“Absolutely. Glad I could help out. This foundation you created is pretty fucking cool.”
“Well, actually, it’s not just me—” someone interrupts Maddison mid-sentence, whispering in his ear.
“That’s my cue,” Maddison says. “Be right back, baby.” He kisses his wife before following the man who interrupted him.
“Good luck!” Logan calls out before sliding around the table to stand next to me, both of us facing the stage where Maddison is headed.
“Shay!” Dom calls out from the bar.
Ryan knocks my shoulder. “You good?” I nod in response. “Nice to meet you, Logan.”
“You too,” she says before my brother takes off to hang out with his teammates.
Maddison takes the stage with the guy who swept him away.
“Who is that?” I ask Logan, only the two of us left at the high-top table, less than ten feet away from the stage.
“That’s Rich.” Logan rolls her eyes. “He’s Eli and Zee’s manager, and he’s the worst. I mean, he’s made the boys a ton of money, but morally, I’m not a fan.”
Watching Zanders take the stage with Maddison, my brows knit in confusion. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, they’re just going to do a welcome speech and thank everyone for coming out.”
“Zanders too?”
“Of course.” Logan lightly laughs. “He’s half of Active Minds. He and Eli started the foundation together four years ago.”
My lips slightly part. “What?” My stare is glued on the beautiful man on the stage as he gets prepped with a microphone.
“You didn’t know? He didn’t tell you?”
Shaking my head, I tell Logan no.
“He’s the person who got Eli into therapy back when we were in college, and he’s really passionate about helping kids find the support they need too. If it weren’t for Zee, I don’t know that Eli would be the man he is today.”
Fuck.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I’m not ready to know this side of Zanders. I’m already fighting off my feelings. I don’t need to know he’s entirely self-aware and an activist when it comes to mental health.
My mouth feels dry as I try to swallow, so I chug the rest of my beer, needing the liquid as well as the courage.
“People meet him, or they hear about him in the tabloids or news, and they think they know him,” Logan continues. “They think they need to change him. Women try to change him. People assume he needs some huge development as a person, but the truth is Zee is an amazing guy, and he always has been. He’s the best friend to us, he treats our kids as his own, and he’s extremely protective. He loves hard and cares about his people like you wouldn’t believe. So, there’s nothing about him that needs to change. He just needs someone to accept who he is and appreciate what he brings to the table. He’s always going to be arrogant and unapologetic and blunt as hell, but those are things that make him who he is. He just needs someone to see who he already is and meet him there.”
My eyes stay glued to the stage as Maddison and Zanders approach the front, but my heart is beating a mile a minute.
“He needs someone to protect him too.”
Don’t blink. Don’t blink. Don’t blink.
There’s a bit of moisture forming at the corners of my eyes, but I don’t know why. I just feel overwhelmed at this moment, learning about a massive part of who Zanders is.
One thing I find solace in when it comes to Zanders is his inability to lie. I’ve been lied to more times than I’d like to admit, but with Zanders, it’s been entirely freeing knowing that he’s going to say exactly what’s on his mind. But here he is, lying about who he is, and regardless of him lying to hide an amazing part of his life, it throws me off in an unexpected way.
Why doesn’t he let people see this side to him?
“Why didn’t he say anything?” I whisper, but my question is too quiet for Logan to hear.
I’m wholly glued in as Zanders and Maddison give their welcome speech. And during that speech, I learn all about the turning point in their lives that caused both the boys to get into therapy. And although Zanders doesn’t refer to his mother as the reason he felt so angry twelve years ago, I know she’s the reason why he felt abandoned.
They touch on their bond and how they were once hated rivals growing up, but their journey to find mental freedom is what caused them to connect and grow the friendship they have now.
They speak on behalf of some of the kids in their organization who have benefited from the donations they’ve collected over the years and where tonight’s donations will go.
But even after their speeches, I still have one major, looming question.
Why doesn’t Zanders let people see this side to him?
25
ZANDERS
“Can I buy you a drink?” Leaning over Stevie, I rest an elbow on the bar with a perfect sightline down her cleavage.
I’m not trying to look, but I’m not not trying either.
“It’s an open bar,” she laughs.
Holding up two fingers to the bartender, I point towards Stevie’s almost empty beer, asking for another round.
And as I do, my gaze falls back on the pretty flight attendant at my side. She’s stunning as she always is, but seeing her all glammed up and dressed to the nines, the way I typically am, she’s on a whole other level tonight.
This sky-blue dress plays perfectly off her light brown skin, and it hugs every one of her curves that I’ve become all too obsessed with.
But at the same time, I miss her wild curls and her baggy thrifted clothes because, at the end of the day, that’s who she is.
“You’ve been avoiding me.” I take a swig of my fresh beer.
“Your entire team is here, and I don’t want to get in trouble.” Her voice is hushed, reminding me once again that this thing between us, whatever the hell it is, is forbidden.
Which is why over the last four hours of this gala, I’ve kept my distance, knowing there are far too many news outlets here reporting on our night. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t tried to steal a passing look or two, but Stevie’s blue-green eyes rarely met mine.
Leaning on both elbows, I bend down close to her, wanting to get even a small touch of her skin but also attempting to make it appear as if I’m just grabbing a drink at the bar.
“So, ‘Vee’, huh?”
“It’s a family nickname.”
“My family nickname is Zee. Vee and Zee. Aren’t we fucking adorable?”
A small laugh escapes her.
“Do I get to call you ‘Vee’?”
A single, perfectly sculpted brow lifts. “Will that keep you from calling me ‘sweetheart’?”
“Not a chance.”
I earn another laugh.
“You can call me ‘Zee’ if you want.” My voice is quiet and not so confident.
Her eyes dart to mine. “Do you want me to call you ‘Zee’?”
I shrug my shoulders, shyly nodding.
She bites down on her lower lip to hold her smile back, and my eyes trail the movement. And just that little seductive act turns me on like you wouldn’t believe.
Moving closer, my lips ghost her ear. “But I’d rather you scream it.”
Pulling back, I watch as her eyes go wide then fall to my lips before shifting her focus from me once again.
What the hell is going on?