Page 51 of The Cupcake Cottage

She nodded.

“Are you going?”

It was in February, on Valentine’s Day. And while she wanted to ask Maverick to be her date more than anything, it was further into the future than the time they’d spent dating so far.

“I keep hoping something’ll come up so I won’t have to go.” She scrunched her nose. “Does that make me a bad person?”

“What if you went with me?”

She inhaled, wanting to say yes, but afraid she’d end up going solo and staring at two exes that night.

“Come on, don’t break my average now. I’ve got an impressive track record of you saying yes to my dates.”

** *

Daisy-Mae wasn’t giving him an answer about being his wedding date.

“What? You don’t want to go at all? Even with me?” Maverick asked, trying to sort out where her thoughts were.

“It’s two months away. Will we still be together?”

Her words hit him hard in the chest. “Are you planning to break up with me before then?” He hadn’t even considered that as a possible option.

“This fake thing isn’t really helping you or the team, so I understand if you wanted to…” She shrank in her seat, giving him a cute I-don’t-know look.

Seriously?

He thought they’d been making progress, and that she knew how committed he was.

He leaned forward, tamping down his frustration. He stroked her knuckles as he carefully chose his words. “We’re doing okay, aren’t we? Even though nobody’s gossiping about us?”

“I think so.” Her voice caught in her throat, and if it had been anyone else, he would have thought she was worried about being rejected or dumped. But this was Daisy-Mae, superwoman.

“Then it’s settled. There are no plans to break up on the horizon, so you’ll come as my date?” Maverick confirmed.

She gave a small nod.

Good. Nobody should go to their ex’s wedding alone.

“Wait. I have a condition.”

“Oh?”

“Will you wear a tie that matches my dress?”

“Sure.”

She gave him an evil look. “Even if it’s pink?”

“Even if it’s pink.”

“It won’t be pink.” She was studying him, and he had a feeling she was deciding what color they would wear.

He was good with whatever she wanted, but right now he had another question to ask.

“Do you want to come over for Christmas dinner?”

She blinked and stared at him.