Page 14 of Fauxmance

"Nope. Friends are there for each other. They show up,rideor die, and this jerk couldn't even find time to be there for his BFF's big day?" I shook my head. "Now,thatis the definition of heartless."

Hayden swallowed. "You think so?"

"Oh yeah," I said. "He's the lowest of the low."

"That's a little harsh. Don't you think, Maggie? Maybe he's decent and just didn't think he was best man material. Maybe he didn't want to ruin Cole's day with his issues."

I shook my head. "All excuses—andcrappyones at that. Whoever he is Cole's best friend sucks. Period."

Hayden went to object, but I held up a hand.

"Well"—Hayden cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck—"I guess you have a point. But I stand by what I said before. Now that your boyfriend's out of the picture, I'm sure they'll be lining up to take you to that wedding."

"Believe me, there's no line. I'm not an outcast, Hayden. But I'm not the most popular girl in my high school either. Sean was the only guy who's ever been interested."

He stared at me a moment then said, "I find that very hard to believe."

My heart skipped a beat.

"You're too beautiful. Guys would have to be blind not to see it."

He shook his head, and my heart wasn't skipping anymore. It had sprouted wings and was trying to fly right out of my chest.

"You'll find a date. No problem."

A sigh escaped my lips. "I don't think it'll be that easy. The wedding is tomorrow. I'm currently stuck in an elevator. Even if I did have a male friend I could ask—which I don't—there's no time. My dreams are going up in smoke, and there's nothing I can do about it."

"Never give up on your dreams, Maggie," Hayden said then shot me a look. "Though I've got to be honest. I don't get why this is what you've set your heart on."

"What do you mean?"

He gave a shrug. "The wedding/bridesmaid thing. It's just so stupid."

My eyes widened. "You take that back. Weddings aren't stupid at all! They're amazing."

"If you say so."

I could hear the sarcasm in his voice. It made my blood rise, and I refused to let it go.

"Hayden, you obviously don't know much about weddings," I said.

"You might be surprised," he muttered, but I didn't let his interruption distract me.

"Trust me, they're about more than pretty white dresses and tuxedos. It's an important life event that celebrates two souls finally finding true love."

"Funny," he said. "I thought it was about two love-drunk people parading their happiness around to make everyone else miserable—not to mention promising to 'obey' and shackling yourself to someone until death do you part…or divorce, whichever comes first."

"No, no, no," I said then blinked. "Jeez, you're cynical."

Hayden's answer was a shrug.

"You've got it all wrong. Weddings are about so much more than that."

He cocked his head. "Go on."

Okay, at least he was listening.

"Tell me what you love about it," he said.

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