Axel took her hand and they left the Barn together. Her heart felt light. The past couple of days had weighed heavily on her. She was thrilled they didn't have to stay a secret. The thought of lying to their friends left a sour taste in her mouth.

  They climbed into Axel's loaner SUV, and he held her hand as he drove. "So I'm hoping you'll spend the night at my place. I'll swing by your place, and you can pack a few things. How does that sound?"

  She smiled. "I mean, your place is quiet. What will I do without my neighbor's loud music blasting through the floor?"

  He laughed. "I'll keep you busy."

  Her brows rose as she stared at him. He had the sexiest grin on his face, and she wanted nothing more than to spend the night at his place.

  He pulled in front of her apartment building, and they ascended the stairs together. The ever-present music wasn't on.

  Axel whispered, "Do you hear anything?"

  "I don't. That's unusual."

  Unlocking her door, she opened it and stepped inside, Axel behind her. She went straight to the bedroom and began pulling clothes from her dresser. Axel lay across her bed, his head propped in his hand, watching her. "You could pack for a few nights. I won't mind."

  She chuckled. "Next thing you'll say is that we should live together."

  She pulled her suitcase from the closet and laid it in front of Axel. She opened it up and began laying her clothes inside. After a few minutes, she looked at Axel, who had gone quiet. She saw his eyes watching her.

  She froze. "What?"

  "Yes."

  She folded her jeans and set them in the suitcase. "Yes, what?"

  "Move in with me. You can't sleep in this loud place. We can create music, make love, and spend time together. It's perfect. We've waited for so long, why wait any longer to take the plunge?"

  "Take the plunge?" she laughed. "That sounds like going swimming. Not moving in together."

  Suddenly, the music downstairs turned on, and the volume was ridiculous. How could she even hear herself think down there?

  Axel's lips turned up in a huge smile. "It's like she's in agreement with me."

  Maddyn swallowed. "It's too soon. We've known each other for years, but we've only been together for a minute. Shouldn't we slow down?"

  He sat up. "Why?"

  "Because if I give this place up and things don't work out, I'm out in the cold."

  "We live in Florida. It's never cold here."

  She had to laugh at that one. "Then I'm out with the gators."

  "Or, it could work out wonderfully and you never have to hear that God-awful music again."

  She laughed. "Can we compromise? How about we see how a few days go?"

  He shrugged. "I think you're delaying the inevitable."

  "Maybe. Or being smart. Cautious. And maybe a little bit scared."

  He stood and stalked toward her. "Scared of me? Because of earlier in the hotel?"

  She shook her head. "No. Scared of moving too fast."

  He kissed her forehead and nodded. "Okay. We'll give it a few days and see how that goes. Then we'll have this conversation again."

  She could live with that. She could live with it more easily than listening to that music from downstairs, which had now turned into rap. She despised rap music.

  "Speaking of conversations, we need to have one."

  She sat at the foot of her bed. Axel's brows lifted, and his eyes looked wary. "Okay."

  He sat on the side of the bed. She turned to face him.

  "If we're together as a couple. That means to me, there are no other parties in the relationship. Or in your bed."

  One side of his lips hiked up. He nodded. "I agree with that. Is this still about the groupies?"

  She shrugged. "Sort of. I mean, we both know it happened. But now that we're together, tomorrow will be our first gig where you can't partake in what groupies offer. That's different than deciding you don't want to. But mostly, I felt we hadn't had that conversation, and we should, so we're on the same page."

  He chuckled and leaned forward. "Mads, I swear to you I never would have done it if I'd known how much it hurt you."

  "Would it have hurt you if you'd seen me with a groupie?"

  "Fuck yeah. It about killed me when you started dating Dickbag Doug."

  She laughed. The nickname he'd given Doug was hilarious. And he was a dickbag, so it fit. It just made her laugh right now.

  She took a deep breath and blew it out. "I'm sorry about Doug."

  "Dickbag Doug. Come on, you can say it."

  She laughed. "Dickbag Doug."

  Axel laughed. "I love how that sounds coming from you."

  She continued to laugh with him. "How about when I sing it. Dickbag Doug." She sang it.

  He slapped his legs and laughed. "That's great. But I hate that your beautiful voice sings his name. So, you can sing my name, Baby, but not Dickbag's."

  Chills raced down her arms. She loved that he called her Baby. No one she'd dated ever had.

  "Deal." She finally responded.

  The thumping of a deep bass made the walls in her room vibrate enough that her mirror on the wall moved. Axel stood and shook his head. "Let's get the fuck out of here."

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Axel opened the door to his house and let Mads enter before him. He'd been watching his camera on his phone most of the afternoon. He loved that he could see the outside of his place when he wasn't there.

  He carried Mads' suitcase to the bedroom and set it up on the bed. Moving to his dresser, he took the clothes from the second drawer and dumped them in the top drawer.

  She laughed. "They'll get all wrinkled."

  He shrugged. "Mostly those are my workout clothes anyway. I don't care if they get wrinkled. They'll get sweaty as soon as I put them on."

  He watched her eyes as she looked at the empty drawer. "That's for me, I take it."

  "Yes, it is. And, in the closet, there's plenty of room." He moved to the closet and flipped on the light. One of the things he loved about this house was the big closet. "This whole section is for you." He motioned with his hand to the end of the closet where he had nothing hanging.

  "Wow, you have a ton of space here."

  "I know. There's plenty of room for you. You should fill it up."

  She laughed. "Axel. No pressure much!"

  He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "I'm happy. I'm excited. I can't wait to begin our lives together."

  "We have started our lives together."

  "No. We've told the band we're together. We haven't even gone on a real date."

  She laughed, and her arms snaked around his waist. She tilted her head back and looked into his eyes. "Then let's go on a date."

  "Now we're talking. How about we go to the Sandbar tonight? It's not super fancy, but it's here at home, and since we have a big gig tomorrow, we won't have to drive far."

  "I love that idea."

  "Good. Unpack your things. I'll go clean out a bathroom drawer for you and a shelf in the cabinet. Then we'll go out to dinner and be in public together for the first time. Sort of. We were at breakfast, but that was out of town."

  "You're going to get tongues wagging from the gossips in town."

  He kissed her lips. "That's what I'm hoping for. I want everyone to know that Maddyn Nolen is my girl."

  She chuckled. "You're funny."

  He moved to the bathroom and began clearing out a drawer. His phone chimed that movement was outside, and he eagerly looked to see what it was. A person wearing a hoodie ran up to the front door and dropped something off, then turned and ran away. He could see him or her run to a white car and get into the driver's side and speed off. It wasn't the same car as the one speeding by yesterday.

  He finished clearing a drawer, then hurried to the front door to see what had been dropped off.

  A small box lay on the front stoop, a red bow tied around it. He looked around, then brought the box inside. He looked back at the camera footage to see if there was a face showing that he could send to Mitch. They had been careful to conceal their face. Which meant they must know he had cameras.

  He called Mitch.

  "Hey, Axel, how can I help you?"

  "Someone just dropped off a box on the front porch. They got into a white car. A sedan, like a Corolla or something. But they concealed their face. Did you notice anyone lurking about while you were installing cameras today?"

  "Hmm. No, I didn't notice anything suspicious. I also didn't notice a white car. That black car that was speeding up and down your street yesterday went by several times."

  Axel bit his bottom lip. "Okay. Thank you."

  "What's in the box?"

  "I didn't open it yet."

  "Are you concerned about the contents?"

  He swallowed. "I don't know. So far it hasn't been anything more threatening than a rose."

  Mitch responded. "True. If you're worried about it, I can come and take a look at it."

  Axel took a deep breath. "I can open it. I'll let you know if it's concerning. But the way the person concealed their face while approaching tells me they know I now have cameras."

  "It isn't as though I hid while installing them, so it's highly likely they drove by."

  "Okay. I'll let you know what I find."

  He ended the call and pulled the ribbon on the box. Before lifting the lid, he stopped and held it to his ear to see if he heard ticking.

  Mads came down the hall and watched him. She crossed her arms in front of her. "Another package?"

  "Yep."

  She took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. Did you see them on your camera?"

  "Sort of. Whoever it is knows about the cameras. They wore a hoodie and kept their head down."

  He pulled up the video to show her. She watched quietly, then he asked her. "Do you recognize that hoodie? Does Dickbag Doug have one like that?"

  "No, and I don't know. I've never seen it if he has one."

  Axel tucked his phone into his pocket and lifted the top on the box. Inside was a key and a note. The key was not attached to a key ring; it didn't have anything on it to give a clue as to what it opened. The note said, "You've been a bad boy, Axel. If you're going to be bad, come and be bad with me."

  His brows rose as he looked at the handwriting. He didn't recognize it, and he didn't really know what it meant that he'd been bad.

  Mads stood watching from across the room. "Do I want to know?"

  He shrugged and turned the note so she could see it. She inched forward and read it. Her face was unreadable.

  Her eyes looked into his and stared. "Does she mean you've been bad because of me? Someone followed us last night and keyed your car. Someone now knows you have cameras."

  His stomach knotted. She was right, of course. "I don't know, Mads."

  He watched her throat constrict as she swallowed. He didn't know what to say. He stepped toward her and watched her tense up. He set the box on the coffee table and wrapped his arms around Mads. Relief flooded him when her arms wrapped around his waist. He kissed the top of her head, then stepped back.

  "How about on our way out, I drop this off at Mitch's? Let's see what he thinks."

  She nodded. "Okay. That would make me feel better."

  "Good. Let's do that."

  She tucked her hands in the front pockets of her jeans. "I'm ready whenever you are."

  "Let's go show the world we're together."

  She smiled, but it was weak.

  After dropping off the box at Mitch's and giving him the code to also monitor his cameras, Axel drove them to the Sandbar. As they entered the building, Jace Marriott was chatting with customers at the bar. He hurried over to them. "Hey there. It's great to see you here. Table for two?"

  Axel nodded. "Yes, and the most visible spot you have here."

  Jace's brows furrowed, and Mads chuckled. She held up their hands, still laced together. "We're together now and it's new, but we're excited to be seen together. You must remember how that felt the first time you and Margo were public."

  Jace laughed. As if on cue, Margo stepped over to them. "I heard my name."

  Jace took her hand in his. "Axel and Maddyn are together."

  "I can see that." She looked at her husband with her brows furrowed.

  "Margo. Together, as in a couple."

  Margo's eyes rounded. "Oh my God. I'm so sorry." She hugged Maddyn quickly, then him. "Congratulations."

  Mads smiled brightly. "It's new. But the band knows now, so we can be seen in public together."

  Margo nodded. "Then let's get you the spotlight table. Inside or outside?"

  Axel looked down at Mads. She chuckled. "Outside, please."

  They followed Margo to the outdoor seating area and she sat them at the middle table. "Is this public enough?" she teased.

  Axel nodded his head. "It is. Thank you."

  A waitress came and took their drink orders and left menus. He knew what he was going to have. Jace's fajitas were amazing. Mads closed her menu and smiled at him. "Let me guess. You're having the fajitas."

  "You better believe it. And you're having the rib eye."

  "That's right."

  He chuckled. "You know, this morning I watched you put our coffees together and you didn't need to ask me how I liked it. You already knew. But I knew you liked two sugars in yours. We've been together on the road and in the studio for so long, we know everything about each other."

  "You're right. This part of us..." She motioned between them. "This part of us is the only new thing about us. And it feels good. It feels like..." She swallowed and shook her head slowly. "I don't know. I feel so much lighter because the heaviness of not being with you is gone."

  He reached forward and took her hands in his. He stared into her beautiful green eyes. His heart thumped because he knew what they needed to do. He knew it. Like it was determined years ago, and they'd been slow at getting there. Other relationships. Other people. Circumstances, it all got in the way. They'd been passive in trying to follow the rules of the band and not honoring themselves. That made his heart feel heavy. It made him feel like an asshole for not speaking up to Mads sooner. They could have been happy for years together if he had.

  He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat, and his nose tingled as his eyes grew watery. He sniffed lightly. "I'm so sorry for not speaking up sooner, Mads. We should have followed our hearts a long time ago."

  Her smile was soft and genuine and incredibly beautiful. Her eyes watered, and she sniffed. "I guess we're fools. I didn't believe in us enough to say anything to you. I was so afraid to be the one to tear us all apart. So, I guess I owe you an apology, too."

  He shook his head. "You don't owe me anything."

  "How dare you?" a voice called out from behind Mads.

  His eyes searched for the person who so loudly yelled out. Mads turned around to see what was happening. The voice sounded harsher, scarier, deeper when the woman said once more. "How. Fucking. Dare. You."

  She stood from a table she'd been sitting at near the edge of the dining area, nearest the sandy beach. His eyes rounded as Lacey began stalking toward them. Slow and steady, and the anger in her eyes was beyond frightening. It was positively murderous.

  Jace hurried toward Lacey and stood in front of her, barring her from moving toward them. Margo hurried to their table, "How about you two come with me to the office until we can get her out of here."

  He stood quickly and took Maddyn's hand in his as they followed Margo inside. Before he stepped inside, he turned to see Lacey punching Jace's shoulders and yelling, "I'll get you, you whore. You slut."

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Maddyn's heart beat so rapidly that she was dizzy. That was by far the scariest thing she'd ever seen. Margo closed the door behind her and motioned to the sofa on her right. "Please take a seat. I'll come back after we get her out of here. I'm so sorry about this."

  Axel shook his head. "It's not your fault."

  "Please stay here. We'll be back as soon as she's gone."

  Maddyn's knees shook, and her breathing came in spurts. She moved to the sofa and sat with a thud, so afraid she'd fall. Axel came to sit next to her and quickly pulled her into his arms. "I'm so fucking sorry, Mads."

  "She knew we were here."

  "I know."

  She sat as close to him as she could. She needed to feel his comfort. His arms wrapped around her tightly; his head lay on top of hers. She blinked to stop the tears because she felt stupid crying about something like this.

  Sniffing, she lifted her head and found a tissue box on a desk across the room. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, she got up and grabbed the tissue box and brought it back to the sofa. Pulling one from the top, she wiped her nose. Grabbing another tissue, she dabbed at her eyes. "I feel stupid crying."

  "Why? If that's your emotion, that's what you need to do."

  She shook her head and blew out a breath.

  The door opened, and Margo stepped inside again. "I am so sorry that happened. Please accept our apologies."

  Maddyn tried to smile, but she was still a bit rattled. "Please, Margo. We know you had nothing to do with that. Whatever that was."

  Margo nodded. "So, she came in right after you two did. She requested a table outside, so we seated her at our last remaining table for two. She insisted on looking toward you two instead of the beach and water, which is what most people want to look at. The server came in and alerted Jace to the fact that she had asked a lot of questions about the two of you. Were you on a date? Has she ever seen the two of you here alone together before? Personal questions. So, Jace came out to watch for a few minutes. When the two of you stared at each other and held hands, she freaked out. Do you know who she is?"

  Maddyn turned to Axel and waited for him to speak. He said nothing, so she did. "Her name is Lacey, at least that's what she told Axel. It appears she has a crush on him. Someone has been leaving notes in his mailbox and on his front porch, and left a rose on the porch as well. My guess is it's Lacey. She can ferret out information easily, which is scary. She found his house. Someone keyed his car last night, and we were in Leesburg."