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It seemed silly now that I’d started to explain it. But I was certain that I wanted Axel there—my anchor, my savior, to keep me steady. I squeezed his hand tighter.
“Would you go with me?” I asked with a lilt of hope in my voice.
“Sounds like something I’d have to dress up for,” Axel replied.
I reached out and traced the stitches in his vest, fiddling with the zipper before my palm came to rest against his chest.
“Yeah, it’s kind of a black-tie thing,” I admitted.
Axel’s jaw flexed with a heavy sigh, but his eyes were gentle. He wasn’t going to let me down, even if the prospect of enduring a pretentious event like this didn’t thrill him.
“I’m asking you as my boyfriend,” I added quietly. “Not my fake date.”
His gaze searched mine as he cradled my chin, his thumb resting at my lower lip. I loved when he touched me like that, full of affection. He huffed a laugh.
“We were never going to succeed at sticking to this fake dating plan, were we?”
I matched his smile, stealing another kiss that made me feel like I could soar.
“Nope.”
“Didn’t think so.”
Axel inhaled a deep breath and let it out. Sliding his arm around my waist, he pulled me against him for a final hug and kissed the curve of my neck.
“Of course I’ll go with you, sweetheart. Even if it means wearing a damn suit and tie, I’ll do it for you.”
I bounced on my toes and pressed a kiss of gratitude to his cheek. Axel chuckled and gave my ass a sweet little pat.
“What time do you need me to pick you up?”
“Actually, it would probably be better if I came to you. Makes it easier to give my mother the slip if she thinks I’m going to get my hair done before the exhibition.”
A pause settled between us. We both knew it was time for me to go inside but I dreaded leaving Axel. When he brushed his knuckles against my cheek, I stifled a whimper. Then I dragged myself up the sidewalk to the front door. As I reached for the handle, I glanced back to see Axel—sexy, handsome Axel—seated on his bike, broad shoulders, black leather, dark shades, tattoos, and muscle.
I blew him a kiss. He placed his hand over his heart and revved the engine of his motorcycle loud enough that I was sure it would echo through the whole neighborhood.
The sharp staccato footsteps of my mother in the hall signaled she was on the warpath. With one final look of longing at Axel, I pushed the door open and stepped into the house. The rumble of his motorcycle roared off into the distance, fading into silence just as Mom rounded the corner and met me in the foyer. She shoved her phone in my face.
“Explain this, Bethany Marie,” she demanded.
On her phone screen was a picture of me and Axel dancing at the bar. His face buried in my neck, one hand on my hip, the other wrapped around my torso and cupping one of my breasts. I swallowed hard at the sudden burn of need between my thighs, remembering the feeling of his hands on my body at his apartment and how much I liked it, how hard I came on his cock.
“I was on a date with my boyfriend,” I replied, surprised at how calm my voice sounded.
Mom snorted. “This behavior is unacceptable.”
“I’m twenty-one years old, Mom. My behavior is perfectly normal.”
She shoved her phone in her purse.
“Don’t talk back to me, Bethany Marie. I raised you better than this. You’re going to ruin your chance at a perfectly good marriage with Lionel.”
I stared at Mom. The near-manic look in her eyes almost made me feel sorry for her. Everything in her world had to be so carefully and precisely maintained that she never relaxed. If she set a toe out of line, if anyone thought poorly of her, it would be nothing short of disaster for my mother.
“I’m not marrying Lionel,” I said. “I don’t love him. I don’t even like him.”
She scoffed and waved me off as if I was a pesky fly.
