I scanned the room while Max checked our coats, noticing the air kisses and squeals of joy as friends who’d probably just seen each other earlier in the day greeted one another like they’d been on opposite sides of the world for years. I was gladder than ever that Megan kept it real.

The sensation of Max’s hand on my bare back snapped me to attention. “Shall we?”

“I don’t know. You sure we can pull this off?”

“Just follow my lead.”

“Okay,” I whispered.

He leaned in and murmured in my ear. “I think you’re the most beautiful woman here. No contest. And I’ll bet my bottom dollar you’re going to go in there and show them how much happier you are without that ridiculous ass in your life.”

I couldn’t help myself. He was so close and saying all the right things and damn, his hand was touching my bare skin and I wanted him to move lower and I was pretty sure his cologne was hypnotizing me. Before I knew it, I turned my head and kissed him—chastely, gently, like a girlfriend would kiss her boyfriend before heading into a group of people. His palm pressed just a little harder into my back as I did.

“Thank you,” I whispered, my skin still tingling where he’d touched me.

“See, if you keep that up…” he murmured, his eyes half-closed, a smile playing on his lips when we parted.

“Keep what up?” I said innocently.

“My cock. You’re keeping my cock up with that behavior.”

“That is very uncivilized of you, Mr. Black,” I mock scolded.

“Yup, that’s it. I’m just your regular dick swinging caveman.”

“Luckily for you, I’ve got a thing for cavemen.” Was I really doing it? Was I flirting with him? And I was doing a pretty good job, too. That was the craziest part. He made me feel witty and beautiful just by treating me as though I was. I realized as we started making our way around the room with my hand in his, that I felt confident enough to take on anything the night could throw at me.

Good thing, too, since the first person to greet us was none other than Josh. Max squeezed my hand before shaking his. “Good to see you again,” he said with a wide smile.

“Yeah, you too.”

Josh looked at me and his eyes widened to holy cow proportions. I could tell he was no longer sure how to act. He had been so sure Lillian was right that Max was gay and pretending to help me to save face, but now the ground was slipping underneath him.

He could pretend to be the ultra-confident wunderkind of the financial planning world, but I knew him better than that. He worried all the time that he was a phony and that eventually he’d be found out by people smarter and more talented than him. Right then, I looked at him as he really was. Standing beside Max, he looked downright ugly. Outside and inside. I was amazed at what I’d ever seen in him.

“This is a great party,” I said smoothly, glancing around the room. “You really went all out, didn’t you?”

“Oh, this had nothing to do with me,” he said, looking sheepish. “This is all Lillian.”

“I hope that’s not a shadow of things to come,” Max joked. Only I knew he wasn’t joking. I squeezed his hand, hard.

“What do you mean?” Josh asked, his smile slipping. He knew it wasn’t a compliment, but he didn’t quite get the jab. He wasn’t always the sharpest knife in social situations.

I scrambled to beat Max before he delivered the fatal blow. “Oh, you know how it is. If we women left things like this to our men, they’d never get it done right.” I beamed at Max, while my eyes sent warning signals. As much as I loved seeing Josh squirm—and I really, truly loved it more than dark chocolate and wine combined—the last thing I wanted to do was make office life even more uncomfortable.

“She’s right,” Max grinned affably. “I could never pull off planning something like this. Just give me the bill, huh?”

“Oh, my future in-laws paid for everything.” Josh shrugged, that sheepish look still on his face.

I winced at Josh for falling so easily into Max’s trap and was just about to open my mouth to change the subject when Lillian found us. She gave me a completely fake smile before turning to Josh.

“I was looking for you,” she told him in a tone that reminded me of a mother talking to her toddler.

“Sorry. I was just greeting our guests.”

She looked at him meaningfully. “My parents want you to meet their oldest friends.”

She turned to us, her eyes lingering on Max longer than they should have before she pulled Josh away with her. For a bride to be she looked and sounded very hostile.

We watched as she led him to a humorless group of four. I almost felt sorry for Josh. Without even trying, Max had exposed him for what he was: a weak little boy with no say in his own life. And he would never have a say as long as he was with Lillian. I noticed her brushing her hand over his collar like she was adjusting it before sliding her arm through his.

Max noticed, too. “Poor sucker,” he muttered.