by Brenda Novak
“Hey,” Uriah said as soon as Tobias opened the door.
Tobias squinted out at the bright light. “What happened to the fog?”
“Burned off not long after you got in this morning.”
Tobias arched an eyebrow at his wry response. “You’ve been checking the security feeds again, I see.”
“Actually, I haven’t. Carl mentioned it to me.”
“How would he know?”
“I guess he was up going to the bathroom when you came in. Said you’ve been running around all hours of the night.”
Tobias folded his arms. “Part of his campaign to get you to give me notice?”
“He’s not your friend. I’ll be up-front about that. But don’t feel bad. I don’t think he’s mine, either.”
“At least you recognize that he’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
“You know what they say—you don’t get to choose your relatives.”
Tobias thought of his mother. “No, you don’t.” He opened the door wider. “Would you like to come in?”
“This time I would. Carl’s supposed to be working, but who knows if he actually is. He could be loitering around the corner, for all I know. He spends more time trying to avoid work than getting anything done.”
“Too bad work avoidance doesn’t pay better.”
“He’d be a millionaire.”
Tobias laughed without mirth. No matter how pathetic that was, it was true. “What’s going on?” he asked when Uriah had shut the door behind him.
“I’m concerned,” Uriah admitted.
“About what?”
“About you.”
“Why?”
“Carl mentioned Harper this morning. He knows you’re seeing her.”
“How?”
“I guess she’s driving an expensive Range Rover that’s somehow distinctive. And she’s the talk of the town right now, the ex-wife of some big rock star. I didn’t recognize her name when you introduced us that night, but then...I wouldn’t.”
“Why would Carl care who I’m dating?”
Uriah shook his head. “Only Carl can answer that. It makes no sense to me, either. But he’s always getting into other people’s business, trying to cause trouble—and I’m telling you, he seems to think it’s a pretty big deal that Harper’s been over here.”
Tobias rubbed the beard growth on his chin. “What do you suppose he might do with that information?”
“Does she know about your past?”
Tobias said nothing.
“That’s what I was afraid of. Carl’s unhappy that I’m not more upset by your record, Tobias. He claims you’re dangerous and shouldn’t be allowed on the property. Keeps trying to drive that point home.”
“He hated me from the first moment he laid eyes on me.” The feeling was mutual.
“It’s nothing you’ve done. He hates you because I respect you, and I can’t respect him. Love isn’t always enough. Anyway, Harper’s big-shot ex-husband is in town. Carl saw him at the coffee shop this morning. I wanted to tell you that, too.”
“I already know Axel’s in town,” Tobias said. “He got in last night.”
Uriah studied him for several seconds. “Does he know about your past?”
“I hope not.”
“Then you might want to do something to remedy the situation.”
Tobias appreciated Uriah’s warning. But he had no way of protecting himself. His only hope, at this point, was that Carl wouldn’t recognize the full power of the weapon he held, and the next three days would prove uneventful. If Carl didn’t give him away, it was entirely possible that Harper and her family would be so consumed with the holidays they wouldn’t pick up on local gossip, and that Axel would leave without learning of Tobias’s past.
Then maybe Tobias would have the opportunity to explain what needed to be explained.
* * *
It had been a long, trying day. Karoline had invited Axel to come over to the house after Harper had a few hours of sleep, and he did—to see the kids. But he was sulking, and that made it difficult for the girls, as well as Harper. She kept hearing Everly say, “What’s wrong, Daddy?”
He’d claim nothing was wrong, but the girls could see the looks he tossed her and feel the tension between them, and that made her sad. It was nearly Christmas. They had their daddy in town. She wished he could shake off what he was feeling for their sake. Lord knew she’d done a lot of that over the last six months. He was the one who’d requested the divorce in the first place, so he had only himself to blame for how he was feeling.
But Axel wasn’t used to being denied. He felt he should be able to change his mind and have no repercussions from any decisions or actions that had happened before that point.
When he announced that he was taking them all to dinner, Karoline and Terrance begged off. Karoline said that she’d committed her family to wrapping presents for the underprivileged at the church, where there’d be pizza.
Harper tried to beg off, too. It was awkward being with Axel while having no privacy to discuss what had happened last night, or what was going on between them. But Axel wouldn’t hear of it. He said he’d come all this way to be with his family, and he wanted them to stay together.
“Can we go to that place that has the milkshakes and the curly fries?” Everly asked when they were discussing the various restaurants.
Fatboy Burgers. Harper had taken the girls there after they first arrived in town, and they’d loved it. “That’s fine with me,” she said.
Axel’s pained expression suggested he wasn’t thrilled with the idea. “Are you sure you don’t want something more festive than a burger?” he asked Harper. “There’s a nice Italian place near my hotel.”
“I’m happy with a burger,” Harper said. “It’s what the girls really like. I think we should go there.” He was going to be in town for such a short time she felt he should indulge them. He was away from them so much—and he had plenty of opportunities to do and eat what he wanted.
In the end, he agreed, grudgingly, and Harper drove. Although Axel generally preferred to be in control, he didn’t know the area, so it made more sense for Harper to take the wheel.
“This place looks amazing,” Axel said, being overly dramatic as a way to tease the girls when she pulled in. He’d mentioned, once or twice, his desire to become a vegetarian, so Harper knew he wasn’t particularly excited about eating red meat, but she smiled at him because she appreciated the effort he was making on behalf of their children.
They went through the line and ordered cheeseburgers for the girls, a black bean vegetarian burger for Axel—it turned out that the restaurant had one, which was lucky—and a salad for her. They’d just decided on the shake flavors they’d each get afterward and were settling into a booth to wait for their food when Everly cried, “Look, Mommy! Over there! Isn’t that Tobias?”
Harper’s first thought was, There’s no way. Had the girls requested the Eatery, which she associated with Tobias, she would’ve done whatever she could to entice them to go elsewhere. She’d supported this place because she’d never heard Tobias mention it.
And his truck hadn’t been in the lot. She definitely would’ve noticed.
Harper’s blood ran cold as she turned and saw Tobias sitting in a nearby booth across from his brother, a burger on each of their plates.
“That’s him?” Axel said.
Harper didn’t get a chance to answer before Everly piped up with, “Yeah. He’s the one facing us,” she said, waving to get Tobias’s attention.
Harper saw Tobias’s jaw go slack when he realized she was there, too. Obviously, he hadn’t expected this coincidence any more than she had.
“Did you tell him we were coming here?” Axel growled.
“No!” Harper replied, her mind racing. What was she going to do? They
’d just paid for their food, hadn’t even received it yet. It wasn’t as though she could suggest another place and hurry her family back out to the car. The girls had their hearts set on what they’d ordered.
And Tobias and Maddox had clearly just been served, so it wasn’t likely they’d be leaving anytime soon.
“What are the chances we’d both end up at the same restaurant?” Axel asked.
“There aren’t a lot of restaurants in town, and this one is popular.”
“Considering the situation, I think it’s pretty remarkable,” he retorted.
Harper felt her face flush when Axel shot Tobias a dirty look.
“He’d better not come over here, better not say anything to you, or there’s going to be trouble,” Axel warned.
“Daddy?” Piper’s face creased in concern. “Why don’t you like Tobias?”
“Because I don’t,” he snapped.
“Do you know him?” Everly asked, also confused.
Axel was too busy glaring at Tobias to answer that question.
“He’s nice,” Piper said. “He took us ice-skating.”
“He’d better stay the fuck away from you in the future. That’s all I’ve got to say.”
“Axel!” Harper cried. “Please stop. There’s no need to swear or cause a scene. Tobias and Maddox will just...eat, and we’ll eat. It’s no big deal.”
“So you’re done with him?” Axel said, shifting his attention to her.
That wasn’t really a question. He was telling her she was done with Tobias. “I—I don’t know.”
“What do you mean?”
She looked at the girls. This wasn’t a talk she wanted to have in their presence. “I care about him.”
“You care about him? Why? What’s he got that I don’t?”
“Hardly anyone has what you have. It isn’t about that. I like the way he treats me. That’s all.”
“Yeah, I heard just how much when you pocket-dialed me.”
Harper’s stomach, which had knotted when she saw Tobias, began to hurt even more. “Axel...”
Suddenly, he got up, shoved the table so hard it nearly touched their girls on the other side of the booth and stalked over to where Tobias and Maddox were sitting.
Harper could feel her heart pounding in her ears when she saw Tobias use a subtle hand motion to tell his brother to remain seated.
“Don’t you ever come near my wife again. Do you understand?” Axel said.
Tobias glanced over at her before responding. “Why don’t you go back to your family?” he said. “You’re clearly embarrassing them.”
Axel stepped even closer. “Don’t tell me what to do!”
Tobias lowered his voice. “You’re not helping the situation. You’re just drawing attention. You need to calm down.”
“What are you doing here, anyway?” he demanded. “Are you following us?”
With a scowl, Tobias indicated his plate. “Clearly not. We got here before you.”
“Stay where you are,” Harper told the girls and scrambled out of the booth herself. She had to act before this exploded into something worse than it already was. There were people several booths down who were beginning to realize that Axel Devlin was in the restaurant and were pulling out their phones to take videos.
“Axel, stop.” She grabbed his arm. “Please. You don’t want this on the front page of the tabloids, do you? Come on, you’re acting ridiculous.”
“Stay out of it,” he told her and shook her off so hard she nearly lost her balance.
Tobias immediately reached out to steady her. “Watch yourself,” he said to Axel, the tone of his voice a clear warning.
Axel’s eyes flared wide. “Oh, yeah? Or what are you gonna do?”
“Whatever I have to. But I’m giving you this one, because you’re not thinking clearly. Now go back to your seat.”
A pimple-faced employee, who couldn’t have been older than twenty-one, approached. He looked anxious, but his badge read Manager, and Harper had to admire his courage. Although she could tell he didn’t want to get involved, he didn’t back away from the conflict.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask both of you to leave,” he said. “There’s no fighting in here.”
Tobias’s gaze shifted from Axel to the younger man and back again. Then he grabbed his wallet off the table. “Let them stay,” he said. “We’ll go.”
Maddox frowned at the burger he’d have to leave behind but got up to support his brother. “You know what?” he said to Axel.
Axel turned to look at him, but Tobias murmured something Harper couldn’t hear and Maddox didn’t finish. Then she heard Tobias say more loudly, “Let’s go.”
Harper wanted to follow them out and apologize for Axel’s behavior. They’d done nothing wrong; they’d just come in to eat. But her girls were watching, completely confused, and she knew if she went after Tobias, it might provoke Axel into acting even worse. She couldn’t take that risk.
“Are you happy now?” she muttered to her ex as she gestured toward Tobias’s and Maddox’s uneaten burgers.
“I’ll be happy if he stays away from you.” Axel glanced at everyone who was watching them. “Put your cell phones away,” he said.
Harper thought he was going to leave it at that, but while they were still waiting for their food, he mentioned something about how bad it would look if anyone offered the footage they’d captured to the media—in an accusatory way, as if what’d happened was her fault. Then he got up and offered to sign autographs for anyone who’d delete what they’d captured.
Harper sat with the girls as word spread through the restaurant that Axel Devlin was there and more and more people gathered to see him, talk to him, have him sign a napkin—or even an article of clothing.
She and Everly and Piper were finished with their meals and Axel’s food was cold by the time he was able to return to the table.
“Do you think you got everyone?” Harper asked as he sat down.
“I guess we’ll find out.”
She could tell his mood hadn’t improved. “You realize that whole thing was unnecessary,” she said. “You could have just ignored Tobias and his brother. They wouldn’t have said anything to us.”
He sent her a sharp look. “Don’t start. You’re the one who caused this whole thing, not me.”
25
Axel tried to convince Harper to stay with him at the motel. He’d said that would give them a chance to talk privately. But she guessed talking wasn’t really what he had in mind. He knew if he could get her to sleep with him again, he’d be that much closer to a commitment when it came to starting over.
But she wasn’t ready for that. What’d happened at the restaurant had reminded her of how often she’d had to stand on the sidelines and wait for him to finally eke out a few minutes to devote to her, and she was no longer convinced that was the kind of life she wanted. Maybe if she and Axel were getting along in other areas there’d be something to compensate for the strain his fame put on their relationship. But they were struggling on several fronts. Not only was there that woman from the concert—Axel hadn’t denied sleeping with her; he just kept avoiding the conversation—there was Tobias. Somehow it felt as though going back to bed with Axel after what she’d shared with Tobias would be a betrayal.
That was pretty ironic. That she’d feel more loyal to a man she’d met only a couple of weeks ago than the one she’d been married to for ten years. But she got the feeling that Tobias was more loyal to her.
That meant something.
“So you’re not coming to the motel?” Axel sounded shocked.
She switched the phone to her other ear. Since she’d already told him she wasn’t when she dropped him off, he must’ve thought she’d relent and drive over once she got home and put the girls to bed, or he wouldn’t have called
her with that question. “No. I’m not coming.”
“Why not?” he countered.
“I don’t want to make love, Axel.”
Silence. Sulking? Then he said, “Because of that other guy—Tobias.”
“Partly because I’m still upset by how you behaved at the restaurant,” she said.
“How I behaved? That was nothing! I was just protecting my family.”
“We’re divorced!”
“So? We spent ten years together, have two kids together. The divorce is just a piece of paper.”
“Just a piece of paper?” she echoed. “That piece of paper means you left me. You told me you weren’t fulfilled, weren’t happy being in a relationship with me and needed your freedom. I was devastated. And now you want me to trust you? To believe you can be happy if we get back together? That you won’t turn around and do the same thing again?”
“You wanted me to try to work out our problems,” he said. “Well, here I am. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
“It’s a little late, don’t you think?”
“If I thought it was too late I wouldn’t be here.”
“So you didn’t come to see the girls.”
“Of course I did!” He sounded emphatic. “But I came for you, too.”
Harper stared at herself in the mirror over the dresser as she talked. She looked miserable—and she was. “After everything that’s happened I’m not prepared for this to go any further,” she said.
“You don’t want to get back together.”
“Sometimes I do,” she admitted. “But that’s usually when I’m thinking of the girls. That’s not what I want for me.”
“That isn’t what you were saying before,” he said.
“I know. But things have changed.”
“What’s changed?” he challenged. “Nothing’s changed. You’re just putting me off. Making me eat crow. You want me to suffer.”
“You’re accusing me of...what? Being vindictive?”
“What else could it be? You meet a dude with a body like that—of course you’re going to be tempted. But let’s be honest, Harper. It was a fling. I’ve had several myself, and I’ve admitted it. I’m willing to forgive you if you’re willing to forgive me. Let’s put the past behind us and move forward without any resentment on either side.”