Page 17 of Four Weddings to Fall in Love
I feel someone’s hands on me.“You go over here,” Gladys says.“You’re shorter than Evan.Looks better this way.”
I smile briefly at Evan—he’s one of Max’s brothers, isn’t he?He seems to have a sunnier disposition than Max.
“How are you related?”he asks.
“I’m not,” I say.
My mom thumps the left side of her chest.“We’re related here!”
“That’s my mom,” I tell Evan.“Our families are friends.We…”
My words trail off as I’m manhandled, yet again, by Gladys, who now has me standing next to Max.
Great.
I glance toward the photographer.Her assistant, a young man wearing all black, is snapping candid shots.Looks like he’s taking one of me and Max.Hopefully it’s such an ugly photo that nobody will ever see it.
“Stand closer to Kim,” my mother says to Max, putting her hands on his arms and shifting him toward me.
He practically recoils from her touch.Is that because he’s horrified at the thought of standing so close to me?
I’m admittedly a bit horrified, too.My sex life and my family should be kept far, far apart.I’m half afraid someone will figure out what happened based on our behavior—especially his.
Just then, a little boy hurries toward Max and affixes himself to Max’s leg.
Does Max have a kid?For some reason, I wasn’t expecting that.
“Nolan,” Isobel says, “come back here!”
Ah.The little boy is Daisy and Isobel’s son.
“No!”Nolan says.“Uncle Max is my favorite.”
Max raises an eyebrow.This appears to be news to him.
“Yeah?”Isobel says.“Why is that?”
Nolan frowns and thinks for a moment.“I don’t know, but he is.”
I chuckle.
Okay, maybe seeing Max isn’t as bad as I initially thought.His reactions are providing some entertainment, distracting me from the fact that I’m baking in the sunshine.
“Why are you laughing, Kim?”Mom demands.
Oh, geez.
“No reason.Just in a good mood.”
Max turns to me and raises that eyebrow again.He’s only a few inches away and…damn.Why am I still attracted to him after our disastrous night together?
I blame it on the suit.I’ve always been a sucker for men in suits.
Except there are lots of men in suits here, and he’s the one my eye is drawn to.It’s a different suit from what he wore last time; that one was dark gray, and this one is light gray, and why am I notice these things?Why am I noticing how the jacket stretches across his broad shoulders as he bends down to pick up Nolan?He hands the boy over to Isobel.
You’re an idiot, Kim.You slept with him already, and it didn’t go well.
I need some liquor right now.Unfortunately, that will have to wait until we finally finish these family pictures.
