Matt blinks. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” Saxon says, tone like steel wrapped in flame. “She’s with me.”
Silence. Then murmurs ripple through the nearby crowd.
Matt’s face contorts. “Since when?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Saxon says. “Back off.”
Matt looks between us—my wide eyes, Saxon’s squared shoulders—and curses under his breath before storming off into the crowd.
The second he’s out of sight, my knees nearly buckle.
Saxon catches my elbow before I slide to the ground.
“You good?” he asks, voice low.
“I—” Words evaporate. “Thank you.”
He studies me long enough my lungs forget how to work. “Who was that?”
“Junie’s dad,” I whisper.
His jaw ticks. “He bother you often?”
“No,” I say. “He doesn’t… he’s barely been around. He works out of town. Weeks at a time. Honestly…” I huff a humorless laugh. “I’ve always wondered if he has another family somewhere else.”
Saxon doesn’t smile. He just watches me. Too carefully.
“I’ve basically been a single mom since Junie was born,” I add quietly. “He checks in when he feels like it. If he feels like it.”
He’s silent for a long moment. Then his eyes lower to my mouth. He’s not subtle about it. Not even pretending. Heat rushes through me like a furnace igniting.
“Saxon…” I whisper.
“You don’t owe that guy anything,” he says, voice gravelly. “Not your time. Not your space. Not your fear.”
“I know,” I say softly.
He steps closer. “You okay?”
“Yes.”
“You shaken?”
“A little.”
His gaze flicks to my lips again. Then back to my eyes.
“I’m happy to help you anytime,” he says, voice so low it vibrates through my bones.
My breath shudders. “You… helped a lot tonight.”
He leans in. Not touching. Just close enough my whole body feels pulled toward him.
“That wasn’t help,” he murmurs. “That was instinct.”
I freeze. My pulse stumbles. The air thickens.
