Page 67 of One Night With The Nanny

A pin went into that scheme and Reid had to check the windows to see if the sky had fallen when Riley buzzed the intercom, announcing that he and Giles “were in the neighborhood” with Milo and Luna.

“I can’t believe Giles came out for this!” Dash whispered excitedly and Morris shook his head.

“I’m not. It’s like a total solar eclipse,” he said as he set Cadence down so she could run to Luna. “We weren’t expecting to see Reid in a relationship in our lifetime.”

“Ha!” Reid rolled his eyes and gave Morris’s shoulder a hard shove. “You’re very funny but you should stick to music.”

Fin and Walker arrived a quarter of an hour later and Reid regretted that he hadn’t waited until Penn finished the new table to invite Mia and Sophia. The kitchen and living room had gotten very crowded, filled with chatting adults and laughing children. Reid was actually enjoying himself until Walker sidled up and asked about the birthday gala the following weekend.

“You’ll kick yourself if you don’t go,” Walker warned while they watched Max and Giles bond over rowing.

“Bet you I won’t,” Reid countered despite the whiff of doubt curling in his gut. He played it off, crossing his arms and shaking his head. “Common sense tells me that going to a gala is not how you avoid attracting attention.”

Walker’s head cocked. “What if Max has had enough with ‘common sense’ and wants a certain amount of attention? Has it occurred to you that Max is proud of the man he’s chosen and that he might want to make a statement while it still matters? I know I am when I’m with Fin, not because of his age or his looks, but because of who he is and how comfortable he is in his own skin.”

“He certainly is,” Reid remarked wearily. “He is 100% Fin, 100% of the time. Whether we like it or not.”

That got a laugh out of Walker and he shook his head. “You might see that as a curse, being his older brother. I can certainly sympathize, but that’s not something Max and I are used to. All we see are fake faces and we mostly hear what we want to hear. You and Fin know exactly who you are and you taught him that he didn’t need to bend or twist himself into something he wasn’t to please other people.”

“That’s a very charitable way of putting it. But I have a feeling most people are going to think I’m cheap arm candy or a social climber.”

“To hell with them,” Walker said simply. “I don’t know why you’d care what other people think but you should ask your brother if it keeps him up at night. I’m pretty sure similar things were said about him.”

Some serious points had been made and Reid found that he wanted to be the man on Max’s arm for the exact same reasons. He was proud of the man he had (sort of) chosen and Reid didn’t want to hide from the fact that he had a man, specifically. But he didn’t think they were at the “galas and announcements” stage of their relationship yet.

“We’ll see,” Reid said, knowing full well they wouldn’t. “I’m still getting the hang of this and figuring out who I am now that I have Max.”

26

It was hard to feel disappointed after that “yours” and Max was in a particularly exuberant mood as he got out of the limo and was greeted by Carlyle.

“Welcome back to the Plaza, Mr. von Hessen. Looking forward to the gala this evening?”

“I am, for once, and it’s good to see you.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Will you be expecting any guests upstairs?” Carlyle asked as he got the door for Max and walked him to the hotel’s private elevator.

“I’ve invited Mr. Marshall to join me if he’s free.”

“Very good, sir. I’ll keep an eye out for him and send him right up.”

“Thank you, Carlyle.”

Upstairs in the Royal Suite, Max and Agnes’s stylists and their teams were already setting up and Samuel was ready to greet him.

“Welcome back to the Plaza, sir,” he said as he helped Max out of his coat and into a purple paisley dressing robe. “The tailor arrived an hour ago and has everything laid out for you in the main bedroom and Mrs. Cameron’s team is prepared for her in the bedroom at the other end of the floor so you won’t be tripping over each other.”

“Thank you, Samuel. I’m sure we’ll be fine. Mr. Marshall may be joining me and I’d like you to keep an eye on him if he does. Agnes and I already have too many people looking after us,” he said as he scanned around the suite’s living and dining area.

Assistants were rushing to and fro but Max was certain the controlled chaos would only last until he and Agnes headed downstairs to the receiving line. She typically arrived about two hours prior to get ready and preferred to go directly home after an event.

“Very good, sir,” Samuel said, then excused himself when Banks came over with a thank-you gift from Leo. The pedigree papers for a rare horse, an Akhal-Teke, from one of Leo’s studs was an extremely generous gift and Max immediately thought of Sophia and his granddaughters.

“Let’s see about bringing that pretty girl here for our princesses to enjoy,” Max said to Banks, then went to confer with his stylist in the bedroom.

He was going over the arrangement of the medals for his coat when Reid peeked around the bedroom door. Max offered Reid a calm nod despite his absolute elation, then turned his attention back to the rows of medals on the velvet-lined tray.

“Just these,” he said, indicating the first row. “Let’s keep it simple since it’s not that formal of an event. No one’s died and I’d like to avoid wearing a chest full of medals. I’ve never seen a toolbox—or an actual tool in person, for that matter—but I imagine it’s like walking around with a bunch of wrenches stuck to your coat,” he mused out loud, making Reid chuckle as he edged around the room and pulled the desk chair into the corner.

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