It took everything I had to shake off the awkwardness of the situation and act normal. With a tip of my chin to the mountain of a dude at the door, he stepped aside and let my group through.

“Guys, these are my friends, Ava, Lindsey, and Craig.” Lindsey and Ava were visibly holding themselves back from freaking out as Daniel came straight to me and hooked his arm over my shoulders. “And this is my boyfriend, Daniel.”

The vibe in the room changed in a single beat, the guys going from laughing and messing around to hard and cold before I could take my next breath.

“Your what?” Garrett growled, glaring daggers in Daniel’s direction.

“Oh, for God’s sake,” I gritted out with a roll of my eyes as I pinned Garrett with a look of my own. “Will you knock it off? I already have one big brother, and that’s plenty.”

“So Will’s met this guy?” Killian grumbled, crossing his thick arms over his chest to appear more intimidating.

“Yes.” I dragged it out like I was talking to a bunch of five-year olds. “And he likes him, so I’d appreciate it if you four could play nice and stop embarrassing me in front of my friends.”

Declan was the first to cave, pasting an easygoing smile on his face as he came up to shake everyone’s hands, Daniel included.

“Nice to meet you. Any friend of Ly’s is a friend of ours.”

“Holy crap,” Ava breathed, nearly melting into a puddle on the floor as she latched onto Deck’s hand. “I’m touching Declan Forrester. I’m touching Declan Forrester!” She started hopping in place as Lindsay laughed. “Ohmigod! You’re so sexy. Like, the sexiest guy on the face of the planet! No offense, baby,” she offered to Craig as she continued flipping out.

“I can’t even be mad,” her boyfriend offered. “I’m losing my freaking mind right now.”

Declan, Kill, and Garrett all laughed, but I felt a penetrating blast of cold coming from the other side of the room that kept me from joining in on the fun. When I looked in that direction, Mace was stalking closer.

“Need to talk to you,” he grunted as he frowned down at me. My skin tightened and broke out into goose bumps as my belly flipped. Mace looked from me to Daniel, his scowl growing even more severe as he finished with a mumbled, “Alone.”

Daniel’s arm around my shoulder grew tighter as I turned into him and looked up. “I’ll be back in a second,” I said on a whisper.

His face was marred with concern and frustration, his brows pulled into a low V as he asked, “You sure?”

“Yeah. It’ll be fine. Just gimme a few.”

Before he released me, he sent a withering look Mace’s way, then turned his face back to mine and placed a kiss against my lips.

The energy around Mace sparked and crackled with a rage I couldn’t understand as I finally unlatched from my boyfriend, following Mace out of the dressing room and down a long, hall.

“Hey,” I called, nearly jogging in my high-heeled booties in an effort to keep up. “Slow down. Your legs are a lot longer than mine.”

We made it to the end of the hall before Mace took a quick left into an empty corridor. He came to a stop and spun around so quickly that I collided into him, unable to stop myself. The instant my body smacked into his, Mace’s arms came up, circling me like steel bands.

“What are you doing?” I hissed, squirming in his arms pointlessly. He didn’t want me to move, and there was no way in hell I was strong enough to break his hold. “Mace, let me go,” I warned. The feel of his rock-hard body and the scent of cologne and sweat on his skin were sending my head into an unhealthy fog.

“You’re really with that guy?” he barked, crude disbelief bleeding from his words.

“I really am,” I snapped back, renewing my fight against him. “And I don’t appreciate the tone you’re using. Daniel’s a nice guy.”

“Daniel’s a fuckin’ dick. You’ve gotta be kidding, dating a preppy douchebag like that. Jesus Christ, the asshole looks like he belongs to a goddamn country club.”

Well, he wasn’t completely off the mark. Daniel himself didn’t belong to a country club, but his parents did. Sure, he preferred button-downs and polo shirts to faded jeans and old concert tees. And yes, he wore Sperrys and would probably never be caught dead in a pair of motorcycle boots like Mace, but that didn’t make him a bad guy. Not by a long shot.

“Who the hell are you to judge him?” I spat, shoving at his chest until he was forced to break his hold. Taking two large steps back, I clenched my hands into fists so tight my fingernails cut into the flesh of my palms. I was seething to the point of explosion. “He’s sweet and treats me with respect. He likes me and he isn’t afraid to show it. And personally, I don’t see how who I date is any goddamn business of yours.”

Leaning down to get in my face, he hissed, “He’s not your style, Goldie. Unless you sold out,” he spat with disdainful accusation.

My palm went flying through the air before I could think, landing against his cheek with a resounding crack. “You son of a bitch!” I shouted as Mace’s head shot to the side. When he slowly looked back at me, there was no missing the pure shock glinting in his eyes. “Who the hell do you think you are, talking to me like that?” Every inch of my body trembled with a fury so intense it actually frightened me, but I couldn’t make myself stop. “I didn’t sell out, you prick. I moved on! You have no right to an opinion on who I date. You aren’t a part of my life anymore.”

“And whose fault is that!” he bellowed so loud that I jumped. “You cut me out of your life, Lyla! Not the other way around. You took yourself away from me, and I didn’t have a single fucking choice!”

“Because it was necessary!” I yelled in return. “I loved you, Mace. So much it hurt. Every single day! I couldn’t keep you in my life the way we were if I wanted to have a shot at getting over you. And I did. It took a long freaking time, but I finally did. I thought maybe enough time had passed that we could get back what we had, but now I see I was wrong. God!” I threw my arms up in frustration. “Why the hell did you even send me those tickets if this was how you planned on acting?”

“I sent them because I couldn’t go another fuckin’ day without seeing you!” That statement rendered me speechless, but it didn’t matter, because he was nowhere near finished. “I sent them because I prayed you’d show up and I’d finally get the chance to tell you I want to be with you.”

My mouth fell open in astonishment, and it took several seconds before I was finally able to whisper, “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Goldie—”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I repeated on a yell. “You broke my heart, and now you want to be with me? You selfish asshole! I’m finally with someone who cares about me and treats me right, someone I love, and you go and pull this? You’re unbelievable.”

Mace rocked back, his face twisting in agony as he asked in a ravaged voice, “You love him?”

“Don’t,” I snapped. “Don’t you dare. I gave you my heart, Mace. You didn’t want it. You threw it right back in my face, so don’t you dare stand there like I broke you because I finally put myself back together after you tore me apart.”

“Goldie….”

That was all he said. One pathetic word.

“I’m done with this,” I stated, backing out of the corridor and starting back down the hallway toward the dressing room. I stopped with my hand on the knob and closed my eyes, pulling in a deep, fortifying breath before finally giving it a turn and stepping back into the room. I made a beeline right to Daniel once I got inside.

I spent the rest of our time with the guys trying and failing to shake off my encounter with Mace. I faked the same enthusiasm as my friends while we hung out for a while longer. When Mace came back a few minutes after me, he didn’t bother shedding his surly attitude, which made acting normal that much harder.

Finally, the band’s manager cut into our conversations to say, “Hate to break this up, guys, but we need to get to the after party.”

I was sad to have to say goodbye, but there was no shaking the sense of relief I felt once I was out from under the anger and sorrow pouring off Mace.

The guys gave me their hugs just before we left, all expressing how good it was to see me. Surprisingly, Mace didn’t make a fuss or act like an ass when he gave me a short, perfunctory hug goodbye. But that didn’t make saying goodbye to them any easier.

I was going to miss all of them so bad it was as if I were leaving a piece of myself behind. I was only just beginning to mourn the loss of them again when Mace dug that knife in my chest even deeper when he cast me one last look and stated, “Let’s roll. I need a drink, and some pussy.” Then he turned and exited the room without a backward glance.

Ava was staying the night at Craig’s place, and they were dropping Lindsey off on the way, leaving Daniel and me alone in his car. After the whirlwind blast from the past I’d just experienced I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and snooze as he drove us back to my apartment.

Unfortunately, I hadn’t done as good a job of hiding my discomfort after the fight with Mace as I thought.

We were halfway home when Daniel’s voice broke through the turmoil going on inside my head.

“There something I need to know with you and that guy earlier?”

I lifted my head from the headrest and glanced his way to see the tendon in his neck straining in the lights from the dashboard as he clenched his teeth. “What? Of course not. Why would you ask that?”

“Because I’m not blind, Lyla. Or a fucking idiot. I saw how you two were looking at each other, and how he couldn’t keep his goddamn eyes off you after your private chat.”

Daniel had never been anything but sweet and loving the whole year I’d known him, so hearing the venom in his tone just then was more than a little shocking. “I swear there’s nothing between us. We were never anything but friends.”

“He wants you, Ly. Are you really gonna deny that?”

I couldn’t, not after what Mace had said to me in the hallway. I didn’t want my relationship with Daniel to be built on foundation of lies and secrets. I owed him more than that. “He does,” I admitted in a quiet voice, reaching over to place my hand on his. “He told me tonight, but I made it clear that I’m with you. I love you. How he feels isn’t going to change that. I swear.”

He held tight to my hand and went quiet, apparently giving my response serious thought. My stomach plummeted in fear, thinking he was about to end things. The last thing I wanted was lose him.

Finally he broke the silence, asking a question I’d been dreading. “Do you have feelings for him?”

Hesitating for several seconds, I drew up the courage to answer. “I did. But it was before I ever met you,” I added quickly. “I wouldn’t do that to you, Dan. You have to believe me.”

“But he’s the reason it took me six months to get in there, isn’t he?”

My voice came out weak and so quiet it was barely audible. “Yes.”

“Fuck.”

“But you got in, Dan,” I said, emotion making my words thick and garbled. “You got in there, and I’m so glad you did. You make me happy. I love you, honey. Please trust that.”

His fingers clenched around mine as he pulling in a long, deep breath. “I love you too, Ly. You know that. And I believe you.”

I let out a huge sigh of relief, and as we finished the ride to my apartment, I promised myself that I’d be the very best girlfriend possible. I’d be exactly what Daniel needed and deserved. And I’d never let Mace come between us in any way.

I just hoped and prayed it was enough.