Page 5 of A Little Harmless Pleasure

“You know, if she throws up, she’ll be mortified.” Anna sighed.

He returned his attention to the dance floor and laughed at the pained expression on Max’s face.

“Cynthia comes from a rich, white, Southern family. Of course, she’d be mortified.”

Her brow wrinkled and she sighed again. “Cynthia takes it to the extreme. It can’t be healthy.” She sipped her champagne. “I’veneverseen a woman who showed so little emotion. Especially aSouthernwoman. We take emotional outbursts to a whole new level. I consider it an unappreciated art form.”

He chuckled. “My mother sure can. Nothing like being cursed in three languages. English, Creole,andSouthern. My mother uses them all.”

Anna’s expression lightened, and she shot him a look out of the corner of her eye. “You sound like you’re close to your family.”

“That’s putting it mildly. I’m sure by the time I turn my phone back on, I’ll have had at least a dozen texts from my brothers and sisters, and a few calls from my mother.”

“Max said you had a large family.”

“Yes, and just like any tight-knit Southern family, it seems like it’s twice as large as it really is.”

“I was an only child, like Max, so I have no idea what it’s like.”

His attention went back to Cynthia and Max. “What about Cynthia?”

“Youngest of two. She has an older brother, Randall, who’s a real jackass.”

“No, really?” It wasn’t hard to imagine. If what Max and Anna had implied was true, Cynthia’s father was domineering. A lot of times that brought out the worst of people, especially men.

Anna snorted. “Hard to imagine. But, yeah, he’s just like her father. Apparently, his parents did little to dissuade him from the notion that he’s king of South Georgia. Thankfully, he moved down to Jacksonville, where he is ruling as the king of Northern Florida. But he does show up every now and then to make Cynthia’s life hell.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, they aren’t happy that she isn’t married—the only thing a woman can do, ya know?” Sarcasm laced her words. “He either lets her know she failed the family by not marrying Max, or he brings one of his creepy friends to fix her up with. I know the last one was in his fifties.”

The need to find her brother and beat the hell out of him almost choked Chris. He took a drink of his champagne, and the urge lessened a bit, but it still simmered under the surface. It wasn’t something he was used to. Yes, where his sisters were concerned, he would hurt any man who hurt them, but he had never been particularly possessive of women with whom he was involved. And he wasn’t involved with Cynthia. The word “yet” whispered through his mind, but he dismissed it. The woman looked to be a basket case, with too many problems. Pity.

“Oh, thank the good Lord. The song is over.” Anna grabbed his hand and tugged him along with her. “We better save the groom and his ex-fiancée. Besides, it’s about time for the bride to drag the groom off to have her way with him.”

As Max led her from the dance floor, Cynthia shook her head trying to get her bearings. Although they had stopped dancing, the room still spun. It had been fun dancing with Max, even if her mind kept drifting back to the tall drink of water standing with Anna. Of course, it would have been a lot more fun without having Max griping at her.

“And another thing—you shouldn’t go so long without eating, Cynthia. You’re too skinny by far, and then you drank at least half a bottle of champagne! I’m amazed you can walk without falling on your face.”

Irritation crawled down her spine. All her life, people told her what to do, what to think, how to live. It was getting harder and harder to just…breathe. Cynthia took a long moment, drawing in a clean breath. It was that or hit Max. She was working at trying not to care what people thought, but smacking her ex-fiancé upside the head might just cause a scandal.

It was still hard to control her temper, probably because she had barely had anything to eat, and enough champagne for half of Valdosta. Cynthia was sick of herself, of her need to fit in and make things easier for everyone else, and for once, she wasn’t going to take it.

When they reached Anna and Chris, she let loose. Turning toward Max, she shot him a dirty look. The look was more potent than she thought because Max took a step back. “You know, you have no right to tell me what I can and can’t do. If I want to strip and dance naked at your reception, I can. And besides, I’m not too skinny. Okay, a little bit on the thin side, but it’s still extremely rude to point that out, Maxwell.”

“Max.” Anna’s voice was disapproving. She stepped beside Cynthia and put her arm around her shoulders. It was still odd that she and Anna were friends, but damn it felt wonderful to have her support. The backs of her eyes burned against the surge of emotion. She furiously blinked against the tears. “Tell me you didn’t tell Cynthia she was too skinny.”

He pursed his lips. Cynthia knew he was annoyed because he always did that when he was annoyed. It was odd, knowing the groom as well as she did. This was the first wedding she’d been to where she’d slept with the groom. She giggled and covered her mouth with her hand. But she couldn’t stop the laugh that rose, and it came out as a snort.

She tried to regain her composure, but now he was frowning at both of them. Anna leaned closer. “What are you laughing at?”

Knowing Anna would completely appreciate her thoughts, she said, in what she thought was a whisper, “I was just thinking that this is the first wedding I’ve attended where I’ve seen the groom naked.”

Anna’s mouth opened and closed, reminding Cynthia of the large-mouthed bass her father had mounted in his den. Cynthia had the most fabulous feeling that this might be the first time anyone had seen Anna without a comeback.

Then Anna burst out laughing. “Oh my God, there’s hope for you yet.” She herded Cynthia around some tables. “Come on, sister, we need to powder our noses.”

“I don’t know about that, but I really have to pee.”

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