Page 49 of Wedlocked

“I dropped my pole going down the run, and he saw. He picked it up and got it back to me.”

I hoped Josh would leave out the part where I had to yeet myself off my feet and fall on the ground to keep from becoming the star of the next episode ofPeople Investigates.

Thankfully, he nodded without adding any further detail.

Max glanced at me, eyes dropping to the poles in my hands. “You dropped your pole?”

I nodded.

His expression softened, turning into a look I’d only ever seen him give me. He stepped so close our coats brushed. “Baby, did you get hurt?” he asked, gentle.

Made me feel guilty I was over here avoiding telling him the whole truth. I might get a lecture, but Max cared. There was no doubt about that.

“I’m not hurt, Maxi,” I said quietly. “Promise.”

Behind us, snow crunched.

Max turned back to Josh. “What the hell are you still doing hanging around?”

I made a strangled sound.

“Well, I became concerned when I saw you yelling at him,” Josh answered.

“I wasn’t yelling at him,” Max argued.

“Looked like it to me.”

“Maybe you should get your eyes checked,” Max spat.

Flicking his eyes away from Max, Josh turned to me. “Is he bothering you?” He stepped toward me. “Should I have him escorted off the slopes?”

Max lunged forward and shoved. “Come near Wes again, and you’ll be the one escorted off this mountain. In a body bag.”

Since Josh was wearing skis, he slid backward.

His poles sank into the snow, and he used them to push off, eyes narrowed, lips in a straight line as he came toward Max.

I scrambled forward, the skis making me awkward. My heart beat fast with the new burst of adrenaline, and I pushed myself between Max and Josh, halfway stumbling into Max’s chest. Grunting, Max grabbed me around the waist, and I righted, turning at the waist and holding out my hand.

“Back off,” I said, more aggressive than I’d spoken to Josh before.

Josh stopped, brows furrowing. “You’re defending him?”

“He’s my boyfriend. Of course I am.”

Josh’s brows shot in the opposite direction, making him look like a scarecrow in the snow. “This is your boyfriend?”

“Who the hell else would I be?” Max asked.

Josh shrugged, turning a little sheepish. “I was hoping an overprotective brother.”

“I’m that too,” Max snapped. “As far as you’re concerned, I’m everything you will never be. So go find someone else to drool on. It ain’t happening here. Wes is mine.”

Was it very wrong to get that overly light, giddy feeling inside when Max went around declaring his ownership over me to random people?

He was a total red flag disguised in black.

Josh made a sound, eyes finding me once more. Gesturing to Max, he said, “This really your type?”

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