Page 64 of Wicked Lord

Me: Are you serious?

Dad: I wasn’t kidding about your engagement to Brock. It was necessary for our survival. Now you’ve screwed that up, so you’ll be dealing with the consequences.

Me: I’m working on Axel, okay? Engagements don’t happen overnight.

I felt sick just typing the words.

Dad: Hopefully walking for the next month will hasten things along.

“Hey, Lore, you okay?” Axel’s voice over my shoulder forced my gaze away from the screen.

Shoving my cell into my jeans’ pocket, I attempted that smile, the fake one I’d been practicing since I learned to walk, but my resolve crumbled when I took in Axel’s expression. His brows were furrowed, lips twisting into an adorable pout. And what I saw in those eyes, brought hot tears to my own. Concern. Worry. Genuine caring.

I couldn’t remember the last time anyone looked at me like that.

He stepped closer, and a tear spilled over.Oh, dammit, if he touches me, I’ll crumble.

“What’s going on?” he whispered. “Is it that fucker, Brock? Is he threatening you?”

I shook my head, blinking quickly to keep the remaining tears at bay. Axel moved in and cupped my cheek, wiping the stray tear with his big thumb.

“Tell me what it is, and we’ll handle it. Together. I’m here for you, blondie.”

A sob worked its way up my throat and despite the hard swallow, it burst free. A tremor raced through my shoulders as the dam burst and tears streamed down my face. Axel tugged me into his chest when I lost control, the wall that hid my emotions annihilated with one look. Strong arms enveloped me, that musky, citrusy scent I now recognized as purely Axel invaded my nostrils as he pressed me against his t-shirt.

He held me for a long moment, until my chest stopped heaving and the world didn’t quite feel like it was coming down on me.

So I was going to lose my Mercedes? It wasn’t the worst thing in the world. I barely needed a car on campus and besides now that I had Axel…

It’s not real, Lore. It’s all for show.What are you going to do when your fake boyfriend dumps you at the end of the summer and goes running back to Cordelia?

That damned taunting voice echoed through my mind, the smoky timbre awfully similar to my mother’s.

Axel buried his nose in my hair, his warm breath spilling all the way down the back of my neck. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on or will I have to chase down Brock Haversham and beat him up for answers?”

A rueful chuckle slid out. “It wasn’t him for once,” I murmured against his shirt. “Or at least not directly.”

Axel held me out to arm’s length, and I swept at the trailing tears and my runny nose. How embarrassing. My mascara must have been streaking down my cheeks and my face all splotchy from crying.

“Then what’s going on?” he whispered.

I gnawed on the inside of my cheek for an endless moment as I considered what to tell him. As my boyfriend, he’d notice my car was missing.

I could fudge the reason though…

“I have to give up my car,” I blurted. “My dad refuses to renew the lease. Things are kind of tough right now and?—"

A deep chuckle escaped through Axel’s pursed lips. “You’re kidding? That’s what you’re crying about, Lore? God, I thought something terrible happened.”

I punched him in the chest as his smile grew wider. “It is terrible,” I whined. “How am I going to get around town?”

“That’s what you have me for.” His big hands closed around my shoulders and squeezed.

“Yeah, for now.” Damn loose lips. My eyes chased up to meet his.

The vibrant blue had darkened, the crease between his brows deepening. “I promise even after this fake dating thing is over, I’ll give you a lift whenever you need one. As long as you don’t mind riding in my old Jeep.”

Warmth flooded my chest, the unfamiliar sensation tightening my throat all over again. “I’d never admit it to anyone else, but I actually love that ratty old Jeep, Ax.”