Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 111732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
Max looks pained, but he’s not saying a word. And that only makes me angrier with him. Does Max look tortured because he can’t stand the thought of me falling in love with another man . . . Or because he’s freaking out about how he’s going to continue the charade around Mr. and Mrs. Walters after he moves to California? If it’s the former thing, then I’m glad. I hope the thought of me with another man makes Max feel like his very soul is being sliced apart by a thousand sharp knives, all at once. If it’s the latter thing, then fuck him. I’ve done my part. The rest is up to him.
“Should we find the rest of our family and tell them your spectacular news?” I suggest.
“Uh, yeah.” He’s distracted. Deep in thought. Visibly stressed.
I pat Max’s arm. “Don’t worry too much about the future, okay? You just got your dream job. Let’s focus on that and celebrate. The future is unknown. Anything can happen. One way or another, we’ll figure it out.”
Max looks hopeful. “Does that mean you’ll help me again, if you can?”
Fuck. I’d love to leave him hanging and twist the knife; but unfortunately, I also love the man and dislike watching him suffer. “Yes, if I can. We’re going into business together, remember? I’m sure I’ll need to fly to meetings with my business partner now and again, right? And while I’m in California for business, I suppose I could go to dinner with you and the Walters, if that sort of invitation comes up. Which might never happen. We’re probably getting ahead of ourselves on that stuff, anyway.”
Max looks relieved. In fact, the sparkle is back in his blue eyes. “Yeah, we’ll figure it out, right? No need to stress about it now.”
“If worst came to worse, you could always kill Fake Marnie off,” I suggest. “That’d be a perfect solution.”
Max rolls his eyes. “So, instead of sending out fake wedding invitations, I’d be hosting a fake funeral?”
“Make sure it’s somewhere pretty with lots of flowers, please. And don’t worry, you’d only need to fake-grieve me for a year or two, and then you could hire an actress in California to play fiancée number two. That’d be much more convenient than constantly having to fly me in.”
“That’s an excellent point.”
“Plus, California is positively teeming with professional actresses. I’m sure you’ll find someone brilliantly talented to fill my shoes there.”
“Nah. Nobody else could ever come close.” Max beams me a wide smile, and despite the swirl of emotions I’m feeling, the anger, the yearning, the feelings of rejection because he’s clearly not feeling what I am, I can’t resist returning his smile in kind.
“I really can’t thank you enough,” Max says. “I can’t believe he offered me a spot on his top team on Day One of camp, thanks to you. I didn’t see that coming. Not in my wildest dreams.”
“It takes the pressure off for the week, doesn’t it? Now, all we have to do this week is relax and have a great time together.”
Max nods. “And that won’t even require acting. At least, not for me.”
Fucking hell. Is he trying to torture me? “Not for me, either,” I admit begrudgingly. “I always have a blast with you.” My heart is thundering, and my cheeks turning hot, so I look around the party. “Do you see Ripley and our parents? We should find them.”
We both survey the bustling party for a moment.
“Found ‘em,” Max says. He points across the lawn. “They’re waiting in the sundae line.”
And off we go.
“You owe me a hundred bucks, by the way,” I murmur. “Mrs. Walters asked if you want a kid of your own. On day one. Told you so.”
Max chuckles. “I should never have doubted you.” He beams yet another glorious smile at me and takes my hand. “It’ll never happen again. I’m now thoroughly convinced Marnie Long is a fucking genius, in more ways than one.”
27
MAX
After beating off an hour ago, I’ve been lying in my lonely bed in our cabin, tossing and turning and trying every trick I know to fall asleep. But I can’t make it happen. I’m too amped for a myriad of reasons. For one thing, I can’t believe I’m finally going to be working for my longtime hero, Wayne Walters. And not as one of the many lawyers assigned to his matters at my law firm; no, in a shocking twist I never saw coming, Mr. Walters has offered me an unprecedented slot, working alongside his in-house lawyers in Silicon Valley. Coming here, the biggest I could dream was that I’d somehow ingratiate myself enough to Wayne Walters this week to secure myself a spot on his legal team back home at the firm, which might eventually lead to me proving myself enough to one day, possibly, get myself hired as part of Mr. Walters’ in-house team of lawyers in California. I never in a million years thought he’d create a position, specifically for me, working alongside his in-house team while still working for my firm.