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“Fine. I won’t say anything,” Kendall huffs. “If you come with her to the wedding.”

“You are…something else,” I grumble.

“That’s what my fiancé says too,” she replies. “Oh, come on, Teddy. You’ll have a great time. You have no idea how much Wyatt will hate seeing you with Maggie.”

“The feeling is mutual,” I admit since I never enjoyed seeing those two together.

“I think he was always jealous of you and worried that Maggie would wake up one day and realize that her grouchy prince charming had been right in front of her all along,” she remarks, then laughs. “Why not let Wyatt think he was right, and believe that Maggie’s moved on?”

I lean back in my chair slowly.

“You want us to pretend we’re together.”

“I want Maggie to be protected from him.”

I open my mouth to flat-out refuse what she’s suggesting, then shut it. “You think Maggie would go along with letting him think that we’re together?”

“Absolutely!” Kendall exclaims. “Wouldn’t that be so much fun?”

Fun. Right.

That’s not the word I would use for caving to this ridiculous plan. One that will no doubt blow up in my face.

“You’re going to owe me,” I tell her.

“Owe you? Ha! Your best friend is my best friend. We both want her to be happy, don’t we?”

“Goodbye, Kendall.”

“Start packing, Teddy! Make sure Maggie books the flight this week before prices get any higher,” she instructs, then, “See you soon!”

So, it looks like I’m going to be putting in a week of vacation with the partners.

They’re not going to love that, but I haven’t taken any time off in the three years I’ve been at the firm.

Well, other than the day Maggie showed up on my front porch, drenched in tears.

I would do anything for my best friend.

Even pretend we’re together. Like a real couple.

The only thing missing from the two of us being in an actual relationship is the physical part.

Maggie is wild and beautiful. Or at least she was before the asshole broke her heart. I’ve wanted Maggie for years, thought about it more than I should. And while she may find me attractive, I know I’m not her type. Not really. I don’t do romance, and she needs someone who brings her flowers for no reason and goes along with her impulsiveness without having to wait for them to evaluate all potential risks.

Maggie sees me as her safe, dependable best friend. Not the kind of guy who would sweep her off her feet.

Especially not in the literal sense.

Natalie used to complain that I treated intimacy like another appointment in my calendar.

She wasn’t wrong.

Intimacy to me is like dessert. Sometimes there’s an urge to indulge, but it’s easy enough to resist most of the time.

Crossing that line with Maggie would change everything between us.

And I’m not sure our friendship would survive it if things went wrong.