“Thank you,” Vivian said. “We hope you had fun.”
“Oh, I did. It’s so nice to see a couple in love, so willing to broadcast it to the world.”
I stiffened, and my gaze lingered on Zaila’s face. What the hell is she talking about?
Vivian smiled at Zaila. “Lennon’s my person.”
Zaila laughed. “Ah, Grey’s Anatomy. I watched all the seasons during the pandemic.” She leaned in closer, her brown eyes sparkling. “McDreamy filled my dreams.” She cast a sly glance toward me. “But then, I have a thing for older men. He’s mature. Knows what he wants.”
As the music shifted, Naomi and Adam joined us, as did Maxim and Ida Jane, and I fought the urge to scoop Zaila up and carry her out of here. I wasn’t in the mood for taunts and mind games. I wanted her to tell me what troubled her so I could fix it, and we could go back to being happy.
“You mean as opposed to the college students your age?” Vivian asked, blinking innocently, before she sent me a sly glance.
Everyone knew about Zaila and me. Right? Well…no. I hadn’t formally announced that we were dating, though I’d made no secret of it either. But some people might still wonder… Ah, shit. I needed to issue a press release so that the world would know Zaila Monroe was mine.
“So those young men don’t do it for you?” Ida Jane asked. Her gaze slipped toward mine, and I saw the calculation in her eyes. I took another step closer.
“Hmm… No. I like a man,” Zaila said. “One who’s confident, knows what he wants and isn’t afraid to go after it.”
I scowled down at Zaila, who stared back. “This is neither the time nor the place, Zaila.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” she said, looking away. “What do I know about relationships, anyway?”
“What. The. Fuck?” Naomi murmured. She shoved her glass at Adam and went to Zaila, placing a hand on her shoulder. She clasped her other hand around Zaila’s and tugged her away from me.
“She doesn’t need to talk to you,” I said.
Adam stepped forward, likely reacting to his wife’s growing anxiety. “Zaila gets to decide that.”
Vivian and Zaila nodded as my eyes widened and my jaw dropped. “You think I’d hurt her?”
“You just did,” Lennon said, his hands fisting. “By telling her what to think or do.”
“Oh, he won’t hurt me,” Zaila said with breezy confidence.
“For fuck’s sake, I’d never hurt her,” I said, somewhere between flabbergasted and offended.
“It’s true,” Zaila said. “He won’t hurt me. At least not physically.”
That had Adam, Maxim, and Cormac growling. They’d protect this woman they barely knew against a man who could disrupt their lives.
Zaila looked at the guys, eyes wide. She offered them an impish smile and a faint shake of her head. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant he’s broken my heart because he doesn’t want you to know we’ve been dating and sleeping together for the past six weeks. Though I saw it in the paper this morning, so I guess everyone knows I’m Gunnar’s floozy.” With that, Zaila turned back to me.
I stepped forward, opened my mouth to negate that ridiculous comment, when Naomi said, “You earned this job when you long before you ever started a relationship with Gunnar. Don’t let one headline take that away.”
Vivian and Ida Jane stepped toward Zaila, offering her their silent support. “So, now that I’ve spilled the tea and am no longer Gunnar’s dirty little secret, I’m going to go—before I totally ruin the vibe.” Zaila met my gaze and offered me a sad smile. “Goodbye.”
She turned to Vivian and squeezed her fingers. “Sorry, but not that sorry.” With a last smile at Naomi and Ida Jane, Zaila hurried off.
I remained rooted to the spot, staring after her. When Lennon stepped forward, I held up a hand. “It’s none of your fucking business.”
By the time I got around to the front of the house, Zaila was gone.
Chapter 37
Gunnar
I was so tired of the endless questions and needs from everyone around me. The only time I’d felt whole in years—decades, really—was with Zaila, but I’d been so busy second-guessing myself that I made her doubt what was between us.
