Page 2 of My Surprising Valentine

My heart stuttered, and for a second, I wasn’t sure if he was pulling my leg. “You’re kidding, right?”

Max leaned back in his seat, but the playful glint never left his eyes. “Nope. I’m dead serious.”

David snorted, a grin spreading across his face as he rubbed his hands together in gleeful anticipation. “Oh, this is going to be good. I can already picture the shit storm showing up as Hannah’s date is going to cause.”

I shot my brother a glare, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “Not helping, David.”

I turned back to Max, my skepticism clear. “Seriously, though. Everyone knows you don’t ‘do’ relationships.” I used my fingers to make air quotes. “No one’s going to believe we’re suddenly dating.”

“If anyone asks, I’ll say that I’ve just been biding my time, waiting for the right person to come along.”

My brother and I snorted in unison, our gazes shooting to one another as we broke into synchronized laughter. “Jinx,” David said, his voice light with humor.

“Ouch.” Max’s hand clutched at his chest in an expression of mock distress. “Harsh crowd tonight.” His smile softened, and for a moment, his expression was unreadable. “Maybe I just want to spend time with you.”

My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly looked away, feeling my cheeks grow warmer. He was just teasing me. That’s what Max did. It didn’t mean anything. Itcouldn’tmean anything.

“Besides,” he continued, “I’ve known you for over twenty years; I know your likes, your dislikes, and that you’ll murder me if I order you a gin and tonic since we all know how that turns out.” He winked at me, a playful nod to the time I’d gottendrunk on one too many G&Ts and went on a tirade about the patriarchy that’d ended with me burning my bra on my brother’s front lawn.

Next to me, Percy cackled at the memory, and I playfully swatted her arm.

“If you don’t be quiet, I’ll remind everyone about the time you flashed Daniel Madison’s father instead of him. Oops, too late,” I sing-songed, my voice infused with faux sweetness.

She shrugged, unbothered by her temporary excursion into public nudity. “Probably the best tits that old codger will ever see.”

As Percy laughed at her antics, I watched my brother’s eyes darken with something that looked an awful lot like jealousy. As far as I knew, nothing had ever happened between them, but lately, I’d started to wonder if my brother didn’t want it to.

But as the saying went, David and Percy weren’t my monkeys, and any would-be relationship between them wasn’t my circus, so I’d been doing my best to mind my own damn business. After all, I had my own relationship woes to worry about—or rather, my lack of a relationship woes.

Turning back to Max, I said, “I don’t know if this is a good idea.”

“Why not?” he asked, his voice soft but insistent. “You get to avoid all the setups, and we get to have some fun. What’s the harm?”

I hesitated, glancing at Percy, who gave me an encouraging nod. My mind was racing, trying to wrap around the idea of spending an entire weekend pretending to be in a relationship with Max Bennett. What would that even feel like? My body already reacted to him in ways I couldn’t control, but I couldn’t get my hopes up. He was only offering to do me a favor, nothing more. He didn’treallywant to be my date for this thing. That would be preposterous.

“What’s in it for you?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

Max’s smile returned, something more sincere behind it this time. “I know I’m technically your brother’s best friend, but you’re my friend too, Hannah. Is it so hard to believe that I miss hanging out with you?”

I blinked, surprise washing over me.

The truth was, Max wasn’t just my brother’s best friend. He and I were close, too. Or we had been. But then Max started dating this guy who didn’t appreciate our friendship, which caused Max to press pause on our solo outings in order to try to appease his new boyfriend. In the end, they broke up after only a few months, but our friendship had never quite gone back to the way it was before. Now, I couldn’t help but wonder if his offer to be my plus-one was some type of misguided attempt at mending what was broken between us—something I’d secretly longed for.

With a resigned sigh, I nodded. “Fine. You can be my fake date for Melody’s wedding. But if you embarrass me or make things weird, I’m going to kill you, got it?”

Max grinned, raising his beer in a toast. “Deal. Here’s to a Valentine’s Day wedding none of us will ever forget.”

As our glasses clinked together, I couldn’t get over the feeling that I’d just agreed to something that was going to shake up more than just my cousin’s wedding; I worried it was going to shake up my actual life.

Chapter Two

The rhythmic clatterof the train tracks provided a steady soundtrack to my thoughts as I gazed out the window, watching the coastline blur past. My mind wandered to Max, as it often did when I let my guard down. Closing my eyes, I could so clearly picture his slightly crooked smile, the way his green eyes crinkled at the corners when he laughed. A familiar warmth spread through my chest, followed quickly by an ache that had become my constant companion over the years.

Percy tapped her fingers against the table between us. I opened my eyes to find her gaze focused intently on me. “So,” she began, drawing out the word in a way that made me immediately wary. “Let’s talk about the real reason we’re going shopping for this dress.”

I raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence. “My cousin’s wedding?”

Percy shook her head, a sly grin forming on her lips. “Nice try, but you know that’s not what I meant. Let’s talk about Max.”

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