“Thanks.” She smiles.
“So.” Max clears his throat. “The bandmates.” He gestures awkwardly. “Cole there. Killian. You met them already.”
She nods. “Hello.”
“Hey,” Cole says.
Killian raises a hand in a kind of low salute. “Nice to see you again.”
“And…” Max sighs. He probably doesn’t want to introduce me. I do have a reputation.
“And…?” she prompts him, looking at me curiously. She places her hands on the table. And the damned wedding band sparkles on her ring finger.
Whether Max calls her Bean or not, this is Becca! Ms. Bad from New York. The Evil Entrapper of Hapless Bachelors.
So why the hell is she acting like she has no idea who I am? Hello, we had sex in New York then got “married” yesterday. As a matter of fact, I woke up in her bed this morning. Although I don’t remember precisely what happened last night, I’m sure we had sex. Skipping that would have been highly uncharacteristic.
Is she feeling guilty about tricking me into marriage? Maybe she’s realized how this could fuck things up for me and Max…and the band, too?
All of us worked our asses off to be where we are. We mesh musically, and we share a similar sensibility and taste. There’s a great dynamic in Axelrod. But that all works because we have an unspoken rule: Don’t mess with each other’s family or love interests.
“…Devlin,” Max reluctantly finishes.
“Hi,” she says with the kind of polite smile you’d give any stranger.
Maybe I should just go along for the moment until I know more about what her endgame is. “Hi.”
Max suddenly frowns. His lower lip sticks out for a second, and he looks like she just slapped him. “What’s that ring on your finger? You got married and didn’t invite me to your wedding? Or even say anything? Who walked you down the aisle?”
Uh-oh. He’s really hurt. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him say so many words at once.
She looks down and flushes. “Oh. It’s…complicated.”
“I thought you weren’t going to do that.”
Do that? Did Max know about her plan to trick me into marriage? If so, it’s the biggest betrayal ever.
“Explain,” he demands.
The other guys and I lean in to listen.
“Well…” She clears her throat. “Obviously I was under a lot of time pressure after Jeff and I broke up…”
Okay, so Max wasn’t in on her scheme. That makes me feel better.
Cole’s eyes are going between my hand and Becca’s. He frowns. “Hey, your rings look the same!”
I glance down and see a trio of small diamonds twinkling in the center of the band. My gaze darts toward her finger. Oh, shit. Exactly the same design. It’s obvious they’re a set.
Max’s complexion starts to turn an interesting shade of purple-red. And the vein in his forehead stands out. “You eloped with my sister?”
“No.” I want to say more, but denial isn’t going to help. Max has already heard enough shit coming out of my mouth. I might as well go for the truth. That’s the least he deserves. “I didn’t elope. And I didn’t know she was your sister.”
I shoot Becca a frantic SOS look. Come on. Say something to soothe your brother’s rage! It’s obvious she’s the best one for the job.
She glances at me, then at Max. Then, very calmly, takes a sip of water.
Seriously? You’re going to throw me under the bus like this? This wedding wasn’t even my idea!