My pulse quickened. This was where the carefully constructed PR narrative could fall apart. “Er …”
“I think you should answer that again, Sunshine.” Axel’s warning was velvet-wrapped steel as his eyes locked with mine, reminding me of our agreement, of everything at stake.
“Don’t talk to her like that.” Mathew took another step forward.
A slow, predatory smile spread across Axel’s face. “Still trying to look like a hero, eh?”
“Guys, stop.” I glanced nervously around the hallway. “People are starting to look at us.”
The hostess at the front was watching with undisguised interest. A couple waiting for the restroom whispered behind their hands.
“She’s a grown woman,” Mathew growled. “If she wants to talk to me, you can’t stop her.”
Axel’s eyebrow arched with dangerous amusement. “Can’t I?”
Mathew appeared to weigh his next words. “Are you okay, Dakota? Is he hurting you?” Mathew growled in a tone that suggested he was hoping I would give him the green light to take Axel outside and beat him up. Because that was another thing about Mathew. He had put his career ahead of our love story, but he would annihilate anyone who hurt me.
Under different circumstances, that might be romantic. Under these circumstances, it created a giant problem.
Axel threw his head back and laughed. “You would love that, wouldn’t you? Paintingmeas the villain.”
“You are a villain,” Mathew spat.
“I guess the villain gets the girl then.” Axel’s thumb traced a small, deliberate circle on my hip. A gesture Mathew very much noticed.
“Dakota, you’re seriously with him?” The hurt in Mathew’s eyes was almost unbearable.
Words failed me. Months of imagining what I’d say if I ever saw Mathew again, and now I was speechless.
“Why?” Mathew sounded like he was trying not to vomit. “He’s a total asshole. He will never treat you right.”
“If treating her right includes breaking her heart by abandoning her …”
“Shut the fuck up.” Mathew’s voice was dangerously low.
Axel’s mouth quirked up. “You stand here, pretending you care about her, but how much could you really care if you left her?”
Mathew lunged forward, and I instinctively stepped between them, one hand on each of their chests. Under my palm, I could feel Axel’s heart beating steadily, confidently, while Mathew’s raced like a trapped animal’s.
“Axel, we have eyes on us,” I reminded him through gritted teeth. “One of those influencers is looking at us.”
Twenty feet away, one had her phone raised, too far to hear but definitely recording.
“How long have you been with him?” Jealousy snaked through Mathew’s voice, his fingers twitching at his sides.
“Axel, I think we should go.” I pushed his chest, desperate to calm the situation.
Axel allowed his mouth to curl higher on one side, looking almost triumphant. “Come on, Sunshine. Let’s gohome.”
The wordhomelanded like a grenade.
Mathew’s face fell, his complexion ashen. “You live together?”
My gaze darted around the space, and then I lowered my voice. “Look, Mathew. I can’t talk about this now, but trust me, there’s more than meets the eye.” I tried to telegraph a message with my eyes, one I couldn’t speak aloud without blowing everything up.
He studied my face, trying to decipher my meaning.
“You need to stay away from her,” Axel warned.
