PROLOGUE
Two days ago…
Max wanted to bang his phone repeatedly onto the bar until it was smashed into a million tiny pieces. Then maybe his soon to be ex-wife wouldn’t be able to get a hold of him. She’d randomly called him this evening to let him know she had a truck backed up to the house they’d shared in London and was loading it full of their belongings.
The house she’d abandoned months ago, along with him.
Instead of losing his temper, he’d coolly responded that he was glad to see all the rubbish go that would have reminded him of her. Now he could start fresh and she could have the castoffs from their marriage and think of him every day.
However, when he’d hung up it was all he could do not to sling his mobile into the nearest brick wall. He didn’t give a shit about the furnishings. It was only things and he could buy more. It was the feeling that he would never be free of Alana. If it wasn’t her calling him to brag about something shitty she was doing to him, it was the press taking sides in their divorce. He supposed he should be happy that most were on “Team Max” but it was small comfort that so many people felt sorry for him. Like he was a stray dog without a home or a family. A mutt nobody wanted.
He’d thought about going out to the London clubs and picking up some lovely young thing but that wasn’t what he wanted. He’d long grown tired of the single life. He wanted to settle down, have a family. Sleeping with a woman he barely knew wouldn’t bring him the satisfaction he was seeking.
He shouldn’t have even come to Nate and Paige’s party tonight but he was the best man. Max had to make sure that his friends actually tied the knot. Knowing one or both of them, there was a very real possibility that someone might get a case of cold feet. If they needed a push down the aisle, Max would be there to do it.
Stepping outside the back door of the restaurant for a cigarette he shouldn’t be smoking, the warm breeze tousled his hair and he pushed it out of his eyes. It was longer than he liked it but he needed it for his next role.
He lit his cigarette and looked out at the water, realizing he wasn’t alone. Soft crying was coming from the end of the small dock that overlooked the water. At first, he thought to turn around and leave whomever it was in peace but then he recognized the sapphire-colored dress as belonging to Paige’s assistant Carrie. A sweet and efficient young woman with expressive light brown eyes that contrasted with her fiery red hair. Paige swore up and down Carrie was a miracle in human form and kept her organized and on time.
“Are you okay?” Max approached the woman carefully, not wanting to pry but not feeling comfortable just leaving her here by herself. “Do you want me to get Paige for you?”
Carrie’s head jerked up and she shook her head. “No, please don’t. I don’t want her to know that I’m out here crying. I don’t want to ruin her wedding.”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t think you were ruining her wedding. Are you sad that Paige is moving to London?”
Max was aware that their future domicile had been a bone of contention between the happy couple and he was glad they’d come to some sort of compromise.
“I’m happy for her,” Carrie said quietly. “This doesn’t have anything to do with her.”
He knew enough about women to guess. “Is it some bloke? Your fiancé? I’ll go inside and tell him he doesn’t deserve you.”
He’d thought he might get a chuckle but instead she burst into a fresh spate of tears, her shoulders shaking with sobs. Startled and worried, he placed his arm around her shoulders and tried to say something soothing although that wasn’t something he was good at.
“It’s okay. It’s going to be alright. Do you want to tell me about it?”
Sniffling, she dabbed at her cheeks with a tissue but there were already tracks of mascara under her eyes. “I don’t have a fiancé. Not anymore.”
He glanced at her left hand which was still wearing a ring. “You two probably just had a little row. It will be okay in the morning.”
She snorted rather indelicately. “It won’t. He’s left me for the ex-wife he divorced five years ago but now they’re back together. I’ve suspected something was going on with him for awhile. He told me last week but tonight he called me.” She held up her phone. “He wants his ring back so he can exchange it for another one. You know, for her.”
Clearly this fiancé was an idiot. Plus, the infidelity was a personal pet peeve with Max. If a person wanted to be with someone else, they needed to man up and just say so instead of sneaking around. If Alana had just told him that she didn’t want him a year ago, they could have gotten a civil divorce and moved on with their separate lives.
“What a horse’s arse,” Max growled. “That’s a man that doesn’t deserve to have a good woman. You’re well rid of him.”
“I know that. I really do. But now everyone–”
She broke off and turned back toward the water.
“Let me guess, you think everyone feels sorry for you,” Max said. “I know exactly how you feel.”
Looking over her shoulder, she frowned. “You think people feel sorry for you?”
He shoved his hands in the pockets of his trousers. “Are you Team Max or Team Alana? Jesus, I hate that shit. I’ve seen the way people look at me, like I’m a big fucking loser because I couldn’t keep my wife happy.”
He’d made her smile although he wasn’t sure what she found so entertaining. “Max, I’m not sure that people feel sorry for you. I think they feel sorry for her.” She held up her hand when he started to protest. “In that, they think she’s been an idiot for leaving you and going to him. That relationship has trouble written all over it, let me tell you. Personally, I think you’ve escaped and should be celebrating. Whatever the divorce is costing you, it’s worth it.”
He straightened at her words. It was Alana’s loss. He’d treated her like a queen and she’d never appreciated it. “It’s not so bad. We had a prenuptial but as we speak she’s loading up all our belongings from our home and taking them away in a truck.”
“You could sic your lawyers on her.”
“I could…but frankly I just want to be done with it. I never wanted this war in the press. That was all her. She wanted to humiliate me.”
Carrie looked at him curiously. “Why?”
Lifting his chin, he shook his head. “From what I can tell she hates me, although I don’t know the reason. I tried to be a good husband but maybe I failed spectacularly. Everything seemed good until after the wedding. Then we started arguing like cats and dogs over the littlest things. She did say I drove her to cheat. That I was a boring husband, in bed and out.”
“Ouch,” Carrie replied, her brows pulling down. “That’s a shitty thing to say. You know, I never liked her acting and this publicity can’t be good for her career.”
It was through his friends that Alana had landed her last two movie parts. “You might be right, although she’s of the opinion that all press is good for her career.”
“Then she should be winning an Oscar this year,” Carrie said sarcastically. “She’s all over TMZ with that skeevy guy. If that was her type, what was she doing with you?”
Max highly suspected marrying him had been a savvy career move. “Availing herself of my moviemaking contacts. Good luck to her.”
Carrie stepped toward him. “I’m sorry you’re going through this. It makes my problem seem kind of small.”
Rubbing his chin, Max shook his head. “Hardly. Your problem is important to you. Besides, this isn’t a competition. Who’s the most miserable tonight? That’s not a contest you want to win.”
She laughed and blew her nose with a fresh tissue from her purse. “True. So we both are trying to hide something from Nate and Paige. Neither one of us want them to know how unhappy we are. Well, your secret is safe with me.”
Max inclined his head. “And yours with me. We make quite the pair, don’t we?”
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, a lightbulb went off in his head.
An idea.
Maybe a terrible idea.
But it would benefit them both greatly.
Did he dare?
Would she even agree?
He was tired of being the object of pity, and she didn’t want that either.
He could help her. She could help him.
He liked the idea more with every passing moment.
“Carrie, I’d like to talk to you about something. You’re familiar with the word showmance, right?”