He looks… pleased.
Ash leans against the table, arms crossed. “So. You finally gonna tell us, or should we just assume the obvious?”
Dax glances down at me. Checks my face. Gives me a second to pull myself together.
Then he looks back at them. “Assume whatever you want.”
Axel snorts. “Oh, we will.”
I laugh despite myself, ducking my face into Dax’s shoulder. “I’m never coming back here.”
“Liar,” Ash says cheerfully. “You love us.”
“Not right now.”
The teasing ramps up instantly.
“How long’s this been going on?”
“Place your bets—high school?”
“I told you,” someone mutters. “Told you he was gone the second she looked at him sideways.”
Dax finally smirks. “You all done?”
“Not even close,” Axel says. “So what’s the plan here, Hayes?”
Dax’s hand tightens at my waist, just enough to ground me.
“No plan,” he says evenly. “Just… us.”
Ash’s grin turns sharp. “Careful. That sounds like commitment.”
Dax doesn’t hesitate. “Yeah.”
The room goes quiet.
Not dead silent—but enough.
I lift my head, heart racing, and look at him. He’s not looking at the guys. He’s looking straight ahead, steady as a mountain.
Axel breaks first, laughing. “Well hell. Guess that answers that.”
Ash points at him. “You better put a ring on it, Hayes.”
My face goes nuclear.
Every instinct in my body screams to deflect, joke, run—but Dax doesn’t deny it. Doesn’t laugh it off. Doesn’t say someday or maybe or whoa, slow down.
He just shrugs. “Working on it.”
The room explodes.
I stare at him. “You are not.”
His mouth curves. “Didn’t say when.”
I swat his chest. “You are impossible.”
