A flicker of starstruck awe lights up her face.
My stomach drops—but then she says, “My niece Bella loves your music!”
Oh.Okay.
That tracks.
He’s got songs all over teen dramas and TikTok choreographies.
Mars beams.“Bella, huh?I like her already.”
Then he turns to me.
“You mind if I cut in, Thorn?I’d like to talk more with—sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”
“She didn’t throw it,” I growl.
Adrianna stammers, “I’m Adrianna, Nathan’s, um?—”
“My wife,” I finish for her.
Mars lifts his eyebrows in surprise—and respect.
“Wife?Well, congratulations.Now youhaveto let me cut in.If only because you already won, you lucky bastard.”
“Oh wow, that would be great!”Adrianna says, smiling.
And the bottom drops out of my stomach.
My wife of exactly two hours steps away from me and into another man’s orbit.
What the actual fuck is going on?
But I can’t act like a jealous Neanderthal.
Not here.
Not now.
So I nod stiffly and step back.
And I stand there—hands fisted, jaw clenched—watching my brand-new wife dance with another man.
And suddenly?
My jealousy isn’t subtle anymore.
It’s a goddamn wildfire in my chest.
ChapterTwenty-Two
Adrianna
I’m dancingwith DJ freaking Mars, and the moment is so surreal I keep waiting for someone to yell cut and tell me this is all some elaborate prank.
His hands are polite, his movements smooth, his presence large.
Not intimidating, exactly—just the kind of confidence that comes from being used to being the big guy in every room.
