Page 53 of Tempting Max

I take her stunning face in my hands. “Fuck, Gus, I love you too. So much it feels unreal.”

She laughs through tears, and I pull her on my lap for a kiss that soothes my heart.

“I’m going to be a lot of work,” I tell her, kissing her forehead, her nose, her lips.

“You already are, you big meathead.”

31

GUS

“Do you think our cover is blown?” I ask Max as we straighten the mess he made of the office.

He stops in the process of turning his desk right-side up and looks right at me. “Ask me if I care.”

I can’t keep the smile from my face. “Do you?”

Setting the desk down where it once was, Max pulls me to him and kisses my lips like this is what we’ve always done. As if we’ve spent years by each other’s side. I fucking love it. “Gus Carper, I want everyone, and I meaneveryoneto know that you’re mine. As long as you’re comfortable with it.”

My heart flutters around in my chest like a cote of doves, “I don’t want to hide anymore. It’s only been like a week, and I hate it. How do people hide things for years?”

He chuckles and kisses my lips. “No idea, I’ve been bursting to tell everyone since we got back from Denver.”

Before I can respond, there’s a knock on the door.

“Wait here,” he tells me and opens the door to Liam and Elliot who both have their arms crossed over their chests.

“Looks like a bomb went off,” Elliot mutters, his eyes scanning the damage to the drywall. “You training for MMA?”

Liam just assesses the entire room, his eyes skimming from the wall to the mess on the floor, to Max, to me, and back to Max and I know before it even comes out of his mouth that he’s put it all together. “Are you ever going to tell us about you two?”

I laugh, Max rolls his eyes, and Elliot looks completely confused.

“What do you mean?” Elliot asks, looking at Liam like he has two heads.

“You mean you didn’t put two and two together?”

“Obviously not,” Elliot presses, looking like he’s ready to fume.

“You know how you mentioned how Max seemed different since he went to Denver.” Liam motions to me. “After these two stayed in a hotel room together.”

Elliot’s eyes widen like a garage door. “Oh shit,” he looks right at Max. “Are you kidding me right now? The number of times you reminded me that employees are off limits and you’re banging the manager.”

Max just kind of shrugs and I look at my feet because,yikes.

He stares up at the ceiling and his fists clench. “If it weren’t Gus, I’d kick your ass.”

“Why me?” I ask, my voice sounding smallish among all the male posturing.

“Because you’re cool as shit, you care about this place, and judging by the way you marched in here and put this maniac in his place, you’re good for him too.”

My face reddens immediately. “Oh.”

We all look at Liam as if his response is next in line.

He shrugs. “I’ve known since before Denver.”

“What do you mean, you knew?” Max asks, “I didn’t know.”

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