Chapter 7 Max
MAX
FOURTEEN MONTHS AGO
It’s Elle King’s wedding day. Her real wedding day, one that won’t end in blood and death, and everything is fucking perfect.
We’re in paradise. The ceremony was amazing, and the reception is filled with almost everyone I hold dear in the world.
That’s what I should be focused on, the fact that the beaten-down girl I met years ago has risen above every obstacle that was thrown her way, and has found her happily ever after.
Instead, I’m watching the girl I am completely infatuated with, dancing away with the bride like she doesn’t have a care in the world.
She looks so fucking perfect, and I know I am beyond fucked, because I’m not just fucking my best friend’s sister, I’m in love with her too.
Lily is wearing a long silk gown that molds to her body in a way that should be against the law. Every sway of her hips has the fabric grasping a new curve, and I am ready to risk it all, right here in front of her family, consequences be damned.
“You look like you’re ready to spill your secrets, Maxy boy,” a smug voice drawls from beside me, and I turn to find Logan grinning at me widely.
The little fucker caught me sneaking out of Lily’s room this morning, on the way back from his swim, and it only took one look for him to work out exactly what we had been doing.
His twin dragged him into her room before I could utter a single word, and I’m not sure what she said, but Logan has been smirking at me ever since.
“Why don’t you go back to avoiding your boyfriend,” I scoff, taking a sip of my beer and pretending to scan the room, only to let my gaze go right back to Lily.
“I will when you stop avoiding my brother,” he muses with a smirk, and I snap my gaze back to him to find him watching me expectantly.
“I’m not avoiding him,” I start, but his laugh cuts me off.
“Oh please,” he grunts, signaling to the bartender for another drink, before coming to lean against the bar beside me. “What are you going to do when he finds out about the two of you?” he questions, and even though I know Logan would never tell him, I still feel my defenses rising.
“I’ll just be honest, I’ll tell him I tried to control myself but my feelings just got too strong.” Technically not a lie, but Logan is already shaking his head with another laugh.
“No, I meant when he finds out you went after his girl,” he confirms, and I frown, as he loses me completely.
What the hell is he talking about? “She looks good, huh?” he continues, not giving me a chance to ask him what he means, and I force myself to bite my tongue, not wanting to make an enemy of my girl's brother.
“Any man would be lucky to have her,” he adds, and I can almost hear the words that go unsaid.
“Something you need to say, Lo?” I ask him outright, knowing he isn’t ever one to skirt around a subject, and he stands to his full height and faces me head on.
“My sister isn’t as tough as she makes out to be, her skin may be thick, but her heart is delicate.” His words sound casual, but I hear the care behind them, he loves her more than I do.
“Your point?” I ask, following his stare to where his sister is now watching us, and he smiles at her softly, giving her a little finger wave, before he focuses back on me.
“Don’t fucking break it, or you’ll be sorry.”
I hear the threat for what it is, but he’s walking away from me before I can even respond, not that it matters, because if anyone is going to break someone’s heart around here, it’s going to be his sister.
It doesn’t take long for her to create an excuse and make her way over to me, and when I feel her presence beside me, I keep my eyes fixed firmly on the dance floor.
“What did Lo want?” she asks, after grabbing herself a glass of champagne, stopping so close next to me that I can feel her arm brushing against mine.
I inhale a deep breath, her touch stroking the primal beast inside of me, and I crack my neck before I turn to her.
“Dance with me,” I demand, taking her drink and placing it back on the bar with my own.
When I look down at her she is watching me with a bemused stare, before she flicks her gaze around the room, no doubt wondering what everyone will think.
“Come on, princess, it’s a wedding, dancing is mandatory,” I tell her firmly, holding my hand out for her to take, and praying she doesn’t leave me hanging.
Holding her stare, I see her mind working overtime, no doubt she is thinking of all the ways this could play out, but by some miracle, she places her soft hand in mine with a smile. “Show me how it’s done then, Foster.”
I lead her onto the dance floor, aware of every stare that turns our way, but ignoring all of them.
When I pull her around and into my chest, she fits against me perfectly, her hands naturally reaching up to rest around my shoulders, as one of my hands goes to her waist, and the other remains in hers.
We move back and forth in perfect sync until she sighs, “So, what did my brother want?”
“To threaten me,” I reply with a smirk, and her frown is instant.
“Threaten you?” she repeats in question with a laugh. “What the hell are you talking about?”
My eyes scan the room, noting not just Logan’s eyes on us, but Zack’s too, and it fills me with something I can’t explain. “He told me not to break your heart,” I finally say, flicking my focus back to her, and she stumbles a little in my hold.
“Clearly he’s confused about what he saw yesterday. I told him it was nothing,” she scoffs, but I can feel the tense set of her torso in my hold.
“Is it?” I dare to ask, spinning us around, and she opens her mouth to respond, but I cut her off. “Are we nothing?”
“Max,” she sighs softly. “That’s not what I meant,” she tries, shaking her head, but I cut her off.
“Then what did you mean, princess? Because I can tell you plenty of things I feel when it comes to you, and none of them are fucking nothing.” It’s the most honest I have been since the night this thing started, but I don’t see the point in lying.
This has never just been about fucking, not for me.
Sure, it might have started as some twisted way for us to distract ourselves from wanting the same man, but it stopped being that the second I kissed her. And the last month we’ve spent almost every night losing ourselves in one another, and it’s felt far from nothing.
“It’s complicated,” she mutters, dropping my stare, and when I follow it, I find it firmly locked on Zack.
“Yeah, it is,” I sigh, and for the rest of the dance neither of us say anything.
Another song starts but I can’t bring myself to keep going, so I force a smile to my face and nod as I take a step back from her, before turning on my heel and walking away.
I head outside to get some fresh air and clear my head, and by the time I make it back inside, she is at the bar downing shots with Jace’s girlfriend, while he smiles tensely between them both.
When I return to my seat, Zack finds me, dropping a glass of whiskey in front of me, before he throws himself into the chair beside me. “You good?” he asks, sipping from his own crystal tumbler of amber liquid, and I nod.
“Yeah, just a long day,” I reply curtly, and I see him nod in my peripheral, as I survey the room and pretend I’m not fucking looking at the one person who has my balls in a damn vice.
“We’re gonna be carrying her out of here if she carries on,” he mumbles, and this time I let my stare be obvious, as I turn my full focus to Lily.
Zack is already watching her, and I grunt in agreement, watching as she downs another shot.
“She never usually drinks this much,” he adds, and though his comment could just be off-handed, I feel him turn his attention to me.
“It’s a wedding, isn’t that a good time to let loose?” I shrug, aiming to sound as calm and casual as possible, but my best friend only laughs.
“Oh yeah, is that what got your boring head on the dance floor?” he jokes, and I grunt a laugh, as I bring my stare back to him.
“My head is far from boring, Royton,” I toss back with a wink, and he cocks his to the side in bemusement.
If only he knew.
We spend the rest of the night drinking and catching up, he makes a speech that brings nearly everyone to tears, and then we all take turns dancing with the bride until the party starts to wind down.
And of course he was right, by the time we are ready to leave, Lily is so intoxicated that she can barely even walk.
“Told you,” Zack huffs, taking half of her weight, and I grunt in agreement as I help him hold her up.
“Fuck off,” I clap back, rolling my eyes as we stumble down the beach toward our huts, before I eventually shove him off and pick her up to make it easier on both of us.
We both help her back to her room, Zack pulling back her covers and taking off her shoes, while I gently place her between the sheets and cover her up. Then I feel his eyes watch me as I go into her bathroom, coming back with some product-soaked cotton pads to start removing her makeup.
“Damn, what chick did you learn that trick from?” Zack asks with pure amusement in his tone.
“You’re the one with sisters, dick, you should know this shit.” I make quick work of taking off all her makeup, before I toss the pads into the trash and then straighten up. When I focus back on Zack, I note he has made himself a little makeshift bed on the sofa. “You’re staying?”
Zack nods. “Yeah, just in case she gets sick, I want to be here if she needs anything.” The caring tone of his voice rumbles through me, and I have to swallow thickly at the sound of it.
These are the moments where I struggle with my attraction to my best friend the most. Not when he’s impressing his thousands of employees, or being photographed in the news for the amazing things he does.
No, it’s in these little moments of privacy, where I see the Zack Royton that most people will never get to know.
The one who loves fiercely and protects strongly, the one who captivated me from the very first second we met.
“You’re a good brother,” I tell him firmly, and he turns to me and flashes me my favorite smile.
“And you’re a good friend.”
Guilt slams into me at his words, and all I can do is nod, taking one last look at my girl, before turning on my heel and walking out.
Turns out the only thing I’m really good at is keeping secrets.