an's

ontaneously combus

able truth: my groom was MIA. The altar was empty, my stepmother Victoria appeared to be in the process

and I'd be free to return to my regularly scheduled program of not marrying strangers. But Victoria? Oh, she was livid. Her face had

rious looks at each other as my so-called wedding beca

heel and stomped out of the chapel to go find Maxwell herself and

e. Alone. Standin

living up to his best statue impression, uncomfortably frozen into a petrified v

d?" I w

s though he'd forgotten I

r is that also a wedding

oman who'd just discovered that her coupon had expired. "You are not going to sit," she said

t know I signed up for the host

back to my father. "Wh

useless, simply shrugged

her like she was in a shampoo commercial. "Prescott Flemings don't hes

and a National Geographic docum

spouting under her breath all manner of phrases that definitely so

't quite hit its peak in the chaos

e had

her dumb or brave enough to show up here with his arm lit

id dramatically. "It

so hard, I almost

so guilty ever since you saw us

ounted to three. Di

ess wonder, looked awkward. "Kyl

, my arms crossed. "I love unsolicit

here gives a shit." She pointed to the groom's family, who indeed ap

my voice. "We're in a church. Could you at

"She's right,

Miss Holier-Than-Thou," she said, crossing her arms. "You'r

said in a deadpan. "And

rked. "We

friend, intentionally, to avoid marrying Maxwell Prescott Fleming bec

e son, which means his inheritance is uncertain. And Mother was

sure shot up. "A choi

rugged. "I got what I

as as if I were looking at an extraterrestrial, just arrived on earth and learnin

f discomfort, as if he had just become aware that he was a

s probably not going to help at th

ds turned. A murmur of ga

en I s

es negotiation or a bar fight - maybe both. He had one of those great presences, the kind that can make people shut u

n

wa

ng at me like we had