Page 84 of Fake Dating Daxton Hawk
My breath feels like it’s trapped in my throat. My skin itches and I’m hot. Too hot.
Daxton is… Steel?
It takes me a long moment to connect all the dots, but when I do, everything makes perfect sense. The whole reason Steel joined Secret Santa was because his fiancée cheated on him with his brother and Steel wanted a stranger to talk to about it.That’swhy Daxton never told me about Felicity, not because he couldn’t be honest about his family, but because he knew I would realize he is Steel.
My God. What the actual fuck. This can’t be happening. My heart is hammering and I feel like I’m about to pass out. The wedding band suddenly sounds too loud. There are too many people around me and I can’t breathe. What does Daxton get out of all of this by lying to me? He’s been lyingallthis time. Making me fall in love with him. Tricking me. And for what?
“Darling, are you all right? You look very pale.”
I fake a smile, just like all the other ones I’ve been faking today. “Ah… yeah. I think I ate something that doesn’t agree with me. I’m feeling a little queasy. I’m going to get some fresh air and go for a walk.”
ChapterForty-Three
Daxton
An hour and a half later, when the sun is setting and I’ve had no luck finding Jordan, I return to the restaurant. Amabella catches my attention, standing alone at a far wall with panic all over her face as she scans the room. Shit. I don’t even need to ask her what’s wrong. She’s lost track of Jordan.
“Amabella.” Her eyes whip to the sound of my voice and she rushes in my direction.
“Dax, I’m so sorry. Jordan was with me one moment and then… I’m sorry.”
I rub a hand over my jaw, swearing. “It’s okay. None of this is your fault. I just need to find Jordan. When did you last see her?”
“I don’t know. Half an hour ago. Possibly longer. Have you checked your room? Maybe she’s resting.”
I did search our cottage, but that could have been before Jordan went there. “Thanks. I’ve got to go.”
I exit the restaurant and pace through the vineyard back to the cottage. With each step, my pulse races at the thought of what will take place when I find Jordan. Nothing good, that’s for sure. I just hope Mom is right, that Jordan will somehow forgive me, even though I know I don’t deserve it.
As I get closer to the cottage, my nerves grow a million times worse when I see Jordan through a window. Forcing myself forward, I enter the front door, finding her doing something by the closet, but what, I can’t tell since her back is to me. I long to hold Jordan one last time before the truth comes out and changes everything. I want one more kiss. One more smile. But I can’t allow any more distractions.
“Jordan.” My voice is so lifeless I don’t even recognize it. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
She jolts when hearing my voice but doesn’t turn to face me. Instead, she grabs a bundle of clothes from the closet and carries them across to the bed where she drops them inside her empty suitcase.
The next thing I know, she darts into the bathroom, re-emerging with her toiletries and tosses them into the suitcase too.
“Jordan, are you all right?” I step behind her, placing gentle hands on her shoulders.
She shoves my hands off her and closes the suitcase. “Don’tfuckingtouch me.”
From the aggression in her voice, I instantly know she’s discovered the truth. I’m not sure how she found out but that’s beside the point. I fucked up, and my fists are shaking with the weight of the truth surfacing like this.
She zips up the suitcase and lowers it to the floor, then raises the handle and wheels her luggage to the front door.
“You’re leaving? Jordan, look at me.” I grab her hand and turn her to face me, which earns me a harsh shove in the chest.
“I told you to get your fucking hands off me, Daxton. Or should I call you Steel? That’s your real name, isn’t it?”
“Jordan… I can explain.”
“How can you possibly justify deceiving me? What the fuck are you playing at?”
“Baby, please believe me—”
“Don’t call me that!”
I step back from Jordan. Her voice is vicious, like nothing I’ve ever heard. All I know is I have to explain everything, and I have to do it fast before she disappears. “I’m sorry. My legal name is Steel West but I haven’t used that name since I was eighteen. I didn’t know who you were when we first met at Club Noir. I didn’t realize until you were living with me. The fire in your apartment made me question whether you were Jordan. When you told me your real name I panicked because you as Delphine hated me—”
