Chapter 1

Helen Howell froze for a second, then stepped closer and reached for my hand. I moved out of the way, leaving her hand hanging awkwardly in the air.

The smile on her face faded. "Are you really this mad?"

By then, Martin Miller had gotten dressed and come back out. He took one look at us, then headed for the door.

"Helen, this is on me. I'll get out of here so Lawrence doesn't have to feel awkward."

Helen frowned. "Lawrence, we're getting married. That doesn't mean I suddenly have to cut off every guy I know. Martin and I have been friends for ten years. What's wrong with him coming over?"

I didn't feel like arguing. "Do whatever you want."

She stared at me. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Martin looked between us. "Alright, Helen, I'm leaving. Don't get into a fight over me."

After he left, the living room went quiet. Helen watched me for a moment, then walked up behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Fine. Next time he comes over, I'll let you know first. Happy?"

Usually, that softer tone was enough to make me drop it.

Helen and I had been together for seven years, and she had stayed with me through the hardest years while I built my business.

That was why, whenever Martin came up, I kept telling myself no relationship was perfect.

When I said I wasn't comfortable with how much they shared with each other, Helen told me they had always been that close.

When Martin called in the middle of the night, and she rushed out to see him, she said she couldn't just ignore a friend she had known for ten years.

Every argument ended the same way.

I was always the one who gave in.

I even told myself things would change after we got married, that she would naturally start setting some boundaries.

But today, I finally realized Helen had never planned to put any distance between herself and Martin. She expected me to keep accepting it.

I gently pulled her arms away from my waist. "I'm tired."

Helen's face tightened. "You're seriously giving me the silent treatment over something this small?"

"I'm not."

"Then what did you mean when you said the wedding was off?"

I picked up my suitcase and headed for the study. "I meant exactly what I said."

She stayed where she was, clearly upset.

"Hey, what's with the attitude? I was having a good day. I don't want to fight with you."

I closed the study door behind me. I had barely turned on my computer when the wedding planner, Ellie Watts, sent me a file.

[Mr. Palmer, Ms. Howell just finalized her wedding vows. Please take a look when you have a chance.]

I opened the document.

It was over 500 words long, with tracked changes all over the margins. Every single edit came from the same person.

Martin.

I had rewritten my own vows 12 times for the 3 minutes I would have at the altar. Meanwhile, Helen had no problem letting another man decide what she was going to say to me.