“I’m her boyfriend now, sir. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Felix said, reaching out his hand.

Her dad stared at Felix’s hand, stunned, before shaking it, then turned back to Ella suspiciously as if maybe he were being punked.

“It’s true, Dad.” She laughed. “I just hadn’t told you because I was waiting to”—she gave Felix a quick glance—“to be completely sure.”

“And you are now, right?” Felix asked, slipping his hand in hers.

“Yes.” She smiled, her insides instantly warming because this felt surreal. “Yes, I am.”

Not only was this one of the very first times they’d been out in public like this, as an official couple, but she would’ve never imagined her father finding out this way.

Felix smiled at her then looked up behind her, and that breathtaking smile went flat. Ella didn’t even have to look. She already knew who he was looking at, but she turned anyway. Grayson was looking down right back at Felix as he came down the escalators, and he smirked.

Margie said something to Felix, but Ella had no idea what it was, and she knew Felix hadn’t heard a thing either. Grayson walked straight to them.

“So you want me to meet you at your place?” Grayson asked, completely ignoring the fact Felix was standing there holding her hand.

“No,” Ella said, immediately noticing Felix squeezing her hand.

“No?” Grayson said, exaggerating his surprise. “I thought you’d want me there—”

“Why would she want you at her place?” Felix asked, taking a step closer to Grayson, and took off his sun glasses.

“This is between her and me,” Grayson shot right back.

“The hell it is. And let me tell you something,” Felix said, taking another step forward. His body seemed to swell a couple of sizes bigger somehow, and Ella tugged at his hand. He turned to her and smiled sweetly. “I just wanna talk to him, sweetheart.”

“So talk, tough guy.” Grayson egged him on. “You think you’re gonna stop me from going to her place whenever I want? Just like you stopped me from spending the weekend with her?”

“You’re damn right I’m gonna stop you.” Felix said in a strangely calm voice. “Not even this stunt got you anywhere with her, did it?”

“Is that what she told you?” Grayson smirked. “I don’t know. I thought we had a pretty good time. Last night—”

“Stop it, Grayson.” Ella said, completely annoyed with him now. “Nothing happened and you know it.”

Out of nowhere, Hector and Abel were there. Felix turned to look at them as surprised as her father’s and Margie’s starry-eyed expressions indicated.

“What?” Grayson turned to Abel and Hector then back to Felix. “The big fighter needs his goons to back him up?”

Hector started toward him. “Who the fuck are you calling a goon, asshole?”

Felix grabbed Hector by the shoulder, and Abel pulled him back too then said something to him in a lowered voice about how he was only making things worse.

Grayson laughed and started walking away, but Felix went after him. “I’m not done talking to you.”

People around them were already taking pictures with their cameras, and the crowd watching the exchange was getting bigger. Ella even heard people around them already saying their names excitedly. “It’s Aweless Ayala and Sanchez!”

Hector and Abel were right there next to Felix. Grayson stopped and waited for Felix as he turned to Abel and Hector and lifted his hands then laughed. “Relax! I’m just gonna talk to him.”

He may’ve laughed, which Ella already thought was strange, but then she saw how fast his face turned to stone the second he turned back to Grayson. “This is the last stunt you’ll be pulling. You hear me?” Grayson’s face soured then he laughed, shaking his head. “She’s with me now,” Felix continued, his calm impressing Ella, but at the same time, it made her nervous.

It felt like the calm before the storm. Grayson was being an idiot, and she could see it in Felix’s body language. He looked ready to pounce if Grayson said the wrong thing. And the way Grayson was acting she was terrified he just might.

“Is that a threat, lover boy?”

“Not a threat just a fact,” Felix said, taking a menacing step closer to Grayson, who stood his ground and didn’t move back. “I’m her boyfriend now. Deal with it.”

Abel touched Felix’s arm when he got dangerously close to Grayson. Ella, whose heart was going a mile a minute now, couldn’t have been more grateful to have his two friends there.

Felix turned to Abel, his smile less convincing now. “We’re just talking. That’s all.” He turned to Grayson. “Right? We can talk this out calmly like adults. It’s all I want.”

“How ’bout you deal with this,” Grayson said right back in Felix’s face. “It’s not over between Ella and me until I say it’s over. All right? Keep flashing your fame and fortune at her like you do with all the girls you date. It’s all you have. She may’ve fallen for your well-rehearsed lines temporarily, but as soon as she gets a taste of the reality of being with someone like you, she’ll come to her senses. You’ll see. She’s not like all those soulless models and actresses you’re so used to doing this to, asshole.”

“No, she’s not,” Felix agreed with him calmly, but Ella could see it was a struggle now to remain that calm. “She’s a smart girl, and she knows what she’s doing, and you know this.”