said quietly. “She’s not paying me. And I’ll be honest with you, since we’re being honest tonight. She asked me to pretend.”
Max smirked. “I knew it—”
“But I wasn’t pretending,” Edward said.
I stopped breathing.
“I’ve been in love with her for about eight months,” said Edward. “Since the day I walked into the back room of the library and she was crying over a sleeve of crackers. I’ve eaten lunch with her almost every day since then. I’ve watched her hold everything together for two little girls while you posted pictures of yourself at the gym. She’s the strongest person I’ve ever met.” He paused. “I just never had the nerve to tell her. Turns out I needed a really good reason.”
He turned to me.
“So I guess this is me telling you, Hannah,” he said. “In front of a hundred and fifty strangers. At your ex-husband’s
