“I know. Which is why I’m here.”
“You’re here because you have an obligation to fix this.”
Irritation crawled up my neck, mixing with that familiar heat he always managed to provoke. “Maybe, next time, don’t practically grope the future First Lady at a charity gala!”
“Maybe, next time, stop eye-fucking me from across the room.”
My jaw slammed to the ground. The audacity! The delusion! The absolutely correct assessment that I’d rather die than admit! “Eye-fucking?” I laughed, but it came out sharp and breathless. “Get over yourself, Axel. You think every woman wants you, don’t you?”
The slow, predatory smile that spread across his face told me everything.
YEP. He absolutely does.
And worse, when he looked at me like that, like I was the only woman in the room worth pursuing, my traitorous body came alive.
“News flash: you’re not the sun in everyone’s solar system, Axel.”
“You came here because you have no choice. There’s a difference.”
“This is why this will never work.” I gestured between us, trying to ignore how even arguing with him felt like sexual tension disguised as combat. “We can’t stop tearing each other apart!”
Rebecca cleared her throat loudly. “I’ve been watching this performance for twenty minutes, and I need to know: what the hell is really going on between you two? This isn’t just about some photo. There’s history here.”
Axel and I fell silent, caught.
“Yes, Axel. Why do we despise each other?” I arched an eyebrow, challenging him to answer for his mysterious personality transplant all those years ago. The night he went from treating me like I mattered to acting like I was something stuck to his shoe.
“It’s the way it’s always been,” he said flatly.
Secret-keeping coward.
No, it hadn’t. Once upon a time, he’d been sweet. Walking me to my car when I visited Knox. Texting to check I got home safe. Then, poof, overnight transformation into King Dick. No explanation. No warning. Just started treating me like I’d personally murdered his puppy.
The rejection still stung like a bitch, especially because half our fights felt like foreplay. The kind that made my pulse do stupid, traitorous things. He’d weaponized flirtation, turned every interaction into a war zone, where I never knew if he wanted to kiss me or kill me. So, I’d learned to give as good as I got. When he went low, I went for the jugular. Was it healthy? No. Was it satisfying? Hell yes.
But the worst part was that, despite EVERYTHING, I was still irrevocably, pathetically, catastrophically attracted to him.My body was a traitor, and my hormones were mutinous little bastards.
“Look,” Rebecca said, her voice softer now. “Whatever happened between you two, there’s clearly passion there. The same fire that makes you want to strangle each other? That’s exactly what we need to sell this relationship, so I need to know you can both put whatever happened behind you long enough to save your careers.”
“We can handle it,” I said finally, even though every instinct screamed at me to run.
“Good.” Rebecca pulled out another document. “The story is simple. You’ve been secretly dating for months.”
“Months?” My eyes did that cartoon thing where they practically boinged out on springs. “He’s constantly photographed with different women.”
“Not since he’s been working on his deal. He hasn’t posted a public image with anyone for over ten weeks.”
“Ten weeks.” My eyebrows practically achieved liftoff. “That’s, like … what? Three decades in Axel years?”
She pursed her lips, but continued, “So, the story is, the photo was taken during a lovers’ quarrel. Axel was trying to make you jealous, not knowing who Victoria was. You reacted like any woman in love would.”
The wordlovein connection with Axel made something twist inside. I couldn’t tell if it was the twisty sensation you got before you barfed or … nope. Never mind.
“I’ll stage everything. Restaurant sightings, hand-holding, the works. Eventually, an engagement to prove how serious you are.”
The thought of him slipping a ring onto my finger made me want to cut it off preemptively.
“I’d be lying to my followers,” I protested. “They trust me.”
