Rapture & Ruin (Rapture & Ruin 1)

And oh my god, the royalty thing. Gavin would make my life hell.

“So basically, it’s nothing,” Isabel declared, returning Davis’ phone before pushing my freshly-delivered martini toward me. “Just a fluff piece. It’ll fall into obscurity in no time.”

“But what does it say?” Davis prompted, leaning forward and resting his chin on his palm, intent on getting more info.

“It just comments on what Allie was wearing—totally complimentary, by the way,” she hastened to clarify. “And says how good she and Nikolai look together. It’s total clickbait. News about the British royals is really hot right now, so they’re just trying to drive traffic based on that. Seriously, it’s only speculating that you and Nikolai might be dating. There’s no substance.”

“See, it’s not bad at all.” Charlie laid a comforting hand on my forearm. “You looked gorgeous in that gown. The photographer saw you sparkling and wanted to get a good shot. I know you don’t like the attention, but it’s a nice article.”

“But I’m not dating Niko,” I protested, running a hand through my hair. “And I look so stupid in that picture, ugh.”

“Honey, it sounds like you are going on a date with him,” Davis said carefully. “Didn’t you just agree to go out with him?”

I groaned and reached for my martini, taking a big gulp. The sudden rush of alcohol burned slightly, but I welcomed the small discomfort. Anything to make this awful moment disappear from my brain forever.

“It’s okay,” Charlie said. “He caught you by surprise. You can cancel the date.”

“But…” Isabel hesitated, eyeing me cautiously. “Are you sure you want to? He’s gorgeous, Allie. You deserve to have some fun. I know your dad basically scared off any guy who dared to approach you for your entire adult life. Why not go out with a handsome billionaire?”

I shook my head. “Because I like someone else.” The words left my mouth before I fully considered them.

“Okay, wait.” Davis held up a hand and glanced at Isabel and Charlie. “Who knew about this?”

My girlfriends shrugged, their full attention fixing on me.

“You like someone?” Isabel leaned toward me, intent on learning every detail. “Who? And why didn’t you tell us?”

My cheeks flamed, and I took another gulp of my martini. How the hell could I tell them about Max?

So, this guy kidnapped me and interrogated me in his basement. Then, he stalked me for a while. He wants to blackmail my dad. I’ve kissed him twice, and I can’t stop thinking about him.

Yeah, that would not go over well. I sounded crazy just thinking it to myself.

Charlie plucked the martini glass from my fingers and pulled it a few inches away from me. “Slow down there. You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to.”

“Yes, she does!” Davis said indignantly. “Spill, Allie.”

Mentally, I pushed aside all the reasons I shouldn’t like Max and focused on why I’d developed such strong feelings for him. If I thought about it, I’d started softening toward him that night he saved me for the first time.

I blew out a sigh. “Okay, don’t freak out, but a few weeks ago I was walking home after our cantina night. I was a little buzzed and didn’t pay enough attention to traffic when I was crossing the street. My ankle turned, and I fell. This man, Max, jumped in front of an oncoming car to pull me out of the road.”

“You almost got hit by a car, and you didn’t tell us?” Isabel’s voice was several octaves higher than usual. “That was almost three weeks ago.”

“Have you been dating this knight in shining armor for three weeks?” Davis demanded. “Why wouldn’t you share this with us? It sounds super romantic.”

Charlie’s brows rose. “You mean, other than the part where our best friend almost got flattened?”

Davis waved her off and focused on me. “So, have you been secretly dating him this whole time?”

“No.” I would have to gloss over the period of time when I’d spent sleepless nights researching his family’s crimes. I also couldn’t tell them about my awful encounter with his cruel sister, because that was too bound up in his vendetta. My friends couldn’t know anything about Max’s insane mission against my dad.

“I met up with him again after the fundraiser.” I skipped the part where he’d threatened Niko. That would be far too difficult to explain away. “We kissed.”

Charlie gasped, Isabel cheered, and Davis gave me a high-five. Sheepishly, I slapped my hand against his.

“But that was just a couple days ago,” Isabel pointed out. “It must have been some kiss if you like him enough to blow off Nikolai. It’s not like he’s your boyfriend, right?”

My stomach flipped at the word. No, Max wasn’t my boyfriend. He was… I didn’t really have a word for the wild, intense connection we shared.