Most Wanted by Tricia Owens

Author:Tricia Owens [Owens, Tricia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-10-22T22:00:00+00:00

7

Ethan's opinion of children took a ride on a roller coaster during Henry Connelly's second book signing. Connelly sat at a table bracketed by standees featuring his book, greeting parents and children who had waited in line for hours to meet the actor-turned-author and obtain his autograph. An hour earlier, Connelly had given a reading to a large crowd of children.

The reading had been great. Ethan, who'd hovered unobtrusively along the sidelines, had struggled not to smile at the reactions of the children as Connelly read his story. Being an actor, Connelly was particularly effective at giving distinct voices and personalities to the insect heroes of his book and Ethan had enjoyed watching the children respond to him. That had been the high of the roller coaster.

The low had come when the parents and their children lined up for the book signing. Despite the efforts of the bookstore staff and Connelly himself, the wait was longer than the children could tolerate. Soon temper tantrums and crying filled the store and Ethan found himself wincing on more than one occasion as a particularly shrill note was reached by a screaming, tired child.

Maybe Max knew something after all. Children weren't all giggles and smiles. But as soon as it crossed his mind Ethan banished the thought. He watched Connelly greet a sniffling but cautiously curious little girl dressed up in pink ruffles. She was adorable even if minutes earlier she'd been one of the screamers.

Max's revelation about his childhood—just a glimpse, really—had stuck with Ethan in the days since he'd heard it. He felt no better about it now than he had when Max had shared it. As he came to know Max better, it had become obvious that his dark-haired lover had been raised in a very particular way. Ethan just hadn't known how different their childhoods had really been.

Max didn't see anything wrong with the way he'd been raised and seemed to be a healthy, functioning adult. In fact, the more Ethan learned about his lover, the more entranced he became with him, which might have seemed odd to an outsider. Max was difficult, cool and domineering. A lot of people would be put off by that. But in a sexual sense, Ethan was turned on by these aspects of Max's personality. In an emotional sense, he was intrigued by the glimpses into what had made Max the man he was. A less than ideal relationship with his parents and an odd childhood didn't put Ethan off. He wasn't afraid of baggage or 'issues'. Max was strong and so was Ethan. What they'd endured made them who they were, which in Ethan's mind was the perfect match.

Ethan still thought it sad that Max didn't appreciate the magic that children could bring to adult lives. They weren't a burden or ungrateful as Max claimed they were, but that was an argument Ethan didn't have any intention of starting. And he'd probably lose if Max were here to listen to the little red-faced boy currently screaming at the top of his lungs.

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