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She shakes her head, holding her wrist closer to her chest. She has to be in pain, but she’s holding it in well. “We’re done. There’s nothing left to talk about.”

“There is,” he appeals emphatically. “Forget this guy. He’s nothing. Can we go somewhere and talk? Please.”

“No. No, you can’t,” I state plainly, beyond cross he called me nothing when I’ve been called that more times than I care to think about.

He grits his teeth at me and advances on her, but she holds her good hand out to stop him. “I don’t want you to touch me.”

“Don’t do that. Don’t push me away.” He puffs out a breath, white vapor pluming into the air as he holds out his hand for her. “Just come over to my place. I have things I need to tell you. Important things. For us.”

“She’s not your girlfriend anymore, mate. She’s mine, and you need to take a breath and step back.”

“You should mind your own business,” Alden snaps, fury staining his face despite the cold. “No way is she with you. It’s only been a week since we broke up, and she loves me. She told me so.”

An unexpected stinger fires through me at hearing that, but I quickly brush it aside.

“Yes, but that was last week, and this is now. Besides, the weather isn’t the best, and I’d like to get her home.” I don’t mention that Keegan fell and got hurt. That’ll glue him to her.

“How about you fuck off?”

“If that’s a question, the answer is no. Should I reverse it on you and change it to a statement?”

He goes for Keegan again, and I step between them. “Don’t even try it. She asked you not to touch her, and you need to respect that.” I hug her against me, and he steps back, more than frustrated with my constant interception. He looks like he wants to hit me, and I give him a hard look. One he doesn’t mistake. I may live in the land of Hollywood now, but I’m a street kid from the dodgy end of London, and if he presses me, he’ll regret it.

Alden’s jaw locks so tight I’m shocked he’s not cracking a molar. “I’m not going to hurt her. I just want to talk to my girlfriend. What kind of man do you think I am?”

“One who’s yelling at hisex-girlfriend on the street.”

“This isn’t yelling—” he yells.

“Hey,” Keegan interjects before this gets even more out of control. “Both of you quit it. Alden, I’m sorry, but this isn’t the time or place to discuss anything. Plus, I’m with… him now. So good night. Bye. Go.”

I nearly smirk at that but hold it in.

Alden opens his mouth to say something but quickly shuts it, and without another word, storms off into the frozen night.

I blow out a breath. “Well, that was interesting.”

Keegan turns on me, her eyebrows at her hairline. “My boyfriend?”

I chuckle. “Might not have been the cleverest thing I’ve ever done.”

“Ya think?” She laughs. “What on earth made you do that?”

Because the thought of him trying to worm his way back in sat like curdled milk in my gut and I reacted. But I can’t say that, so I go with…

“I didn’t mean to step in like that, or call you my girlfriend, for that matter, but I didn’t like the way he was speaking to you.” Or him in general. I didn’t like him. “The way you spoke about him made me think he hurt you, and I didn’t want him to do it again.”

“You didn’t have to do that. I can take care of myself.”

“I know that. But I got protective.”

Silence falls between us as my eyes rove over her face. I don’t know why I just said that other than my mouth has a mind of its own tonight.

“Are you cross with me? Should I have let him talk to you?”

She sighs. “I’m not mad, and I’m not ready to talk to him, so it’s fine. Except now that he thinks I have a new boyfriend, I fear he’ll be more motivated to seek me out.”

I grimace. “He might do, yeah. I’m sorry.”