Chapter Five

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The vision of Jonah blocked into a corner by two young women while he held firmly onto his beer bottle looking visibly tense amused the hell out of Astrid. This was so not his scene. He liked bars where you were left alone, or hang out with the guys to play pool or darts. He was a local boy through and through. The two girls surrounding him were very much city and enjoyed the game of hard-to-get that he didn't realize he was playing.

She thought about rescuing him. If she passed for his girlfriend earlier, Astrid could do so again, but it was funnier to leave him to his own non-existent devices. That, and she was now free to roam the crowds.

Anya's guitar played that slow, seductive rhythm that she promised, and had done so many times, but Astrid was waiting for the right guy to approach her. So far, all she'd received was a couple of lazy come-ons.

As if the heavens heard her, Astrid noticed a tall, dark and handsome show up at her side, staring ahead with two drinks in his hands. "I'm Max."

He still wasn't looking at her, his eyes remaining on her friend's band.

"That's... nice."

"Now's the part where you tell me your name." His voice came out deep and like butter. Not the butter in the center of the table that turns out to have just come from the fridge and you can't butter your roll with that nonsense, but like room temperature butter that slides on every so easily.

"And why's that?" Astrid asked, trying her best to play coy.

Tall, dark and handsome Max let out a quiet, easy laugh. "Don't you think we should exchange names before we get married?"

He was good. Sublime, even, but Astrid wasn't sure whether to give in, only for Jonah to appear and shoot it all to hell. "When's the wedding?"

"Two weeks from today," he answered matter-of-factly.

Astrid slowly nodded at the man. She enjoyed this subtle charm rather than the cocky confidence she'd been experiencing that night. "So soon. Am I pregnant or something?"

"There'll be talk that it's a shot-gun wedding, but honestly we're just so in love that we didn't see the point in waiting."

Max was so casual, she wondered how many times he'd tried this approach. Either way, it worked well for him. "Well, you aren't a local, so I'm not sure how long the marriage will last long distance."

Finally, Max looked over at her, his dark brown eyes almost looking black. "What makes you think I'm not a local?"

"We can smell our own."

"This guy bothering you?" Jonah asked as he magically showed up by her side.

Anya had it dead-on when she called him a cock blocker.

Her eyes returned to Handsome Max. "I'm not sure yet."

"When I asked the bartender what you were drinking, he told me this guy's ordered you a couple of these," he said while extending out one of drinks, "and said that he guessed you guys weren't on a date, so I figured I'd take a chance."

Astrid accepted the drink with a smile that could no longer be held back. Jonah had switched her to water about an hour ago, but she was ready for another. "Jonah, this is my future husband, Max. Max, this is my friend, Jonah."

Max held out his hand to shake, then quickly dropped it when Jonah made no move to accept it. Even with the awkwardness heavy in the air, Max flashed her a bashful grin. "Still haven't gotten my wife's name."

"Not interested," Jonah answered for her.

Astrid turned to him and glared him down. His intentions were noble enough, but this was exactly why he wasn't invited to hang out with her second group of friends. "You promised me."

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