The gas fire was on, and I went to warm myself up by it, cursing the fact it was right outside Max’s room. What was I going to say if he came out?
“Soph? You didn’t say what you were doing out there.” Autumn pressed me for an explanation.
“I needed some fresh air after all the tequila last night and that stupid dare with Max.” It wasn’t a totally unreasonable reply, given the amount we’d all drunk last night. “It helped clear my head.”
In fact, the opposite was true. My head was even more screwed after my night with Max than it could ever have been from any amount of tequila.
Autumn frowned at me. “I didn’t see you come through, and I’ve been cooking breakfast.” She gestured to the tiny kitchen off the main living area. The entire space was open plan. It wouldn’t have been hard to see someone walk past and out of the front door.
I feigned ignorance and crossed my arms over my chest. “You weren’t here when I came out.”
“Oh, I did go and get my jumper because I was cold. Must have been then.” Autumn seemed satisfied with the apparent solution. “Although you should have left the door unlocked. What if we hadn’t heard you? You could have been stuck out there for hours.”
It didn’t bear thinking about. I heard a noise coming from Max’s room. I didn’t want to be there when he came out.
“I’m going to get my stuff and get a shower to warm up.” Without waiting for Autumn’s response, I scampered into mine and Jodie’s room slamming the door behind me.
“Ugh, Soph, that’s no way to wake someone up.” Jodie yawned and stretched. “I had the best night’s sleep, didn’t wake up once.”
Grateful for small mercies that meant I didn’t have to explain my absence from the room all night, I muttered something about getting a shower so if she wanted the bathroom, now would be a good time.
“Good idea. Back in a minute.”
Alone in the room, I sank down on the bed, trying to get some feeling back into my feet.
This whole day was already shaping up to be a big fat mess.
I pulled off Max’s sweatshirt, trying to ignore the spice of his cologne, woody and masculine. Any other time, I’d be burying my nose in the material breathing in his scent. Now, I was fuming. How dare he treat me like that? I shoved the shirt under the bed. No need to explain that to Jodie either.
Gathering up my shower kit and a robe, I poked my nose out of the room. Autumn and Jodie were perched at the dining table against the wall of the kitchen, eating eggs and bacon. My nose twitched. It smelled good, but I needed to shower and warm up first.
“It’s okay, Max has already gone. He shoveled down some breakfast, then said he had to be at the main lodge to get ready for the wedding. I’ve never seen him move so fast.” Autumn smiled. “Which means the bathroom’s free.”
A weight lifted from my shoulders. At least it gave me some breathing space. We wouldn’t have to face each other until much later today, and even then, we wouldn’t be alone. Another small mercy.
I shut and locked the bathroom door and turned on the shower at full temperature. Steam filled the small room, beginning to warm me up. I stepped underneath the jets, welcoming their soothing capabilities. Hot, salty tears slipped down my cheeks as I rehashed the events of the previous evening.
Despite all the good stuff, the way things had panned out with Max hurt. Last night, I thought we’d made some progress. He talked about first kisses and first dates. Then he actually kissed me. I thought it meant something. I thought he wanted something more with me. He basically tricked me into getting under the covers and spending the night with him.
Drunk Max wanted to get with me.
Sober Max wanted to get me out of the way.
In all honesty, I think I liked Drunk Max better.
Chapter Eight
Max
The moment I’d closed the window, my phone pinged with a message.
I’d meant to go straight to the front door and let Sophie back in.
I’d meant to apologize to her for shoving her out the window.
I’d meant to explain to Autumn what had gone on the previous night.
But then I looked at my phone.
Joshua: Where are you, buddy? Wedding breakfast in the main Lodge for my main men in ten!
Shit. I’d totally forgotten Joshua had arranged for him, Evan, Trent, and me to have breakfast together. Kind of like a last supper, he’d joked. I rubbed my forehead. How drunk had I been last night?
Max: Be there in five!
Without another thought, I grabbed my wash bag and flung open my bedroom door. Autumn glanced over to me from the kitchen where she was making eggs and bacon. The aroma of fresh brewed coffee filled the air. My mouth watered at the thought of both.
“Not going to be able to stay for breakfast, sis, sorry.” I placed an affectionate, brotherly kiss on the side of her head.
Her face dropped. “Oh, why not? I thought it would be nice for us to eat together.”
“Groomsmen’s breakfast with Joshua. Gotta be there.”
She nodded. “Cool, I get it.”
“But I’ll just get some of these.” I grabbed a fork from the side and shoveled in a mouthful of the scrambled eggs straight from the pan. “Mmm, delish!”
Autumn slapped me with a tea towel. “Now you’re making fun of me. Get out of here.”
I slipped into the bathroom, just off the kitchen area. There wasn’t time for a full shower, so I compromised with the quickest strip wash in history, making sure to use a heap of deodorant and cologne to cover up any lingering scent of alcohol.
While I
