Page 58 of The Backup Bride Proposal

“Maybe. We’ll see.” She tried to be nonchalant, but she still felt that sting.

Honor stood and gathered her things. “You know I’m always here if you want to talk.”

“Thanks.”

“And, Mae?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t judge prematurely. Kane, I mean. That photo could be nothing. You might want to give him the benefit of the doubt.”

She gave a quick nod. “I will.”

After Honor left, Mae dug into her list, checking off several of her top items before taking a break to go grab a glass of iced tea. When she got back, she intended to continue on with her list, but she glanced at her phone, realizing she’d never replied to Kane’s text message.

She picked up the phone and sent a reply.

Let’s talk tonight, if you’re available.

She laid the phone down, figuring he was busy filming, but then he texted again.

I’m available anytime. Dinner at my trailer?

She thought about it for a few minutes, then replied:That works. See you around seven.

Now that that was done, she could get back to work.

It was after six when she finished up for the day. She had done a tour for prospective clients who seemed way more interested in the movie action beyond the vineyard, so keeping their focus on wedding planning had taken longer than she’d expected. But they loved the venue—of course—and said they’d have an answer for her by the end of the week. She went back to the main house and realized everyone had left for the day, including Maureen and Johnny. Louise told her they had gone out for dinner tonight, which meant Louise and her husband, Marcus, also had the night off, though Louise offered to make her something for dinner. Mae declined with thanks and dashed upstairs to her room to change clothes.

The temperature had dropped throughout the day, and the forecast called for rain, so she washed up, fixed her makeup and changed into leggings and a long-sleeved shirt, then added her ankle boots. She finished the look off with one of her long silver chains, brushed her hair and went downstairs. She grabbed her keys and her phone and headed toward the trailers. It was dark, but the path was well lit so she had no trouble finding her way.

She’d noticed throughout the shoot that most of the production staff and actors left the site to go out for dinner. She couldn’t blame them for that, plus there were some awesome places to eat in the city and a lot of fun things to do.

The lights were all on at Kane’s trailer, so she went up the steps and knocked. He opened the door and smiled down at her. “Come on in.”

“Thanks.” She entered, immediately assailed by something that smelled amazing. She laid her phone and keysdown on the table by the door and followed him farther into the trailer, realizing he hadn’t had something delivered but had stuff going on his stove.

“You’re cooking.”

He nodded and smiled. “Well, yeah. I invited you here for dinner. Wine?”

“Yes, please. And I just figured you’d have food delivered.”

“Nah. I get tired of restaurant food and I like to experiment.” He poured a glass and handed it to her.

“Thanks. So what are you fixing?”

“Chicken piccata with rice and asparagus.”

Her stomach shouted for joy. Rather loudly, in fact. “That sounds delicious. What can I do to help?”

“Uh…” He looked around. “You can slice and season the asparagus and put it in the oven for me.”

“I can do that.” She washed her hands, then rolled up her sleeves and got to work on the asparagus.

It wasn’t a huge kitchen, but roomy enough that she could work side by side with Kane. It also gave her the opportunity to watch Kane work. He seemed comfortable and confident as he cooked the chicken and worked with the other ingredients.

“You like cooking?” she asked.

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