Page 50 of The Deal Maker

I pause, not sure how to react to that. Obviously there had been someone in her life whom she’d loved a lot, enough to consent to his proposal. And then there had been some wedding planning, which explains why she doesn’t love The Bridal Barn or anything close to weddings. And she’s obviously still single.

But does anyone remember the day they got engaged?

“I’m… sorry.” I pause, as if trying to test out if I’m approaching a feral animal or a docile one. “That’s got to be rough.”

“Have you ever had someone use you for something? Like put on a face for a whole relationship just to get what they wanted?”

I try to think of the people I’ve met in my life, wondering if I can help her ease her worries, but no one comes to mind.

“I can’t think of anyone.”

“Well, my ex-fiancé did just that. He was the perfect cutout of the guy my father wanted me to marry. And since my brother enlisted in the army the day he graduated from high school, my parents were determined to have me, and my future husband, run the family business. Little did I know that Zander was dating the receptionist for the company at the same time he kept telling me that I was the only one for him, that I hung the moon and the stars in his eyes.”

I cringe. Why would someone actually say that? I know there are plenty of cheesy things that are said and done in romance books and movies, but that one is topping the scale.

“That’s rough,” I say, trying to come up with something to make her feel better.

She nods. “Yeah, when I asked my dad about it, he said that sometimes guys do stuff like that.”

What kind of insensitive jerk would say that to his daughter? I hope I never have to meet the guy.

I shake my head, hoping she’ll understand. “Not the good ones.” I lean over and pull her closer, hoping she’ll be able to feel some comfort, even if I’m still the enemy in her mind.

She wipes at her eyes and sniffles. “Thanks.”

We sit there in silence for a moment and then she says, “He scammed me too. If I ever see him again, I’ll?—”

“Sorry,” I say, stopping her there. “How does a fiancé scam their future bride?”

“I don’t think you’ll look at me the same if I tell you.” Maggie takes a ragged breath and focuses on the pancakes.

Reaching over, I take her hand in mine, trying to hide my smile that her fingers are still sticky.

“Maggie, we survived singing karaoke together. I’m not going anywhere.” At least she’s starting to care what I think. Maybe that’s a sign we’re on the right track to friends. With the possibility of more later?

“He wanted to be really involved in the planning. I figured I’d hit the jackpot in the fiancé department because he cared. We would go look at different options for the venue, flowers, and the rest. I wanted to be mindful of the money spent because it’s one day, right? Weddings don’t need to be over-the-top, as long as the people love each other.”

This all sounds good so far, but my brain is trying to run ahead and think of how this scenario plays out. With the little she’s told me so far, I can’t find a connection.

“He loved the expensive stuff and offered to go half on all of the items.”

Oh no. Please no.

Maggie frowned and said, “He said that if I paid him my half, he would put it on his travel card so he could earn points for the honeymoon.”

“When did you find out?” I ask. I’m hoping the guy left long before the wedding was supposed to take place.

“The day of the wedding. I showed up in my dress, which I bought myself so it could be a ‘surprise’ for him. There was already another wedding booked for the venue. After calling all the vendors, I figured it out.”

I squeeze Maggie’s hand, wishing I could take away the pain. No wonder she wasn’t a fan of weddings. Her face watching Hope get engaged makes total sense now.

“What do you want to do?” I ask, glancing around the walkway. Not many people are out at this time of morning, but I know that doing something when I’m in a funk usually helps pull me out of it.

“What do you mean? Like the scavenger hunt?” Maggie asks.

I shrug. “If that’s what you want to do, sure. If not, we can go do something else.”

She blows out a breath as if trying to control her breathing so she doesn’t start sobbing again. “I feel bad that we missed the hunt tasks this morning. I’m sure Hope can cover for me for an hour or two. Should we work on those right now?”

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