I shake my head sharply. “I remember everything.”
“You could come home, you know.” He smiles at me, like he’s forcing shyness. “It doesn’t have to be this tense. We were good, Addison. You just got confused.”
“You’re right,” I say, voice hard. “Iwasconfused. But I’m not anymore.”
“Addison,” Matt says, voice sharp now. I try to move, but his hand clamps around my arm. Hard.
I whirl around, shock and pain pulsing through me.
“Matt, you’re hurting me,” I say, trying to pull myself free.
His fingers tighten as his smile fades away. The charm disappears. All that’s left is the real Matt.
“You don’t get to walk away from me,” he snarls. “Not again.”
The panicin me rises. I want to scream, but I refuse to cause a scene. I refuse to let the world know what he’s put me through, like I’m some wounded animal for everyone to look at on the side of the road. If I expose him, everyone will see me differently, not him.
The elevator dings, and suddenly he’s there.
Oliver.
He storms out of the elevator like I sent up some kind of bat signal. He strides toward us, jaw tight, eyes dark, not even hesitating for a second. He steps between me and Matt, shoving him back with a solid hand to his chest.
“Touch her again,” Oliver says, voice low and deadly, “and I will end you.”
Matt laughs, a short, sinister, ugly laugh that just reveals who he truly is. Without the cameras here, he doesn’t even care about his job, the team, or the players.
“You think you can tank my career?” Matt asks, arms spread wide like this is some kind of game. “I have friends everywhere.”
Oliver doesn’t blink.
“Not your career,” he says, voice like steel as he steps closer to Matt. “You.”
For a second, none of us move. Matt’s mouth twitches. He’s an idiot, but he’s smart enough to know Oliver isn’t bluffing. He’s also hyper-aware of cameras at all times, so he knows something could make its way onto film that could damage him. Slowly, he steps back.
Oliver turns immediately, his whole body pivoting toward me, like nothing else in the world matters.
“Addie,” he says urgently. “Are you okay?”
I nod shakily, rubbing my hand along my arm where Matt grabbed me.
Matt’s eyes narrow, and that’s when I realize it.
Addie.
He heard it.
Before I can say anything, Oliver spins around toward him again, fury still radiating from him.
“You will not speak to her, look at her, or breathe near her again,” he seethes. “You’re done.”
He takes my hand, shielding me as he pulls me away from the scene of the crime and back toward the ballroom.
“I need some air,” I whisper, tugging at Oliver’s hand.
“Okay.” He pivots and pulls me down a hallway and out the back door of the hotel toward an empty courtyard. He doesn’t let go until we’re tucked into a quiet corner, near a marble pillar draped in white string lights.
“Addie,” he says again, voice rough as he looks me over. “Are you really okay?”
