Tuesday (Timeless Series #2) by E. L. Todd

that Axel hated. Then they would break up.
    God, I’m such an asshole.
    “Actually, I do.” He shrugged. “It caught me by surprise.”
    Dammit.
    “He’s not uptight and serious. He jokes around a lot, particularly with Frankie. He doesn’t let her get away with anything, and he calls her out on her shit. And he didn’t seem threatened by me at all. It’s like he couldn’t care less about my opinion.”
    “Isn’t that a bad thing?”
    “No. I like a guy that doesn’t care what anyone thinks. Less drama that way.”
    This was getting worse.
    “And he’s really successful and good-looking. I’m not going to complain when I know there are so many worse choices out there.” He watched the TV in the corner of the bar.
    I felt dead inside. I stared at the surface of the table and ran my fingers through my hair.
    Axel turned back to me. “You okay, man?”
    “Yeah, I’m fine.” I didn’t sound convincing whatsoever.
    Axel continued to eye me. “I thought you were okay with Frankie? Whenever you guys are together, it’s like you’re friends again.”
    No, we just have a connection again . “I just have a headache.”
    Axel wasn’t buying it. “Do you still have a thing for her?”
    I’d always have a thing for her . “No.”
    He leaned back against the booth and didn’t touch his beer again. His eyes were on me, cold and calculating. “Dude, I asked if you were okay with this and you said you were.”
    “I am okay with it,” I snapped. “Can we talk about something else? Like sports? Music? Anything?”
    He shook his head slightly. “What do you want me to do? I can’t ask you to step down from being the best man.”
    This was getting out of hand. “Axel, I don’t have a thing for Francesca. I’m totally and completely over her. I admit it’s weird knowing she has a boyfriend but that’s natural. It’s always going to be weird when your ex is in a new relationship.” I held his gaze and hoped he would believe my bogus story.
    Axel finally drank his beer again, which told me he wasn’t skilled at reading people. “Okay. I’m glad I was wrong. It took me a long time to understand you two were never getting back together. I remember the way you used to be together. It just seemed like…”
    We were forever. “Relationships come and go and the world keeps turning.” I took a long drink of my beer in the hope it would wash the depression away.
    “Why did you break up to begin with?”
    Did we really need to take a trip down memory lane? “It was a long time ago…”
    “But you never really told me why.” Axel didn’t know anything about my childhood, or the fact I had an uncontrollable temper that could lead to unforgiveable acts. He didn’t understand I was a monster—and I would hurt Francesca.
    “It just didn’t work out.” I watched the TV just so I wouldn’t have to look at him. I wanted to leave and find somewhere to lick my wounds. Painful blows had been inflicted on my heart, and now it didn’t beat the same.
    It would never beat the same.
    ***
    I needed to suck it up.
    I was the one who left. She was on her knees in front of my door, but I still turned around and took off. She said we were soul mates, and I agreed with that statement.
    But I still walked out on her.
    There were times I wanted to beg her to take me back. There were times when I wanted to call her just to hear her voice. But then I remembered what I’d done to her in that bar all those years ago. I grabbed her by the arm and threw her across the floor. At the time, I thought I was grabbing Axel.
    But that didn’t change anything.
    The hatred burned deep inside me, and that feeling led to anger and despair. I would always be a shadow of a man. I would always be dangerous. No matter what I did or what promises I made to myself, I would never be good enough for her.
    This was how it had to be.
    It didn’t matter how much I loved her or what we had. It was gone anyway, buried deep in the past. Despite my