Page 26 of Wicked Lord

“Great,” I muttered. And I’d hoped the summer would be fairly drama-free. No one could smell scandal like Tate Astor.

“What are you doing here, Axel?” She danced her fingers up his muscled forearm, and a crack of jealousy shot right through me.

My gaze darted to his, and the insecurity I’d been fighting my whole life reared up. He wriggled his arm away from her touch and swung it around my shoulders. If my damned heart could actually grow wings, it would’ve just leapt out of my chest.

God, I was so pathetic.

“Just hanging out with Lore,” he answered.

Lore. I liked the sound of it from his lips.

“Hanging out?” Her auburn brow lifted into a curious arch.

Crap, I’d just spent the other night blathering on about how great Brock was. “Just keeping my options open, Tate. You know how that is, right?” I threw her a wink and curled my arm around Axel’s waist, tugging him toward the grand spiral staircase.

“Sure,” she called out, her tone saccharine. “Have fun, you two.”

As soon as we turned the corner of the second floor, I tugged on Axel’s hand and hurried him to my room. Slamming the door behind us, I flopped onto my bed and heaved out a breath.

“Shit,” I muttered.

“What’s wrong?” Axel folded his big frame beside me.

“Tate has a huge mouth, and she knows I’m supposed to be marrying Brock at the end of the summer. She’s going to blab about seeing you and me together to everyone.”

“I’m confused.” His light brows knitted as he sat back on the mattress. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“Yes. No… ugh, I just thought I’d have more time to explain things to my father. And I’d hoped Brock would be sailing off on his yacht somewhere when he heard the rumors.” A whisper of fear lanced through my insides.

What if he got pissed? What if he tried to hurt me or Axel?

“I can handle Brock Haversham, okay?” He took my trembling hand between his two big, warm ones and squeezed. A smile parted his lips and lit up that serene blue gaze of his. “Now let’s see that spreadsheet.”

An easy laugh tumbled out as I stood and grabbed the laptop off my desk. “It isn’t so much a spreadsheet as a list of ground rules.”

“Okay, let’s see them.” He eyed the bulleted list as I scrolled down the page.

Rules for a fake dating relationship:

1.Define the duration:

oSet the term

oExit clause

2.Public Interaction Protocols:

oAffection Levels

oEvent Attendance

3.Social Media Rules:

oPosts

oInteractions

4.Financial Arrangements: