Then Max announced he was marrying Claire.
And sent me that invitation.
Then Max announced he was marrying Claire.
I could have skipped the wedding.
But our daughters would be there, and our oldest had already asked twice if I was coming.
So I said yes.
Then I stared at the +1.final, and once spent forty minutes helping me write a response to Max that didn’t contain any of the words I originally wanted to use.
Edward had become one of my closest friends during the divorce.
He was also tall, athletic, and irritatingly good-looking.
Exactly the sort of man Max would notice.
“I need a favor.”
Edward looked up.
“That sounds expensive.”
He was also tall, athletic, and irritatingly good-looking.
“Come to my ex-husband’s wedding with me.”
He blinked.
“As emotional support?”
“As my boyfriend.”
He stared at me.
“Pretend boyfriend,” I added.
“Oh. Much healthier.”
“Please?”
“Why me?”
“Come to my ex-husband’s wedding with me.”
I tried to joke.
“Because you’re obnoxiously presentable.”
“I’m putting that on my performance review.”
I laughed, but Edward kept watching me.
“Veronica.”
I sighed.
“I want Max to look at me with you and wonder if he made a mistake, Ed.”
“Because you’reobnoxiously presentable.”
Edward leaned back.
That answer seemed to bother him.
But after a moment, he nodded.
“Okay.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
I should have wondered why he agreed so easily.
Instead, I spent the next week worrying about what to wear.
I should have wondered why he agreed so easily.
Max had trained me well.
By Saturday, I had rejected three dresses because of what he’d once said about my stomach, two because of my arms and one because I could practically hear him asking whether I owned a mirror.
Eventually, I chose the dress I liked before I started imagining his opinion.
Max had trained me well.
Edward picked me up.
There was a large cardboard box in the back of his car.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Donation stuff.”
I didn’t ask again.
There was a large cardboard box in the back of his car.
