“He’d better stay the fuck away from you in the future. That’s all I’ve got to say.”

“Axel!” Harper cried. “Please stop. There’s no need to swear or cause a scene. Tobias and Maddox will just…eat, and we’ll eat. It’s no big deal.”

“So you’re done with him?” Axel said, shifting his attention to her.

That wasn’t really a question. He was telling her she was done with Tobias. “I—I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

She looked at the girls. This wasn’t a talk she wanted to have in their presence. “I care about him.”

“You care about him? Why? What’s he got that I don’t?”

“Hardly anyone has what you have. It isn’t about that. I like the way he treats me. That’s all.”

“Yeah, I heard just how much when you pocket-dialed me.”

Harper’s stomach, which had knotted when she saw Tobias, began to hurt even more. “Axel…”

Suddenly, he got up, shoved the table so hard it nearly touched their girls on the other side of the booth and stalked over to where Tobias and Maddox were sitting.

Harper could feel her heart pounding in her ears when she saw Tobias use a subtle hand motion to tell his brother to remain seated.

“Don’t you ever come near my wife again. Do you understand?” Axel said.

Tobias glanced over at her before responding. “Why don’t you go back to your family?” he said. “You’re clearly embarrassing them.”

Axel stepped even closer. “Don’t tell me what to do!”

Tobias lowered his voice. “You’re not helping the situation. You’re just drawing attention. You need to calm down.”

“What are you doing here, anyway?” he demanded. “Are you following us?”

With a scowl, Tobias indicated his plate. “Clearly not. We got here before you.”

“Stay where you are,” Harper told the girls and scrambled out of the booth herself. She had to act before this exploded into something worse than it already was. There were people several booths down who were beginning to realize that Axel Devlin was in the restaurant and were pulling out their phones to take videos.

“Axel, stop.” She grabbed his arm. “Please. You don’t want this on the front page of the tabloids, do you? Come on, you’re acting ridiculous.”

“Stay out of it,” he told her and shook her off so hard she nearly lost her balance.

Tobias immediately reached out to steady her. “Watch yourself,” he said to Axel, the tone of his voice a clear warning.

Axel’s eyes flared wide. “Oh, yeah? Or what are you gonna do?”

“Whatever I have to. But I’m giving you this one, because you’re not thinking clearly. Now go back to your seat.”