase ‘plastic tree’ is as good as blasphemy in this house,” he said. “Wait until you check out all the decorations as well.”
Liam was pleased Max was perking up. “Mum’s the same about the decorations we made as kids,” Liam said. “She refuses to get rid of them.”
“Trina’s at that stage now, so we’ve got a few things to hang on the tree,” Joette told him.
“We should do a craft project this afternoon to keep the kids amused,” Rita said.
Max clapped his hands together. “Awesome idea.” He put his empty plate in the dishwasher. “I’d better go help Rory.”
Liam watched him go and then turned his attention to Joette and Rita who wanted to know about Australia.
He was going to get Max alone as soon as he could.
***
The Christmas tree farm was Max’s own personal Disneyland. Snow dusted the branches of row after row of trees like frosting on a cake, each one begging to be chosen and decorated in lights and bright baubles.
It was always so difficult to find the perfect one: the right shape, the right spacing of branches, the right height.
Some had already been rescued, the spaces where they once stood now covered in snow, and one more would soon join their ranks.
He moved over to Liam who had ridden with Noel and Joette and was staring, mouth open at the man-made forest. “What do you think?”
“That’s a lot of trees.”
Max chuckled. “It is. We want one about seven feet tall.”
“We’ll find it!” Trina yelled and raced after her cousins into the trees. Max grinned, the excitement of hunting for the perfect tree flooding through him. He grabbed Liam’s gloved hand. “Come on.” He pulled Liam forward and ran after his niece. As they entered the rows of trees, Max realized what he’d done and dropped Liam’s hand like it was a hot potato. “Which way should we go?”
“This way.” Liam pointed in a different direction to where the kids had gone.
“Good idea. We’ll cover more ground.” And have a chance to be alone. Should he bring up his attraction to Liam now?
They wandered down the path, the snow crunching under foot. There weren’t many people around and as they went deeper into the plantation, it was as if they were the only ones here.
“What makes a good Christmas tree?” Liam asked.
Right. He should focus on the task at hand. This was a new experience for Liam and he didn’t want to ruin it.
“It’s got to have the right shape,” he said. “That perfect cone
shape, with enough space between the branches for ornaments.”
In the distance Trina called out to her cousins.
“What about this one?” Liam pointed to the tree ahead of them.
It had the right shape, but as he wandered around it he shook his head. “No, the branches around here aren’t great.”
“Does it matter?” Liam asked. “That side can face the wall.”
His eyes widened. “Heathen! You have to decorate all sides of the tree.”
Liam chuckled and held up his hands. “All right, all right.” He kept walking.
Max stood still trying to recover from the impact of Liam’s laugh. It had heated his insides, made him ache. He wanted to hear more of it..
“Are you coming?” Liam asked, turning.
He wanted to – with Liam. He’d had enough of the tension, enough of not knowing, he had to ask him. “Yeah. Can I ask you something?” He hurried after him, but caught his toe on something hidden beneath the snow and tripped. He whirled his hands like a windmill, and stumbled forward. “Argh!”
The ground raced toward him, but Liam’s strong arms caught him before he face-planted and hauled him up. He got a face full of Liam’s thick jacket pressed against his chest. He breathed deeply, he smelled so good, like spicy gingerbread. He’d found a new happy place.
“I’ve got you,” Liam said.
If only that was really true. He had to find out. Max found his feet as Liam pulled him up. Their faces were inches apart and Max’s breath caught. His gaze went to Liam’s gorgeous mouth and then back to his eyes. He licked his lips. Liam didn’t move back and his eyes were focused intently on him. Maybe they didn’t need words.
Slowly, he raised himself to his toes.
Liam lowered his head.
“Shit!” Liam leapt away, dancing around, patting his back.
Max blinked. What the hell?
“Snow! Down my back!” Liam yelped.
The tree branches above were green not white.
Frustration swept through Max even as he laughed. “Come here.” He helped Liam get the snow out from under his jacket.
“Thanks.” He turned back and they looked at each other for a long moment.
Take a Chance Page 3