A pimple-faced employee, who couldn’t have been older than twenty-one, approached. He looked anxious, but his badge read Manager, and Harper had to admire his courage. Although she could tell he didn’t want to get involved, he didn’t back away from the conflict.

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask both of you to leave,” he said. “There’s no fighting in here.”

Tobias’s gaze shifted from Axel to the younger man and back again. Then he grabbed his wallet off the table. “Let them stay,” he said. “We’ll go.”

Maddox frowned at the burger he’d have to leave behind but got up to support his brother. “You know what?” he said to Axel.

Axel turned to look at him, but Tobias murmured something Harper couldn’t hear and Maddox didn’t finish. Then she heard Tobias say more loudly, “Let’s go.”

Harper wanted to follow them out and apologize for Axel’s behavior. They’d done nothing wrong; they’d just come in to eat. But her girls were watching, completely confused, and she knew if she went after Tobias, it might provoke Axel into acting even worse. She couldn’t take that risk.

“Are you happy now?” she muttered to her ex as she gestured toward Tobias’s and Maddox’s uneaten burgers.

“I’ll be happy if he stays away from you.” Axel glanced at everyone who was watching them. “Put your cell phones away,” he said.

Harper thought he was going to leave it at that, but while they were still waiting for their food, he mentioned something about how bad it would look if anyone offered the footage they’d captured to the media—in an accusatory way, as if what’d happened was her fault. Then he got up and offered to sign autographs for anyone who’d delete what they’d captured.

Harper sat with the girls as word spread through the restaurant that Axel Devlin was there and more and more people gathered to see him, talk to him, have him sign a napkin—or even an article of clothing.

She and Everly and Piper were finished with their meals and Axel’s food was cold by the time he was able to return to the table.

“Do you think you got everyone?” Harper asked as he sat down.

“I guess we’ll find out.”

She could tell his mood hadn’t improved. “You realize that whole thing was unnecessary,” she said. “You could have just ignored Tobias and his brother. They wouldn’t have said anything to us.”

He sent her a sharp look. “Don’t start. You’re the one who caused this whole thing, not me.”

25