The day of the engagement photo shoot arrived. Angie was running behind schedule. She took a shower that afternoon and still had her bathrobe on when Raymond called to her from downstairs. “Mom, Max is here.”

Adrenaline boosted in her system. She cracked open her bedroom door and replied, “Thanks. I’ll be down in fifteen minutes.” Yikes, time to get in gear.

She fanned her hands, waiting for the fast-dry nail polish to hurry up and do what it falsely advertised. She planned to get a manicure yesterday for the engagement photos, but inadvertently scheduled it during Parent-Teacher Conference night.

She got into her dress. She left it unzipped in the back while she did light makeup and fluffed out the curls of her hair. Ten minutes went by. Nails finally dry, she zipped her dress and carried her ballet flats down the stairs.

She didn’t see Max or Raymond by the front door. Grandma was at the kitchen window, staring out into the backyard. “Where did Raymond go?”

“He’s outside. Your fiancé wanted to toss a football with him.”

Angie came to the window to look for herself. Sure enough, her little boy was running in the grass, laughing, as he waited for Max to throw the football. Max, in dress shirt and suit pants, tossed the ball to him. Raymond caught it, fumbled a little, but recovered.

Angie caught herself smiling at the scene. She looked to her grandmother. “I’m taking Raymond over to his friend’s house to play. You should go to dinner with your friends.”

Grandma scoffed. “What if I want to stay in and be a homebody?”

“Then call them over and order takeout. You deserve it after watching Raymond for me while I get ready.”

The humor faded from her grandmother’s eyes. She appeared to notice Angie’s dress for the first time. “I’ll be here when you get back.” She reached for a mug of tea and sat at the kitchen table with a book.

Angie gave an inward sigh. Her grandmother still wasn’t keen on her engagement to Max. She couldn’t blame her. If the roles were reversed, she’d feel blindsided by the news, too.

She put her shoes on to go outside. Raymond and Max came to the front yard. Her son had the ball this time. He launched it at Max.

“Good pass, Raymond. Next time we’re in the backyard, we’ll practice going long.” He raised his head and saw Angie. His eyes roved over her dress. “Hey.”

“Sorry for running late. Looks like Ray kept you busy while you waited.”

“We had fun, didn’t we?” He handed the football to Raymond.

“Yep.”

Angie patted her son’s head of soft brown curls. “What do you say to Max for playing catch with you?”

“Thank you.”

She led Raymond off the lawn. “We need to go across the street so you can play with your friend.”

“Can I bring my new football? Max gave it to me.”

Angie met Max’s gaze. He smiled and shrugged. “I didn’t know if he had one.”

She nodded to Raymond. “Sure.”

Max proceeded to go to his car. “I’ll crank up the air conditioning in the car for you.”

“You sure it’s not for yourself?”

“What are you saying?” He pretended to be offended. “You think I’m out of shape?”

Of all the things she could think about Max, being out of shape wasn’t one of them. Still, she wasn’t about to let him know it. She smiled slyly in answer before taking her son across the street to his friend’s house. After talking for a few minutes with the friend’s mother and father, she retraced her steps and got into Max’s car. The top was up today.

“I truly am doing this for you,” he said, referring to the convertible top and the AC on blast. “I know how finicky ladies get with the wind mussing their hair and wardrobe before an important event.”

“Sure you are. Is that a little sweat I see along the edges of your forehead?”

He checked it in the rearview mirror. “Don’t be silly. It’s not sweat. It’s hair gel.”

“Whatever you say.” Angie buckled her seatbelt. The conversation was a little goofy, but she kind of liked teasing him. It was…different. “Where’s this photo shoot, anyway?”

“At the Cedar Pavilion in Harper Park. The spring flowers are out. I thought they’d look nice in the pictures.”

“I used to go for walks there. It’s pretty.”

“You’re pretty today. Not that you don’t look good on other days, of course,” he quickly added. “That color looks good on you.”

“Thank you.” Angie folded her hands in her lap. Max was being flirty today. Was it because he wanted her to be all smiles for the camera? Whatever his reason, it was kind of fun. And two could play that game. “You cleaned up good today, too.”

At the park, a photographer and his assistant were waiting for them by the pavilion. The camera equipment was already set up.

“Didn’t mean to keep you guys waiting.” Max breezed over to them, taking Angie with him. “We’re ready for our close-ups.”

The photographer directed them through a series of poses. Some had Max holding her around the waist. Others had them holding hands so Angie’s ring could take the spotlight. Angie got a little more nervous each time she was asked to do a different pose.

“Can you two hug or embrace each other like you’re about to kiss?” The photographer motioned a hug by crossing his arms.

Max pulled Angie in close. He was solid and warm. She smelled his scent, a mix of clean, woodsy notes.

“Now gaze into each other’s eyes.”

She peered into his baby blues. Her eyes started blinking rapidly. She had to stop, else there would be nothing but pictures of her looking like she was half asleep.

“Actually, Max, can you go ahead and kiss her for this photo?”

Max gave her a small smile before he kissed her in front of their little audience. His lips were warm like his hands.

“Good. Hold it for one more second…got it.”

Max ended the kiss. After a couple more snapshots, the photo shoot was a wrap. The photographer showed them a few samples of what he captured on camera.

“These photos are going to look great. I’ll send you the proofs to choose from, Max.”

“Good deal. Thanks for taking our pictures.”

Angie was glad to be done with the engagement photo shoot. She relished the cold AC in Max’s car. “That deserves a cold soda.”

“We can stop at the convenience store up the road.” Max drove under a canopy of pine trees. “Those pictures do look good, by the way.”

She agreed. She never had a professional photo taken outside of high school graduation. “I like them.”

“You and your dress make the photos look good. Did the store clerks bring it by your house?”

She played with an earring. “Your sister delivered the dress.”

He turned his head. “She did? Trina didn’t tell me she came home from Italy.”

Angie was surprised Max didn’t know his own sister was back in Georgia. “She added the accessories and shoes. I like her choices.”

“Angie, was Trina nice to you when she came by with the dress?”

She hoped he wouldn’t ask. “We talked for a bit. Things are cool between us.”

“Please be honest. My sister can go outside of bounds sometimes and I’d like to know if she said anything to upset you.”

She didn’t want to come off as petty or trying to start drama with his family, especially when Trina likely wondered how her brother went from being single one day to engaged the next. “Trina asked if we knew each other in high school, and why we were engaged.”

Max grumbled. “I know all about her brand of questions. I’ll speak to her. Don’t sweat it.”

“People have legitimate questions about us being together. It’s hard to keep lying to them.”

“You agreed to this, Angie. You could’ve said no.”

“Then why did you act like you had to have a fiancée from Harper?”

“Preston, Landers, and now, the town council, like the idea of us together. We have a better chance at tugging their hearts better than me and my ex-fiancée.”

Angie looked his way. “You were engaged before?”

His jaw formed a rigid line. “It’s all water under the bridge now.” He drove up to the convenience store, parked, and got out to get their sodas.

She studied his back as he distanced himself. No matter how flirtatious she and Max acted before, no matter the couple times they kissed, none of it was real. He was still superficial and distant. He saw people as chess pieces to manipulate. That was the truth, the real Max Kelly. Nothing changed about him. He only cared about himself.

Why did she like him so much in high school?

Max traveled to his high-rise penthouse in Atlanta again after driving Angie home. She had very few words for him before he left Harper. All he wanted to do for the rest of the evening was relax and gather his thoughts.

The housekeeper came by while he was gone. She left fresh sprigs of lavender in a vase in the kitchen. It reminded him of Angie’s scent when he leaned in close to kiss her today at the photo shoot. He had to admit, he liked when the photographer suggested he lock lips with her for the pictures.

Too bad he had to go and spoil a good day by mentioning his ex-fiancée, Bella, a woman he hadn’t spoken to in over a year. He bet it made Angie think he still had feelings for her when he didn’t.

He got a text on his cell from his sister, asking how the photo shoot went. This was as good a time as ever to give her a call.

“Hello.” Trina answered on the second ring.

“The photo shoot went well. The pictures are going to look great when they come out.”

“Good.” Her voice contained an artificial note, as though she were making an effort to be nice. “You could’ve just texted me back.”

“I called you, Trina, because when you went to Angie’s house to give her the dress, you were rude. Those weren’t her words. They’re mine.”

He heard Trina huff. “She could’ve told me to my face how she felt instead of waiting to tell you.”

Max drummed his fingers on the kitchen island. “Sis, I asked her to tell me.”

“Why?”

“You have a habit of letting people know exactly how you feel about them, even if you haven’t gotten a chance to know them.”

“At least one of us is the honest sibling. The other cuts deals so much he thinks everyone else ought to believe his lies.”

He stopped drumming. Did she know the engagement wasn’t real? “What are you talking about?”

“I looked up Angela’s history. She never went to college. She lives in her grandmother’s house with a kid she had out of wedlock. Who’s the father? There has to be a reason why you’re with a woman like her, the real one you’re not telling anybody.”

The unspoken insinuations behind Trina’s words rattled his remaining patience. “Before I respond and say something I may regret later, tell me why you think I’m keeping secrets from you.”

She gave a hard little laugh. “Come on, little brother. We both know you never do things without an ulterior motive.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You know that’s a lie. Who stayed with you at the rehab center in California while you were getting clean? Who kept your secret instead of flying home to Georgia to see his friend before he joined the Army?”

Trina was quiet on the other line. The silence went on for half a minute.

“Trina? Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t say all that to guilt you. I only want you to treat Angie and our engagement with resp-”

The call ended. His sister hung up on him.

Max wanted to fling the phone at the wall. Trina was miffed. He got a woozy feeling in his belly when he thought of how much Angie hated keeping up the engagement act. He couldn’t do anything right today. How was he going to keep it up for several more months?