Page 33 of Deal Breaker
“I’m not,” I bluffed. “You must be imagining things.”
He shook his head. “Don’t think so, Soph. Because he’s pretty much done the same thing to you.” Trent took another sip of his beer. “And he warned me off just before we sat down for dinner.”
My head snapped around. “He did what?”
Trent cocked his head to one side. “Basically, he told me you wouldn’t be interested even if I did make a move on you.”
“That’s not true.”
“Babe, I could have been dancing with a store mannequin out there for all the vibes I was getting.” He quirked a smile.
“Oh, God, I’m so sorry.” I exhaled a hard breath, not realizing my disinterest had been that obvious. I paused, wondering whether discussing Max with Trent was the right thing to do. “Even if I did want to get together with Max, Autumn wouldn’t allow it.”
“Autumn wouldn’t allow it.” He mimicked my words. “What are we? Twelve?”
“Fourteen, actually.” I folded my arms across my chest. “That’s when she told me it would be gross if I went out with her brother.”
Trent’s shoulders actually quaked with laughter. “And you’ve seriously kept hold of that for what, ten years?”
“She’s my best friend.” I lifted my chin defiantly. “There are rules.”
“Maybe in school.” He rolled his eyes. “Look, it’s patently obvious Max likes you and you like Max. You’re at a wedding, one of the most romantic places you could get together. Stop stressing over what others think and do something for yourselves.”
I let his words sink in.
Could I really go against Autumn’s wishes after all this time?
She knew I’d been with Max last night, albeit not knowing we’d kissed.
Although that had been Drunk Max, who had given me the sweetest first kiss I could ever have imagined.
Sober Max had pushed me out of a window.
I brushed my hand over the bruise on my thigh and winced. It was certainly a reminder of this weekend, no matter what happened.
Why couldn’t I simply be happy to get to know Trent better and see how things went with him? It would certainly be less complicated. But I didn’t have the feelings for him like I had for Max.
How did I get myself into this situation?
A part of me wanted to run away and hide out until it was all over and go back to New York, back to work, and back to inconsequential dating.
But as I looked around the room, seeing how elated Brianna and Joshua were, how delighted their family and friends were to see them finally married, I knew in my heart that running away wasn’t the thing to do.
I needed to speak to Max.
To find out whether Drunk Max’s words were the ones I should be listening to.
Spurred on by my newfound confidence, I placed my glass on the bar and touched Trent’s arm. “Thank you,” I said, stretching up on my tiptoes and placing a kiss on his cheek.
“For what?”
“For making me see sense and helping me to realize what I need to do.”
He gave a small bow. “Go get him, Soph.”
I had to find him first.
I turned to start my hunt and bumped, slap bang into Autumn.
