Chapter One
Reid
Who gets married on Valentine’s Day? A midweek Valentine’s day, at that. Knox, that’s who. And, of course, who’s the sucker who agreed to go, even though we hadn’t even seen each other in over five years? Me.
I climbed into my rental car, knowing I had a much longer ride ahead than I would’ve liked. When I booked the flight and the car, I’d planned on having my then alpha join me. Of course, he decided last minute to dump my ass, leaving me with the cost of his flight added to my poor spending choices already piling up, thanks to the trip.
I blared the music and cracked the windows to keep myself alert and headed down the highway toward what was going to most assuredly be a craptastic week in the middle of nowhere. It was for Knox, though, and while we might not have made it as a couple, he was a good guy.
Knox, my college-roomie-turned-first-lover, was one of those guys everyone liked. He could walk into a room and hold a conversation with you about anything, and that put people at ease. We had not much in common, and when he went back to his hometown of Mapleville, he was able to snag the one that got away, his Celeste.
His Celeste as opposed to Celeste because, in his heart, she was always meant for him, and while they broke up as they went to schools on opposite coasts, they were never over, not in their hearts.
I never blamed Knox for leading me on or being his rebound, because even then we knew it was only a friends, two horny friends, in a with-benefits arrangement. When he called to invite me to his wedding, I said yes without a second thought. That was where I made my mistake, and probably how I ended up alone—again.
Topher was sure it was some scheme to get him to propose to me because, of course, being a big-shot lawyer meant all omegas wanted to wear his ring and carry his baby. Sure, I enjoyed our time together, enough that I considered moving in with him, but marriage—not so much. He was hot and brilliant in his field and well-to-do, sure, but he was also self-absorbed and pretentious, two things I didn’t long for in the father of my hypothetical maybe-someday babies.
Our fight ended with him calling me a gold digger because, of course, that’s what it meant to want to go to a college friend’s wedding and buying your then alpha a plane ticket. Gold diggers were all about spending their savings on someone who didn’t appreciate them.
I shook my head to get my thoughts as far away from Topher as I could. I didn’t need that in my life, especially not when I was about to go see an old friend and had to slap on my life-is-good face.
According to my GPS, I was going to be there around lunch, which was better than I’d expected. If things worked out, I’d be able to get settled into my hotel and grab dinner before it was too late. The next night included a rehearsal dinner, but until then I was on my own, which was good since I had a project only halfway finished that was due within the week and after spending a good chunk of my savings on the trip, I was counting on that money.
The roads were clear as I drove toward my destination. Given the time of year, snow was a real possibility, and I’d gotten used to living in the land of warmth and sunshine, so my snow driving was very much out of practice.
I pulled into a gas station just outside of Mapleville to fill my tank and grab a sandwich and some snacks for the hotel room. I didn’t know much about Mapleville, but my google searches didn’t indicate a ton of places to eat there, so snacks sounded about right.
I pulled my far-too-thin jacket closed as I climbed out of the car and jogged to the gas station. Inside, I was able to grab far more than I needed, quickly, and put it all on the counter.
“Anything else?” the woman behind the counter asked, a smile on her face.
“Naw, I think my waistline says I’ve got enough.” Looking down at the counter, my waistline was more likely sobbing at its soon-to-be disappearance.
“These are BOGO.” She held up the bag of my favorite pumpernickel chips, and I walked back and grabbed a second bag like a sucker.
“Your boss should pay you more,” I teased as I added it to my pile.
“I am my boss.” She held out her hand, and I shook it as she introduced herself. “Maria.”
“Reid.” I nodded as she went back to ringing up the order. “And twenty-five on pump three, please.”
She nodded as she kept ringing away. I really had picked out a ton of gummies. Some people cried in their chocolate, for me it was gummies, especially the cola bottles. Yum.
“Moving here?” she asked, probably assuming no one needed that much food if they weren’t filling their kitchen.
“No, just here for a wedding.” I fished out my credit card.
“How weird is it they are having it in the middle of the week?” And that was the moment I realized Maria was my kindred spirit.
“Right?” I scoffed before leaning in conspiratorially. “That’s what I thought, too, but romance I guess.”
“Well if you are going to a wedding, and you are alone, you might want one of these, too.” She pointed to the small rack of those bottles like you get on the airlines.
“I’m good, but you’re probably not wrong, and I’ll be kicking myself later.”
She popped one inside anyway without ringing it up. It was official. Maria was going to be my favorite person in town, or town adjacent as it were. “Is the town that small, or did I luck out and find the one business owned by Knox’s friend?”
“It’s that small.” She finished bagging things up, blushing slightly as the soda delivery guy came in and went straight to his work. That’s how it was. Good on her. “You’ll like it, though.” She pulled me back to the conversation at hand. “I’m looking in my crystal ball and seeing an omega who wants to stay after finding his true love at his friend’s wedding.”
Not that I was in the market for a long-distance relationship, but what a fanciful notion.
“You a medium or psychic or whatever it’s called?”
“None of the above. It’s the plot for the new Sam Johansen movie.” She pointed to the magazine rack. Half of them were filled with news of the country’s hottest new movie, and I full-on belly laughed.
“Oh, he’s hot,” I said when I finally contained my over over-the-top response to her antics. “I may need to watch that.”
“It will be playing at our Mapleville Cinemas in about three months.” She held up her fingers as if to accentuate her point.
“But it was just released.” Or had been out a while if the magazines were old.
“Exactly.” She smiled and winked. So, it was one of those small towns with a second tier theater, but one that was probably packed every Friday and Saturday night. “With the gas, you are at forty-three ninety-two.”
I swiped my card and signed the screen when prompted.
“It was nice to meet you, Reid. Maybe I will see you at the wedding.”
“I’ll be the one in the tux,” I teased as I snagged my bag.
“I’ll be the one in the dress,” she bantered back, just as the soda guy made his way to her register, smiling Hmm, maybe the interest went both ways.
As I headed out into the freaking cold, I idly wondered if she would be attending the wedding alone. Winter, it turned out, was still not my favorite season.