“What? Snagging an older woman?”
“Logan, stop.” He grasped my upper arms, holding me still. I bit my lip at the unyielding look in his eyes. “Get over that age thing, it was never an issue with me. When I first saw you, I thought you were in university, too.” Then he smirked. “Just think, fifty years from now, you’ll be ever so grateful.”
My heart gave a painful lurch. He was talking about something permanent. But I refused to hope because then I’d start planning and looking forward to things that would just hurt when he left.
When I remained silent, Max’s lips tightened for a brief second. Then, lacing our fingers, he tugged me along with him. At the surge of people leaving the Castle of Doom, Max pulled off to the side. Sliding his arms around my waist, he drew me close and kept us away from the rush of evacuating people. It just made me more aware of him. Of the hard muscled wall of his front against my back.
The warm sun glinted off the fine blond hairs on his tanned forearms. And there, amidst the striking ink, a part of my name was visible on his inner arm, stained a deep red and very legible even with all the fancy swirls.
I stared at it in surprise then turned his arm for a better look. “How did you get it darkened so fast—the henna didn’t smear?”
“Your dad told me a blow torch would dry it fast. So, yeah, heat worked.”
“My dad did what?” My jaw dropped in shock. I looked at his arm again and the smooth, paler skin with my name on it, and scowled. “Very funny.”
His chest rumbled with laughter. He kissed my nape. “Someone had a hair dryer in one of the stalls. It helped a great deal.”
I blinked, trying to clear my misty gaze, and I knew then that Dad liked Max. Devyn, he’d merely tolerated because I loved him, or so I’d thought.
“Ila?”
At that voice, my heart lurched, and my stomach dropped. Think of the devil, and he took form.
Devyn pushed his shades to his head and sauntered over, his gaze gliding over me in a way I knew far too well—possessively—then came back up to meet mine.
I supposed bumping into him was inevitable since he still lived in the area and ran the family restaurant. As much as I preferred not seeing him, I refused to run.
A few inches shorter than Max, with neatly cut dark hair and brown eyes, he looked the same. Attractive, elegant as usual, dressed in khaki slacks and a navy button-down shirt—no visible stains of cheating on him. Pity.
“Ila,” he said again. “I’d hoped you would be here.”
“Devyn,” I responded coolly. And before he thought this would be a happy reunion, I introduced the one person who was becoming important to me. “This is Max—”
“Do you mind giving us a moment?” He tossed Max’s way, barely sparing him a glance, and stepped closer. “Could we talk, Ila? Please?”
Before Devyn could touch me, Max moved to my side. His expression cool, yet his hand gently stroked my back. Steady. Supportive. “I’m Maxwell Meade-Sinclair. Whatever you have to say, make it fast. You’re interrupting our date.”
Devyn stilled as if in shock. His gaze darted to Max, his mouth thinned before he refocused on me. “Ila, I’m sorry about…”—he cut Max a frustrated glare—“everything. When you have a moment, call me.”
“You’ve said your piece, now leave,” Max said.
I would never call him. I hadn’t returned any of his calls or texts sincethatday. Why did he think I would now? When I remained silent, tight-lipped, Devyn stalked off.
“That’s the asshole who cheated on you.”
It wasn’t a question, but I nodded. Seeing Devyn again… Old memories—images of seeing him and Simi in the study—returned like a blade piercing my stomach…
“Logan?”
At Max’s sharp tone, I looked up blankly, then bit my lip, hating that he’d seen my composure fracture. I lowered my head, but he palmed my face and brought my gaze back to his.
Despite the anger there, his touch was gentle. “Don’t give the bastard the satisfaction of seeing you hurting. You stood up to that woman in the pub, you can get past this, too.”
“I know. It’s just the shock of seeing him again and remembering it all,” I whispered. “I can still see them together…”
“Don’t let the past win, Logan.” Intense green eyes held mine. “I’m here now. All you have to do is take my hand, and we’ll find a way out of this nightmare together.”
He wanted me to trust him. God, I longed to, but I’d done that once with another, and it had left me broken.
