Page 82 of Defying Ella
Jared grinned, hearing the relief I didn’t mean to voice. He leaned against the doorway, staring at me with naked hope.
“So what do you say, Els? Will you be my valentine?”
“It’s Valentine’s Day?” My eyes widened. How had I missed that?
Jared chuckled. “Last time I checked.”
Alright, smart arse.
Ifollowed Jared into the dimly lit bar. With the lights down and a group of guys on the stage doing their best to captivate their audience, no one seemed to pay Jared any mind.
Even so, the moment we stepped into view of the VIP section, a brawny guy with a shaved head emerged from the shadows. He attempted to blend in with the crowd, wearing jeans and a Rhiannon t-shirt, but light glittered off his earpiece, giving him away.
Jared tipped his chin to him, confirming my suspicions that he was one of the bodyguards. Some of the tension eased inside of me at the physical confirmation that Jared had told me the truth.
We reached the steps and Jared paused. He turned, catching my hand and weaving our fingers together.
I stared at that connection while my expression failed to hide my surprise.
There were a lot of people around, including all of my friends, my sister and his bandmates. As far as I could tell, they hadn’t noticed us yet, lost in the act or conversation, but they would.
Our relationship had mostly been hidden behind closed doors which made this sudden shift feel all the more intentional.
I studied him, assessing him for the slightest hesitation and finding none. With a gentle squeeze and a soft smile, he led me up to the VIP area and past the velvet rope thathadn’t been a feature of Axel’s before I left for Latin America.
“Oi, make room,” Jared shouted at the guys.
Circular leather booths filled the back wall of Axel’s. Our friends filled one and I guessed the others contained other bands, set to play. They all certainly looked the musician types with their styled hair, loose t-shirts and jeans.
Although, truth be told, I couldn’t care less who they were or what they wore. Not when all of their heads turned towards us.
Our friends expressions ran the gauntlet of emotion: from shock to relief to satisfaction. My sister slumped back in her seat, a prematurely grateful smile claiming her face.
“About bloody time,” Dan shouted before downing his pint. “We need another round to celebrate. Red wine, Els?”
I nodded, momentarily stunned. He climbed out of the booth and vanished before I could tell him to cool his jets. Everyone else’s eyes drifted to our twined hands and it hit me how massive a statement such a small action made when combined with Mr. Loves and Leaves.
James and Ryan blinked at him, their jaws hanging slack.
Clearly, no one thought Jared would pull it together.
If that’s what he’s actually doing.
I side-eyed him, searching for hints that this meant as much as we all hoped it did.
Everyone shuffled down and Jared urged me forward. I took a seat next to Nia while Jared pressed in next to me, never letting go of my hand. Nia widened her eyes at me, brimming with questions I couldn’t answer.
She pursed her lips when I shrugged a shoulder and went back to her drink. All of the girls stared at me with curiosity. I wasn’t naive enough to think I’d escape questioning by any of them. They’d get me alone somehow and dig for as much info as they could. Hopefully, by then I’d have more than vague hope to give them.
“Is this okay?” Jared asked, releasing my hand and threading his arm behind me along the seat.
The heat of his body engulfed me, caging me in and making me feel safe with very little effort. His thigh pressed firmly to mine while his fingers smoothed up and down my bare arm.
“Is what okay?”The fact you staking a very public claim on me in front of everyone and we still haven’t discussed it?
“My arm being like this.” He tapped my bicep. He leaned towards me, until his nose almost brushed mine. “I can move if you want me to.”
I shook my head. “I’m good.”
