Chapter 34
MAGGIE
Ihadn’t planned on going out with Cathy tonight, but the stars had aligned, so here I was. Since everyone believed I was getting married, my parents thought they’d won and I finally had a little bit of freedom back in my life.
Meanwhile, the quiet promise of something that felt right with Ryan was making me feel like I was on top of the world. It was the first time I truly felt like I had a grip on my future, a clear vision of what I wanted.
While I didn’t know yet how I was going to get there, at least I had an end game now, and since he and I were planning the wedding together, we could also buy ourselves the time we needed to figure out how we could reach our mutual goal.
All of which meant I was smiling when we walked into a bar on the Upper West Side, prepared to just cut loose for a night out with my best friend. Honestly, I was looking forward to a drama-free evening of not overthinking my entire existence.
Naturally, because the universe really seemed to enjoy messing with me, my hopes for absolutely all those things were dashed less than four steps into the bar. I blinked a few times after walking in, convinced my eyes must be playing tricks on me, but no.
Ryan was at the counter with one of his brothers—Holden, unless I was mistaken—and standing with them were none other than Marcus and Daniel.
Fuck. My. Life.
My feet slammed to an abrupt halt, but Cathy had spotted them too and, like always, she didn’t hesitate to shoot her shot with my oldest brother. A mile-wide grin broke out across her face and she grabbed my arm, pulling me with her as she swayed up to him.
“Marcus,” she said happily as soon as we were in earshot, giving a quick nod to each of the others. “Boys. Fancy meeting you all here.” She barely even looked at Ryan, Holden, or Daniel before her gaze was back on my brother. “How have you been?”
“Cathy,” he returned, but he didn’t smile back at her or seem even remotely interested in her sudden appearance. “Yeah, I’m good.”
I glanced between them, marveling about how some things in life were just wonderfully so predictable that experiencing them made a strange sense of peace settle over me. At least enough to allow me to breathe again.
“Hey, Maggie.” Daniel glanced at me briefly when we joined them. Then he turned back to the bartender and added two more drinks to their order without even asking. He still looked as calm and polite as ever, entirely composed and wordlessly elegant when he moved.
Ryan was different, staring directly at me looking like all he wanted was to jump up and pull me into his arms. While the world usually stopped when I looked into his eyes, this time, it seemed to accelerate to a hundred miles an hour.
It was like I could see the future we would have together, the hot, sweaty nights, and the days filled with banter, laughter, and him getting exasperated with every other suggestion I made before going out of his way to give me exactly what I’d asked for.
Tingles shot through every part of me and my heart hammered, my palms going damp. Every intention I’d had of keeping what was between us quiet evaporated like mist before the sun. I didn’t want to keep it quiet anymore.
I wanted to shout it from the rooftops, announcing to all the world that I’d found the man who made my soul sing.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, it occurred to me that this was the point when I should start feeling guilty, but as I stared right back at him, I realized I had nothing to feel guilty about. My family was trying to force me into a marriage I didn’t want.
They’d planned everything without even asking me, put me in a dress I hadn’t chosen, and expected me to march toward an altar I’d never agreed to stand at.
When I’d said no, they’d gone ahead anyway, so I’d run, and somehow, it’d been Ryan’s arms I’d run into—and frankly, I didn’t regret a second of it.
Daniel might be a good man. I’d heard that so many times that it had to be true, but while he was a good, kind man, he wasn’t mine. Not in my heart, and he never would be. Perhaps a friend, but never my love.
Ryan, on the other hand, might well be the person I thought I’d never find. That one weirdo who looked at my weird and wanted nothing more than to be weird together.
“Come on,” Cathy said, tugging my arm. “Let’s grab a seat.”
I let her pull me toward the bar, noticing Ryan’s expression tightening when she pulled out two stools from farther along the bar and dragged them closer. I could practically feel his discomfort, but I still sat down beside him, my fingers itching to reach out and take his hand.
“Hi,” I said quietly.
“Hey, Mags.” His voice was a little rougher than usual and he cleared his throat, stealing a quick glance at his brother, who was staring between the two of us with his features trapped between amusement, horror, and curiosity.
Marcus turned to face me before I could ask if Ryan had told his brother about us, smiling as he reached out and squeezed my shoulder. “It’s good to see you back in the land of the living, dear sister. What, did you girls decide to have a spontaneous bachelorette party before the big day?”
Cathy moved her stool beside him and sat down, but frowned as she glanced up into his eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“The wedding is back on,” he said. “Haven’t you heard?”
Cathy blinked a couple times, but my heart dropped as I looked at Daniel, who’d finally turned around but was still standing at the bar, obviously waiting for our drinks. He shrugged when his eyes met mine. “Your mother has been spreading the word.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”
Marcus grinned. “She’s just trying to squash the rumors that are popping up about why it’s taking you two so long to get back down the aisle.”
“Little fires everywhere,” Daniel said mildly, like he was just completely okay with all of this and honestly couldn’t care less about what happened. “She’s just trying to help, I guess.”
I gaped at him. “What are you guys even talking about right now? No one has told me anything about the wedding being back on. I haven’t sent out invitations.”
When I stole a quick glance at Ryan, he looked like he’d rather be anywhere else, but he didn’t ride to my rescue on a fancy white steed. Instead, he just glanced up at Marcus too. “What, exactly, has Adelaide been telling people?”
He voiced the question carefully, with more than a little hesitation, but Marcus didn’t seem to notice. He just kept grinning like he was getting everything he’d ever wanted, his friend marrying his baby sister and legitimately becoming part of his family.
“Just the truth,” he said. “The wedding is back on, but it’ll be smaller this time and invitations will be following shortly.”
Daniel passed me one of the drinks the bartender had just slid over, his expression precisely the same as if he’d just been told his appointment with his dental hygienist had been moved up and though he wasn’t looking forward to it, he’d also already decided not to complain.
My brow furrowed as I turned to my brother.
“Has she given anyone a date?” I asked quietly.
He waved a hand like it didn’t even matter. “She’s just trying to get ahead of the rumors, Mags. Don’t stress. She and Cathy have got it covered.”
My friend just shrugged and took a sip of her drink, gazing adoringly at Marcus while I felt like he was personally responsible for tearing whatever happiness I’d had a shot at with Ryan apart.
I was about to light into him for not telling me what my mother was doing earlier when he suddenly pointed at Ryan.
“Honestly, he gets most of the credit.” Completely oblivious to the fact that I was seconds away from either screaming or committing a felony, he clapped Ryan on the shoulder, but he was looking at Daniel.
“This is the only guy who’s been brave enough to put up with Maggie’s flare for the dramatic ever since she nearly bit through his finger. ”
My gaze slid to Ryan’s and I couldn’t force myself to look away no matter how hard I tried. We had to speak up. Now.
Between Cathy, Marcus, and Daniel, we might actually get the support we needed to pull off a miracle.
If anyone had the clout, brains for scheming, and the necessary understanding of our family structures to pull it off, it was those three people.
And Holden, well, we’d just have to hope he could either help or keep a secret.
But then Marcus lifted his drink in a toast. “To Ryan,” he said. “If you ask me, he’s more than earned the few million coming his way.”
It took me a few seconds to process those words, said in that exact order, but as I did, it felt like the world just dropped away. My heart started roaring in my ears, stealing every other sound in the bar as my vision narrowed only to Ryan’s eyes before it started swimming.
He’s more than earned the few million coming his way. What. The. Fuck?
Ryan, my Ryan, who’d bought me a butter-yellow wedding dress because I’d mentioned it one time, who’d found me a haunted chapel, and who’d held me while I’d been crying about my grandfather’s possible indiscretions, was being paid for this.
When I finally managed to refocus on him, he didn’t say a word, but his face told me he wasn’t surprised by what my brother had said. Marcus hadn’t just told him anything he hadn’t already known. This wasn’t a gift my father and Marcus were springing on the guy for getting me this far.
As I realized that, my whole world stopped spinning and my stomach completely bottomed out. I jumped to my feet. The last thing I saw was both Ryan and Daniel shooting me quizzical looks before I spun around and raced out of the bar.
Jeez, this is really becoming a habit. But seriously. I can’t stay there. What the fuck? He’s being paid. Ryan Thayer is getting money from my family. What. The. Actual. Fuck?
“Maggie!” Ryan called, but he didn’t follow.
This time, it wasn’t him who came after me. It was Daniel.
“Maggie, wait!”
I pushed through the door and into the cool night air, barely even aware of the people I nearly knocked over as I stumbled onto the sidewalk. It felt like I couldn’t breathe, like I was suffocating on oxygen-filled air.
The one person in the world I had trusted with everything was being paid to get me down the aisle, but that wasn’t even the worst part. The worst part was that I had no idea whether he’d been doing this all along for the money and if, maybe, that meant Ryan Thayer had never even wanted me at all.