Harlequin Desire: July 2022 Box Set 1 of 2 by Cat Schield

Author:Cat Schield
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Monday evening, Maxton shut and locked his front door behind him, sighing into his empty apartment. He leaned his back against the cool metal door for a few moments, trying to gather his rollicking emotions.

He couldn’t recall ever experiencing a day that seemed so long. Since the moment he’d dragged himself out of bed this morning, he’d been fighting to stay focused, to remain upbeat. Now, alone in his home, he felt the weight of keeping up the appearance finally lift from his shoulders.

Unfortunately, the sadness remained.

Today, Whitney would have been twenty-seven.

He pushed himself off the door and trudged to the living room, setting his bass on the armchair before taking a seat on the sofa. He pulled off the black sneakers he’d worn into the studio, then buried his sock-clad feet in the thick pile of his throw rug as he slumped against the backrest.

The ball of tears stuck in his throat threatened to rise at any moment, and after keeping them in all day, he was too tired to care anymore. His eyes welled, and he sprawled there, letting the tears slide down. It wasn’t like the last time he’d cried, all those weeks ago. He didn’t sob, didn’t wail. Just silently mourned his little sister, his gaze on the ceiling, his vision swimming.

His phone rang then, the steady vibration against his thigh drawing him back to reality. Brushing away the lingering wetness on his face, he took his phone out of his pocket and answered the incoming video call. “Hey, Ma. How are you?”

Wanda McCoy’s face came into view, or at least the lower half of it. “Hey, Maxie. I’m alright, you doing okay?”

“Yeah, Ma.” He cringed. “Ma, you’re too close to the camera again.”

“I can see you. Matter of fact, when’s the last time you shaved, boy?”

He shook his head. “I’m growing out my beard. Fix your camera, Ma. All I can see is your mouth.”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake.” The picture on the screen became shaky and shifted around, going from her mouth and chin to the ceiling, to the floral wallpaper in the kitchen before finally settling on her full face and upper torso. She was sitting at the kitchen table, inside their family home in the suburbs of Calabasas. A black-velvet headband held her salt-and-pepper curls back from her aged brown face, and her dark eyes squinted as she looked into the camera. “How’s that, son? Can you see me now?”

“Yes, Ma, that’s better.” He smiled. “Sorry I couldn’t make it home, but I’m just getting into the thick of this gig with Lil Swagg.”

“Lil who?” Her brows eased together, a show of genuine confusion.

“Lil Swagg, Ma. He’s a young rapper out of the Bronx. And even though you’re not into that kind of music, at least the kid’s got a good ear. Not many artists his age would go to the trouble and expense of recording with a live band over a drum machine and some manufactured beats.”

She pursed her lips. “Hmm.

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