Chapter 33

thirty-three

ISLA

We hold hands the whole drive to That's Doppio. It's a cute little coffee shop that serves locally roasted coffee but doesn't take itself too seriously. Hence the name. Maddox finds a spot just up the street and opens my door before I can do it myself. Wrapping his arm around me, he pulls me against his side. I sigh happily. Women always talk about how fun it is to have a much taller, larger boyfriend, but I never really got the hype. Until now. Because being tucked into Maddox's side like this is so cozy and comforting. I feel safe and protected.

Maddox changed out of his suit while I finished teaching, but even with his hoodie up and sunglasses on, he's getting more than a few curious looks. We almost make it to the coffee shop when a little blond boy stops dead in his tracks, stares at Maddox with wide gray eyes, then tugs on his mom's jacket and says, "Mom, Mom! Is that Maddox Graves? "

And that's that. Maddox shoots me an apologetic grimace, no doubt recalling our auction date when he blew me off for a solid fifteen minutes to sign autographs and take selfies. But this time it's different. This time I know he wants to say no and run into the coffee shop with me, but how can you ignore the bright, pleading eyes of a kid who can't be older than eight?

"It's okay," I tell him with a chuckle. "Go ahead and sign autographs or whatever. I'll head inside and get us coffees and a table."

He rubs the back of his head, attention bouncing between the growing crowd and me. "You sure?"

"Of course. What do you want?"

"Uh, a black coffee, I guess."

I make a face. "Really? This place has amazing lattes, and you just want a black coffee?"

Maddox chuckles, giving my hip a squeeze. "We stick to pretty strict diets when the season starts. Sadly, I will just have a black coffee."

My nose is still wrinkled when I say, "Okay. See you in there."

He presses a quick kiss to my forehead and watches me walk toward the cafe door before giving his attention to the little boy who jumps in place, he's so excited. "Hey, little man. What's your name?"

"Jude," I hear the little blond boy exclaim. "Could you sign my sweatshirt?"

I'm smiling from ear to ear when I stride into That's Doppio and get in line. The cafe is reasonably busy for being so close to dinnertime, but that's normal. It's a popular place with teachers, students, and professionals alike. The cashier greets me with a smile and asks me how school is going so far before I order my drinks and pay. It's one thing I love about this place. They all know me.

There are a few open tables scattered around the room, so I pick the one most tucked away in a corner. I just have enough time to arrange my cardigan on the back of a chair and set my purse down when the barista calls my name.

Maddox is still scribbling autographs on the sidewalk, so I grab our drinks with a smile, settle in at the table, and pull out my phone. Might as well do some mindless social media scrolling until he gets in. I open Instagram and grin when I see I've been tagged in a photo Griffin insisted we take after the assembly. In it, I'm sandwiched between him and Sebastian while Griffin gives me bunny ears. I'm laughing, and Sebastian is mid-eye roll. He's captioned it with, Stay in school, kids. You could end up with a teacher like Madds' girl, here. He follows that pronouncement up with a winky face emoji, and I can't hold in my laughter. He's ridiculous. I'm mid-debate with myself about whether it's wise to read any of the comments when a throat clears in front of me, and an all too familiar voice says my name.

"Isla? I thought that was you."

My happy smile freezes on my face as my eyes rise from my phone. I take in a man with his hands in the pockets of his expensive gray suit. The jacket is unbuttoned, revealing a crisp white shirt and a solid black tie. Full lips I have mapped a million times with my own twist up in a rueful smile, and blue eyes rake over my body with too much familiarity. It makes my skin crawl. At one point, I loved when Alex looked at me like this. Now it just makes me feel cheap and dirty.

"Alex?" My mind stumbles in its attempt to switch gears from feeling all gooey inside to processing Alex's sudden and unwanted appearance.

His eyes go to the two cups on the table with a frown. When he looks back up at me, his smile seems strained. "You look great. It's good to see you."

I narrow my eyes. I've been obsessed with this place ever since I first student taught at Center. I dragged Alex here exactly one time, and all he did was complain about how noisy it was and how the coffee wasn't strong enough for him. He never came back with me. Which is why all of this is so highly suspicious.

"What are you doing here?"

Alex frowns at my tone. I'm not surprised. The last few times we spoke, it was me calling him, crying, begging him to give us another chance. I was broken and desperate, and I still thought Alex hung the moon.

I don't think that anymore.

"I was in the neighborhood for a meeting and remembered how great this place was from the time we came here."

I want to cough bullshit into my hand, but I'm an adult. I still roll my eyes, though. You're never too old or too mature to give a dramatic eye roll. "You hated this place the one time we came together," I say, unwilling to go along with whatever game he's playing.

Alex's frown deepens, but he still pulls out the chair across from me at the four-person circular table and sits his ass down as if I've invited him to join me. He looks constipated. I can't believe I ever found him attractive. "Anyway," he says. "It's pretty crazy we ran into each other, huh?"

"Is it?" I arch a brow. "I wouldn't call this running into each other. I was just sitting here waiting for my boyfriend when you plopped your ass down uninvited."

When Alex's jaw ticks, I know I'm well and truly pissing him off. This isn't going the way he thought it would, and that brings me great joy. "Boyfriend?"

I snort out an undignified laugh. Of course, that's the part he latches on to.

"You're dating someone?"

As if he doesn't know. He must have heard all about how Maddox and I were acting at the charity dinner from his best friend.

"Yeah," a deep voice rumbles. "She is." Maddox steps beside me and tilts my chin up. He claims my mouth with a searing kiss that leaves me breathless. His molten chocolate eyes hold mine, reading me, making sure I'm okay. Maddox doesn't know the full story of what happened with Alex, but he knows enough. "Sorry that took so long, baby." And then he kisses my forehead, drags a chair beside me, and folds himself into it. Maddox drapes his arm across the back of my chair and nestles me into his side before grabbing his boring cup of plain black coffee.

"It's okay," I reply, my attention only for him. "Your fans are important."

"Not as important as you."

That ball of light in my chest is halfway to going supernova because I know he means it. Maddox isn't just paying me lip service or saying something that sounds good because my ex is sitting across from us, studying this whole interaction with a hilarious frown on his face. Maddox means it.

We stare at each other for a few beats, which I'm sure is super awkward for Alex. To his credit, he lasts a couple of seconds longer than I think he will, then clears his throat.

"You should probably get that checked out," I tell him, sounding infinitely bored.

Alex's forehead creases. "What?"

"You keep clearing your throat. You should get that checked out."

Maddox fake-coughs to cover up a laugh, which Alex does not find amusing. Still, being the bigger man—both literally and figuratively—Maddox reaches a hand out across the table. "I'm Maddox. You are?"

I hide my smirk behind my delicious mocha toffee latte. Alex hesitates for a moment before shaking Maddox's hand and winces when Maddox squeezes. "Alex. I'm Isla's?—"

"Nothing." I cut in. "You're not my anything." I haven't told Maddox that Alex and I were engaged, and this isn't really the way I wanted it to come out, but here we are. I suppose there will be no more hiding it after this.

Shifting in his seat, this whole interaction obviously going way differently than he imagined, Alex's jaw ticks. "I'm her ex-fiancé."

Spine stiffening, I glance at Maddox to gauge his reaction. He gives me a squeeze and a quick smile before turning back to Alex.

"Ah. Isla mentioned something about an ex, but she said it was no big deal. One of those relationships you should have ended way sooner, but didn't because you get stuck in a dating rut." He turns to me with a furrowed brow. "I thought you said his name was Leslie or something?"

Oh, god. It's so hard not to laugh at that. Relief floods my body that Maddox doesn't seem put out even as Alex's face morphs into one of rage before schooling it and leaning back in his chair. All I can do is shrug because if I open my mouth, I'm going to lose my shit.

Maddox tilts his head to the side as though he's really wracking his brain, trying to remember what name I'd given him for my ex. Eventually, he returns my shrug. "Eh, I can't remember. I think we talked about our exes the night I made you come four times in two hours, so I was a little preoccupied."

Oh. My. God. My face erupts in flames and I swat his chest. "Maddox! Jesus Christ, there are families here."

My mischievous hockey player glances around before saying, "No one heard me, baby." He takes a swig of his coffee. His voice lowers. "I think we can break that record tonight."

"Maddox…"

Alex clears his throat for the third time. This time, the sound is decidedly pissed. Maddox turns to him, plastering a concerned look on his face. "Isla's right, man. You should definitely see a doctor. You don't sound too good." He gives my ex a quick once-over. "You don't look too good, either."

"Isla," Alex says, barely ignoring Maddox's jab. "Can we go somewhere and talk? I've been thinking a lot lately about how things ended between us, and it would be good to talk things through. We were always so good together. I hate that I may have hurt you."

May have? May have? I want to throw my piping hot latte in his face. I want to punch him. I want Maddox to punch him. A million things I'd love to scream race through my head. But I remain outwardly calm, Maddox's heat grounding me and tethering me. Alex wants an emotional reaction. He thrives off them. His favorite game to play was pushing me and pushing me until I'd blow up, and then he'd press a hand to his chest as though my reaction came out of nowhere, then imply I was crazy or overly emotional.

I won't give him that power over me again.

"Pass," I say, sounding bored. I even fake a yawn while mentally high-fiving myself. Because Alex does not like that reaction.

"Pass? What do you mean, pass? You spent months trying to get me to meet with you. You left me messages begging me to take you back, crying and pleading and promising you'd work harder to be the woman I needed. Now you don't want to talk?"

My spine straightens, embarrassment flooding me. I don't want Maddox to think I'm pathetic. I mean, I think I'm pathetic when I really let myself dissect the things that happened after Alex left me. It wasn't my finest moment. But I was blindsided and embarrassed. Alex left me to tell everyone the wedding was off a mere two weeks before it was scheduled to happen. But Maddox simply holds me tighter and presses a kiss to my temple. It's a silent promise that he's here with me and in my corner.

I take a steadying breath and roll my eyes. "God, no. The only thing I have to say is thank you."

"Thank you?" Alex stumbles over the words, his brow rising in disbelief.

"Mm hm. You totally saved me from being miserable and sexually frustrated for the rest of my life. Honestly, I'm not sure how long I could have kept lying to you about how big your dick is. I mean, you asked almost every. Single. Time. We screwed." I pitch my voice low in a horrible impression of my ex. " It's so big, isn't it, honey? You can barely handle all of this, can't you? "

Maddox nearly spits out his coffee but manages to hold it in at the last minute. He coughs a few times and pounds his chest. Alex, though? He's less amused.

"Classy as always, I see," he says, standing stiffly. His shoulders nearly touch his ears, and his hands flex at his sides. "And here I was going to give you another chance. Maybe I still would, if you come to your senses. This isn't you, Isla. I could make you something. Make you into someone ."

That has Maddox pushing out of his chair. He's got a good six inches on Alex, at least, and some of the color leaches out of Alex's skin. "I'm only going to say this once, Leslie, so listen up." Alex opens his mouth to object to the name, but Maddox silences him with a look. "You can't make Isla into something or someone great because she's already done that herself. She's bold and intelligent and beloved by hundreds of students and teachers alike at her school. She's got my whole damned team wrapped around her finger." Maddox's hand strokes down the back of my head before tangling in my hair at the nape of my neck. "She's got me wrapped around her little finger. The only thing you could ever make her is miserable. Now I suggest you get the hell out of here."

Alex scoffs. "I'm not afraid of you. You're nothing more than a Neanderthal who carries around a big stick."

Maddox chuckles at that. "Maybe, maybe not. That doesn't change the fact that I regularly crush men twice your size on the ice. Buh-bye now. "

Furious blue eyes swing my way. "Are you serious right now, Isla? You're choosing this guy over me?"

I tug on Maddox's hand, coaxing him to sit down beside me once again. Too many people are looking our way as he and Alex square off, and I don't want this to become an issue for either of us. "Honestly, Alex? It's not even a choice. Have the day you deserve."

Mouth opening and closing, Alex resembles a fish out of water as he struggles to find something to say. When nothing comes and he notices the curious looks being lobbed his way, he turns on his heel and storms out of That's Doppio without another word.

My shoulders sag when he's gone, and Maddox tugs me in for a tight hug.

"You okay, Short-Stack?"

My hands shake and my voice wavers now that the confrontation is over, but I can answer him honestly when I say, "Yeah. I'm good. Listen, I'm sorry I never told you I was engaged, I just…"

"Hey. Nope. You don't owe me anything, okay? You can tell me about it when you're ready." Maddox feathers his thumb over my jaw, studying me. When he's confident that I'm truly okay, he nods to himself. "How about a brownie? My badass girlfriend totally deserves chocolate after that."

I laugh, some of the tension draining out of me. He gets me. He really gets me. "A brownie sounds amazing. But only if you share it with me."

"Anything for you, baby."

I'm watching Maddox's tight ass as he strides up to the counter to order when an older woman leans toward me from the next table over.

"I wasn't trying to eavesdrop," she says apologetically, " but I couldn't help overhearing some of that." Her soft eyes glance Maddox's way before she looks back at me. "You've got yourself a keeper there, dear. Hang on to that one."

She mirrors the smile that overtakes my face when I say, "Don't worry. I will."

Any man who will stick up for you to your ex, then feed you chocolate without having to be asked, is a keeper for sure.