The air felt heavy with anticipation, as if everyone was waiting for something to tip the balance.
“She’s about to snap,” Spencer said from beside me, sipping his beer. “It’s gonna be epic and most likely horrifying. Lucy is worried, but she won’t say why. It’s personal business. Probably about her shithead ex.”
“She’ll be fine,” I said, but I didn’t take my eyes off her. No matter what happened, I would make sure she came out of it as unscathed as possible. I would throw myself in front of a train for her if it would spare her any pain.
“She’s got the same look my ex used to get before she cussed out the vacuum cleaner,” Tucker observed. “Stressed the hell out.”
He had a point. She was on edge tonight.
At the bar, her sisters were pretending it was “Sister Night.” But anyone could see they were watching her like hawks. Protective. Waiting. Ready to pounce if needed.
Paige waved to one of the servers at the tap and hollered, “Table six needs another round and a reminder that flirting doesn’t get them a discount.”
She snorted. “Already handled it.”
Then the door opened, Eli walked in, and Paige froze in her tracks.
He had that same too-clean, too-confident vibe he always did. Button-down crisp, hair freshly trimmed, and wearing a smile like he’d practiced it on the way over.
Eli swaggered to the bar like he owned the place—like he still had any right to be near her. I felt a hot spike of disgust before I even heard him speak. “Paige,” he said. “Hey. Got a minute?”
Her indifference hit him harder than any insult. “No”. Not a “maybe later,” not a “go away”—just a flat, cold no.
I saw her hands clench tight around that bar rag, like she was trying not to shatter right there in front of everyone. I wanted to reach out and tear Eli’s smug grin off his face.
The room held its breath. Piper’s sharp look at Paige was almost like a warning. Or maybe a shield. I wasn’t sure what Eli thought. Maybe he still thought he had some claim to her. God, how wrong he was.
Paige’s voice barely broke the silence: “What do you want, Eli?”
I felt my jaw tighten. That name on her lips was bitter and broken. Eli shifted uncomfortably, looking at the floor like the arrogance was slipping away. Good. He deserved to feel small.
“Can we talk? Just for a second.”
Her jaw clenched harder. She was steel, but I could see the wear beneath the surface, the way she was holding herself together just enough not to fall apart.
“Make it fast,” she said, voice brittle as cracked glass.
Eli hesitated. And that hesitation was all Piper needed to stand. The atmosphere thickened, and I knew every sister there was ready to defend Paige, while I was ready to end him. Fury radiated through me like a god damn furnace. I ground my teeth together, trying to cool off. I knew she could handle herself, and I had to let her do it.
Paige didn’t flinch, but I could see the storm in her eyes, that wild flash of fear and fury barely contained. Piper shifted closer, shoulders squared, letting Eli know—without words—that his time was running out. The whole bar felt it, the way loyalty can turn sharp and dangerous in an instant.
Eli opened his mouth to say something, but Paige didn’t give him the chance. She tossed her towel on the bar and turned sharply.
“Not here.”
Every step she took toward the kitchen was deliberate. I could feel the tension rippling off her, daring him to follow, daring him to try.
He lingered a moment, maybe weighing his chances, but then hurried after her. I wanted to yell at him to stay away, that he didn’t deserve her, never had, never would.
As they disappeared through the kitchen door, the room exhaled, and Piper gave the nod. Sisters rising, ready for whatever storm Eli thought he could bring.
I stayed rooted to the spot, fury simmering under my skin. Because he’d broken her heart once, and if he thought he could do it again without consequence, he was dead wrong.
“It’ll only take a second.” Eli tossed over his shoulder. But they didn’t care what he had to say; they followed anyway.
“Dude is definitely not scared enough.” Deacon shook his head. “I never liked that prick.”
Spencer stood. “Back door?”
