He’d been wearing his engagement ring so long now that he’d almostforgotten it wasn’t attached, but the new ring looked strange on Connor’s hand.He almost seemed like a different person.
Max wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about all this, but hedefinitely feltsomething. He knew he shouldn’t have wanted to marryConnor for real, but a small part of him…
Did. Want to marry Connor.
For real.
His head spun at the thought, but he forced himself to push itaside.
It was just the whole wedding thing getting to him. He likedConnor. Maybe evenlovedConnor.
But Connor was leaving. He’d always been leaving Hope Springs hadbeen temporary for him since the moment he moved in.
And that was that, no matter how Max felt.
“So…?” Max looked to Connor, unsure what they were supposed to donext.
“Paperwork,” Connor murmured, pulling Max over to the table whereRiley was grinning at them both.
Max followed, signing his name without having to think about it.They weren’t filing the papers. They didn’t have a marriage license to beginwith. None of this was real.
But right now, he wished it was.
He shoved the thought aside again. Connor had given him more thanenough. He didn’t need Max suddenly getting weird on him.
They’d had fun. Connor had done so much for him.
That needed to be enough.
Kelsey appeared in front of Max, beaming at both of them, camerain hand. She raised it to get another shot, then lowered it and let it hangaround her neck.
“That was beautiful,” she said, nodding to the altar they’d setup. “You guys really sounded like you were speaking from the heart. Nobullshit.”
Max tried not to look surprised.
Hehadbeen speaking from the heart, but he’d been choosinghis words carefully.
Obviously, they rang true anyway.
“Thanks,” Connor said from beside him. “This has been everything Icould wish for and more. I’m so happy,” he added, grabbing Max’s hand again.
“Well, I just have a couple more pictures to take before I’m outof your hair.”
Connor nodded. “Right, of course. We’ve actually arranged thingsso we’ll be cutting the cake and having our first dance in about ten minutes,so you can get away early. We didn’t want you trying to navigate the roadsaround here in the pitch black, it’s dangerous.”
Kelsey’s face softened. “You know, I hope you guys win. You’vebeen the sweetest couple the whole time.”
“Thank you,” Max responded, a tiny spark of hope bouncing aroundhis stomach. Maybe they really were in with a chance.
“Your wedding is the last one and you just barely squeezed inunder the deadline, which I guess is good, because you’ll know the resultsWednesday night when the magazine ships out to stores. The results and all thepictures will be in Thursday’s issue.”
Max nodded.
Wednesday seemed too soon all of a sudden.
It’d all be over in just a few days.
“How’s Zoe?” Kelsey asked. “I don’t see her here.”
