3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Trent

Soft music floated from the speaker, but the rest of the house was quiet. Trent transferred the bacon from the frying pan to a tray and placed it into the oven to keep warm as he hummed softly under his breath to Birds of Tokyo. He took the pan to the sink, gazing out the window above the drainer as had become his habit when doing the dishes. The sky was lightening as the sun rose, but mist still hovered in the distance, giving daybreak a magical quality. He loved this time of the morning, when everything was fresh and crisp, the air still, and the only sound the warble of magpies. It was peaceful and full of promise—the day could bring anything.

His smile widened when he saw Callum come into view. Callum had a tiny kitchen in his cottage at the rear of the property, but he'd taken to joining Trent a few mornings a week for breakfast. The excuse was to review the activities for the day, but Trent had a feeling Callum also looked forward to their quiet time together before the rush of the day started. He wiped his hands and met him at the door.

"Good morning." He resisted the automatic urge to touch Callum in greeting, instead twisting the tea towel to keep his hands occupied.

"Morning." Callum shot him a grin before bending to greet Mushroom. "Hey, my sweet thing."

Callum ran his large hand down the cat's back in a couple of long strokes. Mushroom wound through his ankles, arching into his touch. As usual, Trent wished he could greet Callum in the same way, pressing against his strong body with Callum's rough touch against this skin. God! He took a deep breath as his pulse quickened. I've been spending too much time fantasising about him. I need to do something before this becomes an obsession.

"Have you eaten?" he asked, dragging his thoughts back to the mundane topic of breakfast, although if he were honest with himself, he loved preparing a meal for Callum before he started work for the day.

"Ah-huh. Coffee and toast," Callum said when he straightened. "But I wouldn't say no to some of that bacon I smell and a second dose of caffeine."

Trent grinned. "Coming right up. Did you want to start on the coffee?"

In practiced unison, he returned to the food, while Callum tackled the coffee machine. He hummed as he prepared scrambled eggs to accompany the bacon. He loved the routine they'd established and how comfortable Callum was in his kitchen. It didn't take long to get breakfast plated up and on the table. Warmth spread through his chest as he watched Callum get stuck into the meal, his little moan of appreciation doing strange things in Trent's belly. He forced himself to take his gaze from Callum and focus on his meal.

All too soon, they'd polished off large plates of eggs, bacon, and toast, along with two cups of coffee each, and their time alone together was coming to an end. As he put his knife and fork together, Trent realised they hadn't discussed a single work-related thing. Instead, they'd chatted about current affairs, the local food and wine festival, and his mother's upcoming birthday.

Trent took his plate to the sink. He was pleased to see Callum had followed with a plate that he had scraped clean. Yep, preparing food was definitely his language of love. Love? Shit!

He quickly grabbed the plate from Callum and put it in the sink, not daring to meet his gaze.

"Ah… I guess I'd better get to work," Callum said. "Let me know if there's anything you need from me, otherwise I'll get back to the checklist."

"Ah, the never-ending list." Trent chuckled as he regained his equilibrium. "But actually, I was hoping we could run over the numbers you gave me last week."

"For the bathroom upgrades?"

"Exactly. Do you have a moment now?"

"Sure."

Trent turned from the dishes. "Thanks. It'll be good to get it taken care of." He returned to the table, where a couple of manila folders sat stacked next to yesterday's unopened mail. Trent sighed and pushed the envelopes to the side. He knew what they contained—bills and most likely an overdue notice or two. He'd sunk the bulk of his funds into purchasing the property and doing the initial cleanup and renovations, plus the multitude of other costs involved in setting up the business. To say things were tight was an understatement.

"Is everything okay?" Callum asked, concern clear in his gaze.

Trent shrugged. "They will be. It's a bit of a juggling act at the moment. That's what I wanted to speak with you about. I know there are some critical plumbing problems that can't be put off, but I was hoping to delay the major expenses."

"Sure. That's no problem." Callum smiled as he spoke and some of the tension Trent had been holding eased. "I know you've got your vision for some updates in the bathrooms, but there's nothing wrong with the current fixtures and the tiling is in great condition, considering the age."

"Yeah, they don't build things like they used to," Trent agreed. "I just hate the shower curtains with a passion, and the tapware has seen better days."

"I get you. How about a staged approach where we fix any leaks in the attached bathrooms and make sure they're fully functional then focus efforts on the large bathroom in the main suite? I can rework the budget to limit costs, and I've got a mate who can probably give a good discount on the frameless shower screen we were discussing."

"That sounds perfect. I need an amazing bridal suite if I'm going to target the wedding market."

Callum nodded. "Consider it done. Pretty soon you'll have a bridal suite fit for a princess."

"Or a prince," Trent responded.

Callum chuckled. "Or a prince."

Trent breathed a sigh of relief and tried to tell himself it was because of Callum's reassurance about the plans, not his easy acceptance of the idea of a marriage between princes. He focused back on the issue at hand. He had a sound business plan and weddings were the cornerstone, regardless of Callum's thoughts on the matter. "I can't tell you how much it means that we're on the same page as far as the plans and budget goes. I appreciate your input, especially when I run into issues."

"As my mum says, a problem shared is a problem halved," Callum said with a shrug.

The expression couldn't be more true—just a simple conversation, someone to share his concerns with, and he felt a lot lighter. When he first moved to the mountains he'd loved the solitude, but was beginning to realise there were some downsides to solitary living and running the business himself.

"Are you close to your mum?" Trent asked. He had very little knowledge of Callum's family.

"We're not as close as we used to be. They live nearly four hours away—"

"Dubbo, right?"

"Yep. Things were a bit tough at first when I didn't join the family business, but the folks soon came around. They just want me to be happy, although I'm sure Mum wishes I'd find happiness a lot closer to home and that happiness would involve giving her grandkids."

"You're not tempted to move home, then?" Trent asked, hating that idea. Call him selfish, but he liked having Callum around.

"God no," Callum thankfully said, passion in his voice. "I came to the mountains because I needed to stand on my own, but also looking for adventure. There's so much opportunity for bushwalking and exploring. Now I love it and can't imagine living anywhere else. It's nice to go home, but a visit is enough, you know?"

"If you ever want your family to come stay, just give me some notice and they're welcome here in the guesthouse."

Callum beamed. "Thanks. That's nice of you. I'll keep it in mind. Maybe once we get the place finished."

We. Trent warmed at the use of the word, loving that Callum was in his court, the two of them working towards his goal. Before he said something stupid, he picked up his coffee cup and downed the last of the contents.