Page 28 of Maggie

Chapter 10

Maggie

“My cousin’s wedding is tomorrow. Will you come with me and pretend to be my girlfriend?” Wylder blurted across the phone line.

“Whoa, what?” She couldn’t be hearing this right. Pretend girlfriend?

She stood at the counter in her dad’s kitchen as she made a sandwich.

Wylder laughed nervously. “Sorry. Do you have plans tomorrow? I know we were supposed to have dinner. I forgot about this wedding. I have to go. We can have dinner afterward or on another day.”

Maggie laughed. “Wylder, it’s fine. We can postpone dinner. I’m available for whatever shenanigans you want, but I have questions first. ‘Fake girlfriend’? What’s going on?”

He blew out a breath. “I don’t know why I’m nervous.” He blew out a deep breath. “Sorry, thinking about my cousin makes me feel like a kid again. I’m just going to say it. I need a favor. My cousin Frieda is getting married tomorrow. She’s stuck-up and has a low opinion of me. She was my childhood bully. I still have nightmares about the stuff she put me through. I wasn’t planning to go to this wedding, but I was told I have to be there. I’d like to show up with a celebrity girlfriend. No one will ever know it’s pretend.” He paused. “It sounds stupid when I say it like that. Nevermind.”

Maggie balanced the phone between her ear and shoulder and laughed. She licked mayo off her finger and put the top piece of bread on her turkey sandwich. She loved how adorably nervous he was about this. Wylder normally exuded “calm and confidence” so this was unexpected. “I would love to be your pretend girlfriend for the day.”

“Really?”

“Yes. We can make a big deal out of it. But you need to be sure about this, Because the press is going to get wind of it and may start hounding you.”

He hesitated. “I’m not worried about the press. But I do feel like I’m taking advantage of our friendship.”

“You’re not. I volunteer. It’ll be fun.”

“Chicken, beef, or seafood for dinner?”

“Chicken. Is there a dress code?”

Wylder sighed. “Formal. I have to wear a tux.”

“Okay. I’ll doll up. We’ll rock this. What time will you pick me up?”

* * *

Maggie slid her pearl earring into her pierced ear and snapped the back onto it. She looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her sleeveless black dress fit her like a glove. A single pearl rested on a chain at the base of her throat. Her make-up looked professionally applied and her long hair fell in stylish waves around her shoulders. She felt like a knock-out.

The doorbell rang. She flicked off the light, left the bathroom, and hurried down the stairs. She grabbed her clutch off an entryway table and opened the front door.

She got her first look at Wylder and whistled. “Damn, you look nice,” she said.

Wylder’s tux fit perfectly, complete with a bow tie around his throat. He looked handsome.

“Forget about me. You’re gorgeous,” he said.

She grinned. “Thank you. We’re going to blow them away.” She stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind her.

Wylder pressed his hand to the small of her back and led her to his Jeep. He opened the passenger door and waited for her to step in. He closed the door behind her and rounded the Jeep to climb into the driver’s seat.

Once he was settled, Maggie said, “We need to get our story straight. What do you want to tell people?”

“Well, we need to stay as close to the truth as possible so it sounds reasonable,” he said.

“That makes sense. Okay, so we met years ago when you did my tattoo then recently reconnected at my stepsister’s wedding. We’ve been dating for a few weeks, but we’ve been keeping it out of the press. Does that sound good?”

Wylder nodded. “That works.”

His hand rested on his thigh. She reached over and squeezed it. “We’ve got this.” Immediately, warmth rushed though Maggie. She liked holding his hand. It seemed natural. Right. Maybe this was how it always felt for good friends? She wasn’t sure.

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