Grand Passion

art. Quite frankly, you're not his type.”
    “And you are?”
    “Yes.” There was no arrogance or challenge in Kimberly's voice. She made the statement with simple certainty. “Uncle Jason turned Max into a very sophisticated connoisseur of art. Max picked up the technique, and he applies it to everything he wants, including women. He has the finely honed instincts of an extremely selective collector.”
    “If you don't believe that he's genuinely interested in me, what do you think he wants from me?” Cleo asked.
    “I don't know yet. But I suppose you'll find out soon enough. We all will.”
    “What's that supposed to mean?”
    Kimberly turned her head, her eyes hard with warning. “Just that Max obviously has his own reasons both for working for you and for seducing you. My advice is that you bear that in mind.”
    “What do you want me to do?” Cleo smiled bleakly. “Fire him?”
    “That might not be a bad place to start. You're in over your head, Ms. Robbins.” Kimberly turned and walked off down the beach.

    “The thing about hardware stores,” Ben said to Max as they walked into Harmony Cove Hardware the following afternoon, “is that you got to know what you want before you walk through the door.”
    “Why is that?” Max glanced around curiously. He had never spent much time in hardware stores. Hardware stores were for men who had real homes of their own. Mansions didn't count. You called someone else in to do repairs in a house such as the one he owned in Seattle. He'd rarely had occasion to fix a leaking faucet, paint a bedroom, or put up wallpaper until he'd moved into Robbins' Nest Inn.
    “Because if you don't know what you want and stay focused on it, you get sidetracked.” Ben paused beside a display of gleaming steel wrenches. He picked one up and fingered it lovingly.
    “Do we need a wrench for this job?” Max picked up one of the wrenches and examined it with interest.
    “Nope.” Ben put the wrench down. “But you see what I mean? It's easy to get sidetracked. There's so much really great stuff in a hardware store.”
    “These are nice.” Max paused beside a counter full of shiny power drills. He hefted one, testing the weight and feel of it in his hand.
    Ben peered at it with admiration. “Real nice. Look at the price on that sucker.”
    Max glanced at the price tag. “Probably worth every penny.”
    “Yeah.” Ben grinned. “Think I could convince Trisha that I need one to fix up the baby's room?”
    “You could try.” Max put the drill back down on the counter.
    “Something I've been meaning to ask you,” Ben said as he examined a neat arrangement of nails.
    “What's that?” Max looked at a rack of colorful screwdrivers.
    “You planning on sticking around the inn for a while?” Ben concentrated intently on the nails.
    “Yes,” Max said. “I'm planning on sticking around until someone throws me out.”
    “Yeah. Well, okay,” Ben said. “That's all I wanted to ask. Hey, will you look at those clamps. I've been meaning to get one for my workbench down in the basement.”
    Max continued to study the screwdrivers. “I could use one of these.”
    “You never know when you're going to need a screwdriver handy.” Ben picked up a clamp. “They're busy planning the wedding, you know. Trisha says that even though we're going to get married right away, the family wants to do it up real formal. Tuxes for the guys and a fancy gown for her.”
    “I know.” Max had heard the discussions in the kitchen that morning.
    Cleo, Andromeda, Daystar, and Sylvia intended to pull out all the stops for Ben and Trisha's wedding. It had already been decided that the event would take place in less than two weeks at Cosmic Harmony. Daystar had pointed out in her usual pragmatic fashion that under the circumstances, there was not a lot of time to waste.
    “I've never worn a tux,” Ben said hesitantly. “Didn't go to a senior prom or anything. I don't even know where to get one.”
    “Nothing to it,” Max assured him. He selected one of the screwdrivers and took it down from the rack.
    “You sure?”
    “I'm sure,” said Max. “Don't worry about it. I'll show you how it's done.”
    Ben nodded, looking vastly relieved. “Okay.” He flashed Max a quick, searching glance. “So what do you think about being my best man or whatever it is they call it?”
    Max slowly put down the screwdriver he had been examining. He looked at Ben. “I'd be honored.”
    Ben turned beet red.