Page 5 of Deal Breaker
“We need to talk about the wedding plans.”
Mentally, I rolled my eyes. Brianna Ashurst’s wedding, or rather theWedding of the Year, was taking place this weekend, which was why I needed the time off work. We’d been friends in high school, and she was the first in our group to get married.
And didn’t we know it.
The minute she’d gotten engaged, our social media feeds had blown up with hundreds of pictures and videos of the proposal, followed by a blow-by-blow account of every single one of the preparations leading up to the Big Day. The bachelorette party had been spectacular, not to mention expensive. An entire weekend in a private house by the ocean, with every single meal catered, wine tasting at the house, a DJ onsite for entertainment, and all the alcohol you could drink. As a single woman with no hint of a husband on the horizon, my hangover had lasted longer than the bachelorette party.
“I can’t really do that now, Autumn, I’m meant to be working.” My head bobbed up over the desk to check on my boss’s whereabouts. Tim still appeared to be on a call, now pacing around his office and lips moving every so often. There was also the possibility he was dictating a bunch more work for me. I ducked down out of sight again. “Can we talk later?”
“No can do. I’m going on a date this evening. Might even have myself a plus one for the wedding.”
I groaned. “You can’t leave me on my own! What will I do if you’re off playing tonsil hockey with your date?”
“You can always talk to Max if you get lonely.”
My breath hitched, and I almost dropped the phone. I had totally forgotten Max would be there. Joshua was his best friend after all.
Seemingly oblivious to my reaction, Autumn continued.
“Don’t forget Jodie will be there too. The three of us can drive up together.”
Jodie Charles made up the trio of our friendship. Like Charlie’s Angels, Autumn often commented. I’d always fancied myself as Cameron Diaz.
“Sophie? Are you okay?” My boss’s voice floated across the office. Damn, I hadn’t spotted Tim coming.
I dropped my phone into my bag, leaving the call connected and sat up straight. “Um, yes, just feeling a bit poorly.” I clutched my hands to my stomach. “Cramps,” I whispered.
As anticipated, his face dropped, and he backed away towards his door. “Right. Okay. Let me know when you’ve finished those minutes. If you need to leave early, let me know?”
An early escape would be utter bliss, but guilt rose in my chest. He may be an ass most of the time, but his surprising sensitivity to my lie was out of left field. Despite the initial excitement of the early finish, the pile of paperwork balanced precariously on my desk taunted me. There would be no way on earth I could get out early tonight. I also couldn’t leave Laura with so much work.
“I’ll be fine,” I reassured him. “But thank you.” A huge false smile spread across my face.
After a beat he turned and went back to hide in his office, closing the door behind him.
Autumn’s voice chimed from the depths of my bag. “Soph? Sophie? Are you still there?”
I scrabbled to retrieve the phone. “Yes, sorry. Did you hear that? It’s totally unheard of for him to offer me an early finish.”
She laughed. “You should have taken it. We could have had coffee, and you could give me tips for my date.”
I echoed her laughter. I was the last person she should be taking dating advice from. “Now, where were we?”
“Travel plans for the wedding. You, me, Jodie.”
And Max, I added silently. Ugh. Why was I thinking about him now?
“Max has to be there early, for the rehearsal dinner or something, otherwise he’d drive us.”
I drifted off into a fantasy of spending several hours in a confined space with Max Coady, watching him drive, the muscles in his forearms working as he took control of the wheel, breathing in his aftershave…reluctantly I shook myself back to the present. Seriously, I had to get this crush under control. Maybe I’d meet someone at the wedding who would sweep me off my feet. I sighed.
Who was I kidding?
Unrequited love was a bitch.
Of course, I couldn’t tell Autumn this. Not since she’d decided at the age of fourteen that I couldn’t ever—EVER—date her brother. I’d had to keep my fantasies under control since then. Maybe that was one of the reasons I hadn’t managed to find a serious boyfriend. Because no one ever compared to Max.
“Soph? Where are you?” Autumn’s voice broke into my reverie. “I asked what time you want to meet on Friday. It’s going to take us around an hour and a half to get there.”
