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I’m so deep in my own head I don’t hear him approach. “I’ve been looking for you.”
The voice stops me cold. English accent. Smooth. Cultured. Dangerously attractive. I look up and immediately forget how breathing works for a moment. He’s tall, dark hair swept back with deep green eyes that are fixed on me with unnerving intensity. Beautiful in a black shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, exposing strong forearms dusted in dark hair and a silver watch that probably costs more than my flat. I think I know him, but I’m not sure how. I’ve definitely seen him somewhere before, but my brain is still trying to place where when I register the cold edge in his eyes.
He definitely knows me. Shit.
One dark brow arches slightly. “Santiago Lopez?”
“Uh,” I eloquently reply, as every ounce of attraction evaporates into horror.
Oh no. Oh, absolutely fucking no.
Recognition slams into me all at once. Jax’s agent. What is his name again? Jason? Yes, that’s it.
He studies me for a long moment before speaking again. “What exactly,” he asks calmly, “did you think you were playing at signing an NDA using someone else’s name?”
Fuck. “It’s not what you think,” I blurt.
His expression suggests he does not believe me even a little. And honestly? Fair.
The explanation that follows is the most humiliating experience of my life. I tell him everything. He listens in complete silence, arms folded across his chest while I verbally dismantle my own dignity brick by brick. By the end of it I want the concrete floor to open up and swallow me whole.
His stare softens eventually. Only slightly. There’s suspicion there still, but something else too. Something almost sympathetic. “Saint, that’s…” he searches for the word.
“I know.”
He exhales through his nose before straightening. “You know I need to tell him.”
Ice floods my veins. “Jason, please let me tell him, I promise you I mean him no harm.”
“It wasn’t his fault.”
I sigh. “I know.”
He stares at me for so long I swear I can see the turmoil in his brain. “I can’t keep your secret…” He holds his hand up to stop me interrupting. “But I’ll only tell him who you are, you can explain the rest, tonight.” He sighs and runs a hand through his hair.
“That’s fair, thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he says, handing me a new NDA and a pen. “You need to sign this.”
I use the wall as a makeshift desk and sign it immediately, but I can feel his eyes on me the entire time, fixed over my shoulder like he still doesn’t trust me. Honestly, I can’t say I blame him. Turning back around I hand it to him and he slips it into his back pocket, nodding once.
“I’m sending a security team back to the lodge with him, if you try anything—”
“I won’t,” I assure him, “but I understand. I just want the chance to explain myself.”
Chapter 28
Luna
Yesterday felt exciting… Today it feels like someone pressed fast forward. The convention doors have barely been open an hour and Hall 3 has transformed into a living, breathing swarm of colour, noise and organised chaos. Cosplayers weave through the aisles carrying impossible weapons and even more impossible wigs. Children dart between stalls with the sort of energy only unlimited sugar and excitement can produce, and somewhere nearby someone has committed wholeheartedly to walking around in seven-foot stilts dressed as a terrifying forest creature. I still haven’t worked out how they got through the doors.
“Luna!”
I look up just in time to be pulled into a hug. “Megan!”
She laughs, squeezing me tightly before stepping back. “I heard you were coming back this year. It’s so good to see you.”
“You too.”
