Max stood over him. “Touch her again, talk to her like that again, look at her like that again, and I’ll make sure you spend your honeymoon in a hospital bed.”
“She’s just some—”
Max took a step forward, and Leo actually scrambled backward like a crab, his eyes wide with genuine fear.
“Finish that sentence,” Max said, his voice deadly calm. “I dare you.”
Leo’s mouth opened, then closed. He looked between Max and me, something ugly flickering across his face—humiliation, rage, the particular fury of a man who’d just been put in his place. “You’re going to regret this, Max.”
“The only thing I regret is not hitting you harder.” Max’s voice was flat, final. “Now get the hell out of here before I change my mind about letting you walk away.”
Leo stumbled to his feet, nearly tripping over a root in his rush to leave. He took off down the trail, weaving slightly as he went.
I stood there, my back still against the tree, my brain trying to catch up with what had just happened. Max had punched Leo. The groom. The day before his wedding. All because Leo had cornered me on a trail and said things. Granted, they had hurt more than I wanted to admit, but I had never aroused that type of reaction in a person before.
And from a mountain man who had barely smiled at me.
Max turned to face me, and some of the fury drained from his eyes, replaced by concern. He closed the distance between us in two strides, his hands coming up to frame my face. “Did he hurt you?”
I shook my head, not trusting my voice.
“Frankie.” His thumbs brushed my cheekbones, his touch impossibly gentle for a man who’d just laid his cousin out. “Talk to me.”
“You punched him.” My voice came out breathless, shaky.
“Yeah.”
“You punched the groom.”
“Yeah.” His eyes searched my face. “And I’d do it again. I’d do worse. No one talks to you like that. No one.”
And that’s when it hit me — the full weight of what had just happened. Max hadn’t just defended me. He’d chosen me. Over family, over keeping the peace, over everything.
“He grabbed you,” Max said, like that explained everything. “He said—” His jaw tightened again. “I heard what he said, Frankie. Every word.”
The laugh died in my throat.
His hands slid from my face to my shoulders, his grip firm. “And for the record? He’s wrong. About all of it.”
I wanted to believe him. God, I wanted to believe him so badly it hurt. But Leo’s words were still echoing in my head.Out of your league. Small-town girl. Girls like you.
“Frankie.” Max’s voice dropped. “Look at me.”
I did.
“You think I’d bring just anyone here?” he asked quietly. “You think I’d let just anyone stand next to me in front of my family?”
“I thought—” I swallowed hard. “I thought you needed someone. Anyone. To make Tiffany think you’d moved on.”
“I know. And I’m grateful. I also know you saw me with Tiffany, and you ran.” His hands tightened on my shoulders. “You don’t run from me, Frankie. If you’re upset, you tell me. You don’t walk off into the woods alone.”
“I needed air.” I hated that he knew I’d left without him because I’d seen him with Tiffany. What he did was his own business. He pulled me closer.
“Say it.”
“I won’t run,” I whispered. “I’ll tell you. I promise.”
“Good.” He leaned in, his forehead resting against mine. “Because when I came looking for you and couldn’t find you, when I heard Leo’s voice and realized—” He let out a harsh breath. “I’ve never been that scared in my life.”
