He scoffed. “Doubtful. But come on, you know I’m better.”
“One hundred percent not. Also,youknow that I don’t want to be tied to my father’s name, so that wouldn’t have worked for your sponsorship plans anyway.”
“Even better. I can help you mend your relationship. People eat that shit up.”
“Do you hear yourself? Even more, do you hear me?” I was so done with this guy.
He reached one toward me and I swatted him away with the hand that wasn’t currently holding Gabe’s. I didn’t miss the anger in his expression at that and I tensed up, itching to really hit him.
“Fine, you want to give me shit about playing games? You’re not even really dating. I heard from averyreliable source that this is all fake.” He waved his hand at Gabe and me.
I rolled my eyes. “Reliable? Who?”
He smirked. “From you.”
“What?” Gabe interjected.
Up until this moment, Gabe hadn’t said much, and I never realized how much I appreciated how he let me fight my ownbattles. But if I needed him, I knew he’d step up without question.
“When you spill secrets in my arena, you should make sure nobody’s around to hear them.” He looked so fucking smug, and if I thought I was done before, this took the damn cake.
I removed my hand from Gabe’s and clenched my fist. “You know what, you’re right. We weren’t really dating.” I focused my attention on Roger’s face and not the other people around us. The restaurant was decently busy and this was the last way I wanted everything to come out, but there was no stopping it now. Some people were starting to stare and it was only a matter of time before we became the main attraction.
“Dani,” Gabe drew out.
“I knew it,” Roger exclaimed.
I turned my glare back on him. I may have lied, but I refused to let Roger look like anything but the loser prick he was. I stood up and Gabe immediately was at my side.
“Yes, that’s how irritating it was that you couldn’t take no for an answer. The man so sure of himself refused to believe I wasn’t interested in dating him. I asked you to leave me alone, and breaking up with you wasn’t enough to get the message across. Truly pathetic.” I raised my voice a bit at the end in case anyone was recording this. I already knew that more people were paying attention the more we dragged this mess out, so I was going to control the narrative a bit.
Roger’s eyes narrowed.
“Gabe just happened to be there at the right time.”
I heard murmurs from the people around us, but I no longer cared. The asshole apparently needed this done in public, so it was his own damn fault.
“How sad is it that I had to ask a stranger to kiss me because you couldn’t understand the word no?”
I definitely heard a gasp from someone.
“That’s ridiculous. You were just playing games with me. I could get any girl I wanted.” His backpedaling was weak.
“Just walk away, Roger. This is over, like it should’ve been months ago,” I stated coolly.
“So he’s just some stranger? How’s that feel, Tucks?”
“Really, Jenzy?” Gabe sounded exasperated.
“Don’t you dare, Roger,” I bit out. “Yeah, we started out as fake—”
“I knew it was fake.”
“Shut up, Roger. Yes, it started out that way, but everything I feel for Gabe is real. I’m in love with him.” I paused and turned to Gabe. His expression was unreadable. Disbelief, irritation—hopefully at Roger, not me—and I didn’t know what else. “I’ve fallen for you, Gabriel Tucker.”
“It’s because of Pucks, isn’t it?”
The warmth in his eyes melted me and then there was that smile that I had come to adore more than anything. He was just such a sweet, kind guy, and always looked like a snack. I bit back a grin.
