Page 26 of Wants and Needs
“Come on, Max. Let’s sit and talk with our friends for a while,” CJ pipes up, forcibly grabbing Wolf’s hand again and pulling him to sit next to Derek and Hawk. “We’ve been running around all day.”
Wolf doesn’t protest at all, so I guess CJ also has Wolf wrapped around his finger.
“You’re so whipped,” Carter says in the silence, and I’m impressed with his bravery as he mimics the sound of a whip.
I’m familiar with the expression of being whipped in relation to people who are romantically involved, so I chuckle along with everyone else.
“No more growly wolf,” Carter adds when we all quiet down. “Now you’re a well-trained puppy.”
“I’ll show you well trained,” Wolf mutters, but he doesn’t make a move toward Carter, and when everyone goes back totheir conversations, I see the corner of his mouth lift just a tiny bit.
After that, I keep talking to Glenn, and eventually Theo joins us. He tells me how grateful he is that Dad played at his wedding even almost two years later, and invites me to come by his bakery when we’re back in the city.
I talk one-on-one with most of them over the next few hours, and confirm Carter’s statements. They are all really nice people, and my guess is that Carter told a few of them about verbally expressing their emotions because a few of them do, especially Adam.
All the while, I’m aware that Carter is next to me. That lovely tone of his voice is always in the background, bringing me a peace I didn’t know I needed. I feel surprisingly calm even surrounded by so many people, and though I’m sure I’ll analyze every possible reason why, for now I let myself be.
By the time the group trudges back down to where the party is being held, I have a sense of hope that’s new for me.
A lot of these people live in New York, and maybe, just maybe, I might’ve made a few friends tonight.
I forgot what that felt like, though this time it’s better.
Because this time I know for a fact that none of these men need me or my family to find success.
7CARTER
Two Weeks Later
The few daysin Malibu after the birthday party were a very welcome reprieve from all the work I did in Oxfordshire. Trying to get the house ready for sale in only a month took a lot of hours.
We spent some time down at the beach, and I even played tennis with CJ and Wolf daily, putting my rusty abilities to good use after so long without even picking up a racket.
But unlike Sebas and Mike, I wasn’t reluctant when the time came to fly back to New York.
What I told Liam was true—thanks to my work, I’m surrounded by beauty every day, and nothing makes me happier.
I was ready to get back into it.
More than a week later I’m still playing catch-up, and that’s why I’m up before the sun rises—because I like to walk to workand it’s a fifteen-block walk, but also because it’s the middle of the summer in Manhattan, and the less time I spend under the sun and surrounded by tourists, the better.
Though, to be fair, plenty of tourists have started coming into Sebas’s gallery since it was featured in a New York Times article about up and coming artists.
“Mas— Carter,” Milton cuts himself off with a displeased frown.
It doesn’t even matter that I haven’t had a sip of my brewing coffee yet; I still smile. When he flew in and I picked him up at the airport, he very pointedly called me Carter for the first time in my life, and I’ll never stop feeling triumphant about it.
“What are you doing up so early?” he asks. He’s not wearing his slacks and perfectly pressed shirt, but his pajamas. I instantly feel bad.
“I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“It was the machine,” he says, more subdued now as he nods toward my most prized possession—my Keurig.
“You can go back to sleep. I’m going to get breakfast at the bakery, but I need to go to work earlier today.”
“Nonsense.” He dismisses me and even waves his hand back. “I’m preparing you something so I can be sure you’re well fed.”
“You’ve been to the bakery, Milton,” I say deadpan. I took him for a treat only a couple of days ago on his first afternoon here. “You know how amazing everything is there.”
