Grand Passion

“Yeah, well, it probably isn't that big a deal to you. But thanks.”
    “You're wrong,” Max said. “It's a very big deal. I've never been anyone's best man.”
    Ben smiled, and the two men returned to their shopping.
    An hour later Max reluctantly walked out of the hardware store with Ben. He had a shiny new screwdriver in a paper sack.
    “We didn't do too bad,” Ben said cheerfully as they strolled toward the Jaguar with their purchases. “Been needing that clamp for a long time. And you can't have too many needle-nose pliers lying around. They're always disappearing. Hell of a sale on those toilet float balls. I wonder if we should have picked up more than three.”
    “Damn,” Max said, as he came to a halt beside the Jaguar. “We forgot the washers for the faucet in one-oh-three.”
    Ben groaned. “I told you that hardware stores were dangerous. You wait here. I'll go back and get them.” He tossed the sack to Max and hurried back toward the store.
    Max leaned against the Jaguar's fender to wait. It had finally stopped raining for a while, but a heavy fog was condensing just offshore. It would soon be moving inland. In another hour the roads would be shrouded in a heavy cloak of gray mist. Driving would be hazardous.
    Max hoped Ben would not get captivated by a display of power tools. He wanted to be home by the fire when the fog settled in over Harmony Cove this evening.
    Home by the fire . Hell, he was turning into a regular home-and-hearth kind of guy. What have you done to me, Jason? Max asked silently. Did you know what would happen when you sent me out here in search of those Luttrells?
    Two men got out of a nondescript Ford that was parked across the street. One was slightly taller than the other. He was also a few years older, with thinning hair and a slight paunch. The younger one wore GQ glasses and had a mouthful of very white teeth that had clearly been labored over by an orthodontist. Both men were out of place in casual Harmony Cove. Their business suits, expensive ties, and highly polished wing tips identified them as outsiders as clearly as the fact that they were coming straight toward Max.
    “Max Fortune?” The older man stuck out his hand. “Phillip Sand. This is my associate, Hamilton Turner. We represent some people who would very much like to get you on our team.”
    “Global Village Properties,” Max said.
    Turner smiled, displaying his beautiful teeth. “How did you guess?”
    “I wondered when you'd get around to talking to me.” Max glanced toward the entrance of Harmony Cove Hardware. There was no sign of Ben.
    “Why don't we have a cup of coffee while you wait for your friend?” Sand suggested smoothly.
    Max shrugged. “Why not?”

    Cleo sat quietly, her legs folded tailor-fashion, her hands resting on her knees. She gazed into the large yellow crystal, willing her mind to focus. She was the only one in the meditation room at Cosmic Harmony this afternoon.
    She was not sure why she had felt the need to seek out the refuge again today. There had been no night-mares recently. But around three o'clock, she had realized that she was feeling unsettled and restless.
    The sensation had not disappeared after she had fixed herself a cup of Andromeda's tea, so Cleo had gotten into her Toyota and driven the mile and a half around the cove to the Cosmic Harmony Retreat.
    Now, gazing calmly into the crystal, Cleo acknowledged to herself what she had not wanted to confront earlier. The truth was that the conversation with Kimberly had bothered her more than she had been willing to admit.
    He has the finely honed instincts of an extremely selective collector .
    Max obviously has his own reasons both for working for you and for seducing you .
    Physical desire is the limit of what Max can feel for a woman .
    Cleo closed her eyes and drew a slow, deep breath into the pit of her stomach. Kimberly was wrong about Max. She had to be wrong about him. Max had been Jason's friend, and Jason had been a kind, compassionate man.
    Max was patient with Sammy. Whatever he had said to Ben had been responsible for making the younger man want to come home to Trisha and the others.
    And when Max made love, Cleo reminded herself, he gave as much as he took. Perhaps more. Cleo knew her experience was extremely limited, but instinct told her that Max was a very generous lover.
    Her instinct also told her that in bed, at least, he needed her in a way he would probably never be able to put into