He steps closer. “Breathe.”
I try.
And fail.
Because at that exact moment, my ex shows up.
“Bri,” he says, smirking like he owns the ground I stand on. “We need to talk.”
My throat closes. “Not now, Matt.”
He steps in, blocking my path. “You can’t keep putting this off.”
“I can and I will,” I snap.
He sneers. “You moved Junie two hours away without even asking me.”
“You were gone for three months,” I say. “You didn’t call once.”
“I was busy?—”
“With what?” I shoot back. “Your job? Or the other family you probably secretly have?”
He stiffens. “I don’t have another family.”
“I saidmight.”
He glares at me like my existence inconveniences him.
“We need to figure out the holidays,” he insists. “You can’t just make decisions without me?—”
“Oh, but I can,” I say, forcing my voice steady. “And I will. Because you haven’t been involved. At all.”
He steps closer.
And I step back instinctively—right into something solid.
Someone solid.
Saxon.
He moves behind me like he’s been waiting for this moment all night.
Like he saw Matt coming and decided this is where he stands.
His hand doesn’t touch me.
But itmight as well, because heat radiates around me like a shield.
He steps forward, crowding Matt with pure, controlled power.
“She said not now,” Saxon says, voice deadly calm.
Matt scoffs. “Who the hell are you?”
Saxon’s eyes darken. “I’m with her.”
My breath catches so sharply it hurts.
