MAGGIE
The whole time we eat dinner and dessert, I’m acutely aware of Michael’s presence next to me. His knee presses into mine, and I smile.
“Just admit you left that tuna sandwich in my car,” he says in my ear.
“Will you be mad if I tell you I did it?”
“No. I’m sure I did something shitty to deserve the retribution.”
My smile widens. I’m not used to having Michael agree with me. He usually argues for the sake of arguing.
He motions to my brother, who is sneaking off with one of the bridesmaids. “Another wedding hookup on the books, ladies and gentlemen.”
I laugh. “Those are supposed to be the best kind of hookups,” I say as though I have any experience with these sort of things. I don’t, but I’ve read plenty of Cosmo articles on the topic. “Everyone goes their separate ways the next day, so there are no awkward run-ins later. Half the time, it’s a great excuse to do what you’ve always wanted to anyway.”
“I mean, how are you supposed to resist all of this romantic stuff, right? Candle lights and slow songs.”
“Booze and cake.”
He nods and holds up his empty glass to mine, and we clink. “Booze and cake. That’s romantic shit right there.”
“Absolutely. There’s no resisting it,” I say slowly as I look into his captivating blue eyes.
“As if that’s even possible,” he whispers as he stares at my lips.
The rest of the night is spent dancing and laughing with the bridal party on the dance floor. And while Gramps asks me for a slow dance and Greg takes me for a whirl once, Michael gets the rest of the slow songs.
With the dim lights, a little champagne, and the romantic backdrop, I’m having a hard time keeping my walls up. I have to admit that I’m having more fun with Michael than I’ve had on any date.
Not that this is a date exactly.
Just a truce.
Which reminds me.
“Michael Oliver, did you have groceries delivered to my door via my neighbor, or did I imagine that?” The deer-in-the-headlights expression on his face makes me laugh.
“Will you be mad if I admit that was me?”
“Why would I be mad?”
He shrugs. “You like to do things on your own. Didn’t want to mess with your girl power vibe.” Girl power vibe? “Plus, we’d had that horrible conversation at the store. Didn’t want to upset you again, but at the same time, I couldn’t stop worrying that maybe you needed some groceries.”
I’m momentarily speechless. As we sway to the music, I dust off some lint on his tux. “You know, I baked you a pie and left it on your doorstep to thank you. Did you get it?”
He stops moving. Tilts his head. Growls. “Johnny ate my damn pie!”
His outrage puts another smile on my face. “It probably wasn’t even that good.”
“Everyone knows you’re a damn good cook, Maggie.”
Little flutters fill my belly at the compliment, and I make a mental note to bake him another one.
When Kayla and Joe take off, everyone lines up outside with sparklers. Everyone except for my brother and his bridesmaid, who are probably upstairs getting freaky. Which… I’m not gonna think about. Realizing I overheard Mr. and Mrs. Oliver going at it like animals is enough for me to handle for one weekend.
Finding out it wasn’t Michael and Vanessa banging away sent a shockwave of relief through me. I was ready to deck him for tormenting me like that. It’s always been hard for me to think about him dating other women, but actually hearing it was torture.
Which makes me realize I care about him way more than I should.
