Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79963 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
We found the cocktail hour going on and as soon as we entered the ballroom, Max spotted us and came over. “Max, this is Maggie Childs. Maggie, Max Frost.”
“We finally meet,” Maggie said as she shook Max’s hand warmly. “Thank you for all the business you’ve given us.”
Max smiled distantly. “I have a feeling I’m the one who should be thanking you for putting up with me… and for bringing this little minx into my life.”
“Come, let me introduce you to Jennifer.” He took my hand in his and led us to where the bride and groom were standing.
The bride was a very pretty brunette. She beamed at us happily.
“I’ve heard so much about you, Lillian. And it’s so great to finally meet you. The photos from the stag party are amazing. I absolutely adore them. Almost makes me wish I could have been there. We have to go out for a drink when all this is over,” she gushed. Then she turned to Maggie. “You must come too. A girl can never have too many friends.”
Chris had a huge smile on his face throughout. It was sweet and touching to see how in love with each other they were.
Then something peculiar happened.
Chris got a message on his phone. He looked at it, then turned to Max and said in an excited voice, “The fish has taken the bait.”
A strange expression crossed Max’s face, then his head whirled around to look at me. For a few seconds we stared at each other, and then he looked back to Chris and with a smile said, “That’s good news. Very good news.”
But his smile was sad as if it was not good news at all.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe this. You two are talking about business on my wedding day,” Jennifer complained.
Chris switched off his phone and put it away with a sheepish grin. “Phone? What phone? Business? What business? I’m getting married to the most beautiful woman on earth.”
Jennifer smiled. “Quite right.”
The wedding planner came hurrying towards us. “We’re almost ready to start. Groom and best man over there. Jennifer, please come with me.”
“I thought the groom wasn’t supposed to see the bride before the ceremony,” Maggie commented when we were alone. “I definitely wouldn’t want Martin to see me until I walk down the aisle.”
“I guess it depends on the couple. Maybe they’re not so heavy on tradition,” I said distractedly, my eyes on Max.
He looked so sexy in his tuxedo.
Soon the master of ceremony was asking us all to proceed to the garden where the official part of the wedding was taking place. Maggie and I sat in a strategic spot where we had a nice view of the front where the groom and bride would be exchanging their vows, but I only had eyes for Max.
“I don’t care what you say. That man has fallen for you, Lillian,” Maggie whispered to me as the ceremony progressed.
“Why do you say that?”
“He just gave you ‘that’ look.”
I grew hot all over and fervently wished it was true. When the time came for the couple to exchange vows, Chris cried, reminding me that love did change a person. Max had said that Chris had been a die-hard in the bachelor world, but clearly meeting the right woman had changed his thoughts about marriage.
Could the same thing happen with Max?
Not while Paige is around, a little voice in my head mocked.
As we moved back to the reception, I found myself confiding in Maggie about Paige. I needed to let it out else I would go insane.
“I’ve learned not to jump to conclusions,” Maggie said sagely. “And to trust the person I’m with unless they give me a reason not to. If Max said that his mother set him up, I would believe him.”
“I want to so badly, but I’d hate to look like a fool. She’s everything that I’m not. She belongs to their family circle.”
“He’s not in that circle anymore and he’s taking you with him. If he wasn’t, then I’d be worried. I saw how that man was looking at you in church. Give it a chance and stop letting fear get the better of you.”
I inhaled deeply. “Okay. I hear you.”
Chapter 48
Max
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luwAMFcc2f8
As soon as I had done my best man duties and danced with the matron of honor, I escaped. But Lillian was nowhere to be seen in the ballroom. I couldn’t spot her anywhere in the crowded bar either. Surely, she hadn’t left? Cursing under my breath, I weaved through the throng of people and made my way out.
Relief surged through me when I spotted her outside with Maggie.
“Are you leaving?” I asked when I joined them.
“Nope, she’s not leaving. Just me,” Maggie said with a smile. Then she turned to Lillian. “Thanks for inviting me. It was a beautiful ceremony.”