He was great at customer service, but shy as soon as he was in asocial situation, and he felt as though he’d moved firmly into the realm ofsocial with Connor.
His shift was definitely over, anyway.
Connor cut a bite of cake neatly with his fork, elegant fingersmaking every movement look like a ballet. He made a soft, happy sound as he putit in his mouth, licking dark, glossy frosting from his lips and closing hiseyes.
Max blushed, not sure he should have been watching if Connor wasenjoying the cakethatmuch.
“Cake makes everything better,” Connor said, cutting another bite.“Can I offer you half of this? I’m never going to get through it myself.”
Max shook his head. “No, I think I’ve had enough sugar today.”
Marcus from the bakery had brought in a whole batch of doughnutsthat’d cooked weird this morning, and Max had eaten his fair share of those.
He quietly suspected Marcus had brought them in for himintentionally, because there hadn’t been anything wrong with them except thatthey looked like someone had deliberately squished them out of shape whilethey’d been frying.
People in Hope Springs looked out for each other, and a lot ofpeople were looking out for him right now. On the one hand, it was nice, but onthe other hand, having the whole town know his life was miserable wore on him.
It was nice to talk to someone who didn’t know. Who didn’t haveeven a hint of pity or sorrow in his eyes.
Connor was soothing, and Max was glad now that he’d sat down. Eventhis tiny break from his normal life was enough to lift some of the weight offhis shoulders.
“You definitely seem sweet enough,” Connor said after a moment,still enthusiastically working on his cake.
Max was starting to suspect he was being flirted with, which wasfine. A little harmless flirting with customers was actually kind of fun.
It was a shame that he really needed to leave if he wanted to eatbefore his shift at the bowling alley started.
“I hope the cake cheers you up,” Max said, moving to stand. “And Iknow that whatever’s going on, you’ll get through it. You’ve come this far.”
“Thank you,” Connor said. “I’ll let you leave in peace. I’ll tellDeclan how kind you were.”
Max blushed again. “You really don’t need to do that,” he said.
“I do,” Connor insisted. “I know what it’s like to beunderappreciated at your job.”
Max nodded. He didn’t feel underappreciated for a second, but heknew he wasn’t reallynecessaryhere. Declan had given him this job outof kindness. Having customers say nice things about him would help his chancesof keeping his shifts.
Not that he thought Declan would fire him, but he liked the ideaof showing that he was actually worth what he was being paid, and not just acharity case.
No one made him feel that way, but he knew he was. Right now, hehad no choice but to grin and bear it. His sister was counting on him.
“Well, thanks,” Max said, grabbing his coat from behind thecounter. “The next client will appreciate you more.”
Connor chuckled. “I sincerely hope so. I’ll see you tomorrow,probably.”
“Definitely,” Max said, waving as he headed out and smiling tohimself.
It was nice to make a new friend.
Chapter Three
Connor settled down in the comfy, frayed armchair in the corner ofthe bookstore, pulling the magazine he’d bought this morning out of his laptopbag and flipping it over to look at the front page.
Could your wedding be worth $100,000?
Connor wet his lips, looking at the big yellow letters that askedthe question. This wasn’t a wedding magazine--it was a women’s magazine--butright now, he’d take any opportunity to get his career back on track. He didn’teven care about the prize money, just the chance to show the world that he wasgood at what he did.
Taking a deep breath, Connor flicked through the magazine until hefound the competition page, spreading it out on the table to read it.
