Page 29 of The Backup Bride Proposal

“What?” He frowned, a look of confusion crossing his face. “That’s not at all what I said.”

“It’s exactly what you said.” She stood and walked over to him. “You think you’re so important because you’re an actor, when in fact you’re not doing anything more important than I am. Your paycheck might be a lot bigger, but if you’re totally fulfilled in your job—which I am, by the way—then it’s good enough, no matter what the job is. So how dare you assume that I’m meant to do something more just because you see it as less. Asshole.”

She turned and walked out. After stopping at costuming to change out of the character’s clothes, she stormed over to the house, fuming the whole way. Her pulse still raced and her blood pounded in her veins.

She threw the front door open and ran straight into Honor. “Oh, hey, how did the—”

“Not now, Honor.” She went upstairs to Honor’s room and brushed out the tons of hair spray from her hair, winding it up into a bun on top of her head. She scrubbed her face clean and changed into leggings and a T-shirt.

Then she sat on the bed and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. She dragged in a deep breath.

Five minutes. She just needed five minutes to calm down, and then she’d be fine.

Maybe.

There was a knock on the door.

“Mae? Honey? Are you okay? Can I come in?”

She knew eventually Honor would make her way up there. Honor wasn’t one to let things slide.

“Come on in.”

Honor came inside and quietly closed the door. Mae thought for sure that all the sisters would be there. She was grateful it was only Honor.

“You’re upset,” Honor said, grabbing a spot next to her on the bed. “Talk to me.”

“Kane August upsets me. No, that’s not right. He pisses me off. He thinks what I do is of no importance.” She leaned forward. “Do you know he basically asked me today what I want to do when I grow up?”

Honor frowned. “What?”

“Yeah, like what I’m doing now is some stopgap on my way to some sort of greatness that I haven’t discovered yet.”

Honor stared at her for what felt like an eternity. “Well, fuck him to the moon.”

Mae snorted out a laugh. “My thoughts exactly.”

Honor stood and began to pace the room. “How dare he say that what you do isn’t important. So he pretends to be other people and he thinks…what, exactly? That he’s God and he created rain? He’s nothing. Nobody. And we love having you here. You’ve saved weddings for us, Mae. You are the most organized and efficient person I’ve ever met, and that’s saying something, because the Bellinis are incrediblyefficient and organized. You have people skills that are beyond compare. You can handle angry mothers, crying brides, stressed grooms and drunken guests with grace and finesse. Those skills don’t come easily.”

Hearing Honor list her skills warmed Mae in ways she couldn’t explain. “Thank you. I wasn’t fishing for compliments, by the way.”

Honor waved her hand. “Of course you weren’t because you never seek out accolades. You just do the job that you are good at without complaint.” She turned and glared angry eyes at Mae. “I want to go kick his ass right now.”

Honor’s tirade had helped a lot. “Thanks, but I think we’ll avoid that. I yelled at him.”

“Good for you. He deserved it.”

The door opened and Brenna came in. “What’s going on?”

“Kane August was an ass to Mae,” Honor said.

“He was not. Want me to kick his ass?”

“Unnecessary,” Mae said. “But thank you. I handled him—it—the situation.”

Brenna sighed. “I could still kick his ass anyway.”

Honor snickered.

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