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How could someone so young be so mature?
“How old are you?” Mary blurted out.
What the hell was she asking that for? What did it have to do with anything? Max arched an eyebrow.
“I’m twenty-five.” Max frowned. “Why?”
Shit, he was ten years younger than her. Mary had thought he was a little younger, but not that much. She shouldn’t be thinking of him as gorgeous. But it didn’t stop the heat twisting in her belly as she stared at him.
“I…I don’t really know.” Mary gave a lame shrug. “I guess you seem to be more grown-up than the people I’m currently with.”
“Well, they’re not exactly the kind of people I would hang out with on a regular basis.” Max tilted his head to one side. “Can I ask you something, Mary?”
“Sure.”
“What was the reaction of your family hearing that the wedding is going ahead but the bride was going to be different? I mean, it was only two weeks ago you caught your ex and sister together. It’s like they’re not giving you time and space to grieve.”
Was she grieving? Perhaps she was. It sounded about right. She sighed.
“It wasn’t great. Certainly not from Cody’s family. They love me, and his mother even said she was looking forward to me officially becoming part of the family. From what she’s told me, she’s not spoken to Cody since she found out.”
“She’s not here, is she?”
“No. She and Cody’s three sisters were going to be taking part, along with my bridesmaids and my best friend. But when Olivia said that she was going to take this weekend as hers, my future mother-in-law said she was not coming. Cody tried to talk to his family about it, but they said it meant they were condoning cheating and none of them like Olivia.” Mary couldn’t help but smile. “That time when Cody’s mom laid into Olivia and called her a few choice names was certainly a moment where I tried not to laugh.”
It did feel good knowing that her former in-laws were on her side. Cody had been very shocked when his parents lambasted him for giving up on a good thing, but he and Olivia had been doing this for months; Olivia had Cody wrapped around her little finger.
“I’m surprised that Olivia took over your wedding and bachelorette party.” Max shoved his hands into his pockets. “Surely, she would have done it further down the line in her own way, not nick everything of her sister’s.”
“That’s my sister for you. She’s very lazy when it comes to doing actual work.” Mary made a face. “I had planned everything, and I had paid for it all. Cody put in a couple of thousand, but the majority of it was paid by me. Olivia’s reasoning was I had put all the hard work in, and it would be a shame to waste it.”
“Can’t you get a refund on everything?”
“I…I haven’t started yet.” Mary swallowed. “I’ve been in a daze lately. I guess I should be calling around and canceling everything. I’m going to be out of pocket, but it would be better than knowing my sister is getting married to my ex on my dime.”
Max’s expression softened.
“It didn’t happen that long ago, and they’re not giving you any space. I’m surprised you haven’t broken down yet.”
“Trust me, I feel like I’m in a permanent state of breaking down.”
Then Mary realized that she had been crying. Which meant her makeup was going to be a mess. How did she forget that? Now Max must think she was stupid. She began to burrow in her purse, looking for tissues. But there were none.
“Fuck.”
“Are you okay?”
“I haven’t got any tissues. I must look a complete mess.”
“You look fine.”
“It’s very nice of you to lie, Max.”
Mary gasped when Max touched her face, everything in her freezing as he urged her to look up. He was far closer than she was used to, and her heart was tripping over itself. There was a scent to him that wafted past her nose. It was subtle. Nice. She wanted to take a deep breath and inhale it.
He smiled, his fingers brushing across her cheek, his thumb rubbing under her eye.
“You look beautiful either way.”
