Page 115 of The Backup Bride Proposal

Mae swept one hand to the side, trying to act nonchalant when she was anything but. “He sent a lot of texts, all basically saying the same thing. That it wasn’t what it looked like. He doesn’t have anything going on with Everly. That we need to talk.”

“Do you believe him?” Erin asked.

“No. I’ve been down this road before. Cheaters lie.”

“Oh, honey,” Honor said. “Do you really think Kane is the same as your ex?”

“I don’t know. But the one hard lesson I learned with Isaac is that where there’s smoke, generally there’s a big ole fire. I won’t be made a fool of again. It’s best to just end things before someone gets hurt.”

Brenna gave her a sympathetic look. “You’re already hurt. You love him.”

She casually lifted one shoulder, trying to show that shedidn’t care. “Yeah. Well, I’ve been here before. I got through it. I’ll do it again.”

“No.” Honor got up and pulled Mae from her chair.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s not me who’s going to do anything. But you are. You’re going to go talk to him. If this is truly over, then you need to get the truth from him face-to-face, not this whole text messaging thing.”

“I don’t see the point.”

“The point is that sometimes feelings get lost in text messages, and you two have things to say to each other. Talk to him, Mae. In person. Then you’ll know for sure if it’s really over or not.”

She did not want to do that. She looked over at Erin and Brenna, hoping they would see her side of the situation.

Erin shrugged. “I have to agree with Honor on this. If this ends you should do it face-to-face.”

Brenna nodded. “I’m with them. Don’t run when you can face it. And if he is a cheating asshole, you’ll get the satisfaction of punching his face before you walk out on him.”

She held her hands up. “Fine. I’ll go see him. But if I crumple into the fetal position after, I’m counting on all of you to put me back together.”

“We’ll be here with margaritas and nachos,” Honor said.

“Or pizza and beer,” Erin said.

“Pfft.” Brenna shook her head. “It’ll be wine and brie.”

Mae offered up a sigh. “Maybe all the above.”

They took care of Monday morning business and everyone dispersed to their offices. Mae was going to dig into the calls she had to make, but she had promised the girls, so she pulled out her phone and sent a text to Kane.

I want to talk to you. Can we meet tonight?

She laid the phone down, figuring he was filming and it would take him a while to answer. She was surprised when she got a reply almost right away.

I’d like that. What time?

She replied with:Seven. I’ll meet you at your trailer.

He came back with:Can’t wait to see you.

Her heart did a little leap, which only irritated her, so she shoved her phone to the side and concentrated on work. After a full day of calls, tours and meetings, she realized it was after six and the entire day had zoomed by. She went upstairs and brushed her hair and her teeth, though she had no idea why. It wasn’t like Kane was going to get anywhere close enough to her to even notice her breath, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to be kissing her.

She changed from her flats into boots because it was cold outside at night, then went back in the bathroom to brush her hair—again—before coming out to look in the mirror again.

“Ugh. This is ridiculous.” She went downstairs and grabbed her coat and walked outside, following the path she knew so well toward the production area. Security was like family now, smiling and waving her through as she made her way toward Kane’s trailer. She knocked on the door and he answered right away.

“Hey,” he said, moving out of the way so she could come inside.

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