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Chapter Two
Max thought he had misheard. This was meant to be her weekend? He was getting confused. He rubbed a hand over his head, feeling the smoothness under his palm. Somehow, that was always rather comforting.
“I don’t understand. You’re the one who was meant to be the bride-to-be here?”
“Yes. Until two weeks ago, when I caught my sister in bed with my future husband.” Mary scowled, glowering at the canoes as they drifted further away. “I was the one who got thrown out of my own bedroom so they could finish. Then they decided that they should get married as soon as possible, and Olivia pretty much demanded that I give her the wedding I was going to have, including the extras.”
Max wondered if he had hit his head. She had been cheated on and her sister was hijacking everything? That couldn’t be right.
“I…wow.” He grunted and shook his head. “It’s not often that you get me at a loss for words. How does a normal person not see that as wrong?”
“That’s my sister for you. She’s a pampered little madam who gets what she wants, especially if Mom is on her side.”
“If that’s the case, why are you here? From what I’ve seen, you clearly don’t want to be a part of any of this.”
Mary sighed. She picked at a thread on her leggings. Max was still trying to understand what was going on. He had heard of cheating happening before the wedding, but he had never heard of the other woman hijacking the wedding meant for the original fiancee. That just didn’t sound reasonable.
“I didn’t want to come. But the reservations were in my name, and I needed to be present.”
“I was at reception yesterday, and I didn’t see you.”
“I just told the girl my name, signed the book, and left. Olivia took over the rest.” Mary frowned. “I couldn’t get my name changed to hers, or get a refund because she wanted it. Apparently, this is too expensive to afford on her own, especially at short notice.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t leave as soon as you were done.”
“Mom was insistent on driving me down. I said I would drive myself, but she practically forced me into the car. She said she didn’t want me to pull anything, and this weekend was going to be perfect.”
Max didn’t see how that was going to happen, seeing as Mary was clearly miserable. He wanted to put his arms around her and give her a hug.
Wait, where had that come from?
“From what Mom and Olivia had been saying, and from the way they were looking at me in the car, I think they have something planned for me. I don’t know what, but I don’t think I’m going to like it.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“More than a little.” Mary’s cheeks went a little pink as she glanced at him. “Sorry, Max. I didn’t mean to start pouring all of this out.”
“It’s fine. If you need someone to talk to, then I’m more than happy to be that person.” Max frowned. “So, you’re going to spend the rest of the weekend with people who don’t like you?”
“Just one more night. My dad is coming to pick me up tomorrow, and then we’re gone. We couldn’t get our plans to start any earlier, so Dad just said spend one day here, and he would take me away.”
“What does he think of this?”
“He’s been divorced from Mom for twenty years. And he was less than impressed that someone he introduced me to decided to fuck my sister when he was supposed to be getting married to me.” Mary shook her head. “My family’s just fucked up, that’s all I can say.”
Max wouldn’t say that. Sure, the mother and sister sounded like horrible people, and he was already not impressed with the way the mother had treated Mary. But Mary wasn’t fucked up. She looked miserable.
He wished he knew what he could do to make her feel better. Anything to make her smile. And only for him.
Inwardly, he groaned. What was he doing going weird over a woman he barely knew? She was also clearly older than him. Somewhere in her mid-thirties, if he had to guess. At twenty-five, Max knew she was way out of his league.
But he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about how beautiful she looked. Or stop himself from staring. Even hunched over with her legs crossed, it was clear that she took good care of herself. That t-shirt didn’t do her justice. He wanted to see what she really looked like underneath.
Keep your cock in your pants. She’s not here to get molested.
“So, you just have to bide your time while they enjoy your bachelorette party.” Max gestured at the lake. “I can’t see you agreeing to this if you don’t like the water.”
