Page 101

“Because of me,” I whisper raggedly. Oh god, this hurts. I thought that maybe saying it out loud would lessen the pressure in my chest, but it only feels worse. If I close my eyes, I can still see the cards in my father’s shaking hands, hear the rasp in his voice as he begged me to count them. The stink of whiskey on his breath, the desperation in his eyes.

All these years of carrying my failure around like a stone in my stomach. All those nights lying awake, picturing their faces if they ever found out. Hudson’s fury. Autumn’s disappointment. The combined disgust of my other brothers.

Their sister. Their sweet, innocent sister. The reason we lost the home we loved. The reason Hudson has worked himself raw for years, breaking his back to make enough money to buy it all back.

Before I can say anything else, the tears start to spill, hot and furious down my cheeks. West murmurs something I can’t hear, then turns me around so we’re facing each other, me still on his lap.

His thumbs wipe my damp cheeks as he looks me deep in the eye.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. You were fourteen years old. You didn’t lose anything. You didn’t gamble. You didn’t drink. You didn’t put your kid on the line to fix your mistakes. That washim. Not you. Don’t you dare carry his sins like they’re your own.”

“He asked me to help him save it,” I whisper, the guilt cutting through me like a knife. “He begged me to do it. To count the cards for him. He said if I didn’t, he’d lose everything.” I swallowhard. “But I refused. I guess I wanted to teach him that cheating didn’t pay. And then he lost.” And it was all because of me.

“And you’ve carried this guilt with you ever since?”

I nod. “One of the reasons it’s so much easier to stay away than face them.”

He kisses me softly. Almost reverently. “You need to talk to them. To Hudson and the others.”

My stomach contracts. “I can’t.”

Cupping my face with his palms, he looks me in the eye. “You’re the strongest woman I know. You can do this. We can. Together.”

The way he says it, with such certainty, makes me want to believe him. Even though my stomach is tied in knots.

“Won’t that be an even bigger shock for them?” I ask. “The two of us together?”

He tips his head to the side. “Yeah, well I’ve been thinking about that too.”

“You have?”

“We need to stop hiding. Hudson, Asher, Autumn, all of them. I want them to know you’re mine.”

“But you punished me for telling Autumn,” I remind him, arching a brow.

His grin is quick, wicked. “And you survived. But I hate the lying, Eden. Let’s come clean.”

“Even if it means losing your best friend?”

The muscle in his jaw ticks, a tiny crack in his control, but he doesn’t look away. “That’s not going to happen. Yes, he’ll be pissed at me but he’ll get over it once he knows I’m serious about us.” His hand slides down my thigh, firm and possessive. Then his tone shifts, low and deliberate. “But first… let’s get away for a couple of days.”

I blink. “What?”

He hesitates, his thumb rubbing slow circles against my hip like he’s working up to something big. “There’s a party in the Hamptons this weekend,” he says at last. “I wasn’t going to go, but it’s the perfect excuse for us to leave the island. We’ll go together, be seen together. Practice being a couple. No more hiding. Then when we come home, we tell your family.”

“Whose party is it?” I ask. The question comes out more wary than curious. Because if it’s one of his L.A. friends, I know I’ll be out of my depth.

“A producer I know.”

“Who?” I say again.

And when he tells me the name my eyes widen. “Hasn’t he won like five Oscars?”

“Yeah, and he’ll likely let you know it. Anyway, he’s also intensely private. This party is in his mansion in the Hamptons.”

He says it like it’s no big deal. Like taking me to a mansion in the Hamptons full of Hollywood royalty is the same as grabbing dinner in town. But my stomach knots, because no matter how private he says it will be, stepping into his world feels like stepping onto a stage. And I’m not sure I’m ready for the spotlight.

But before I can start to ask him even more questions, there’s a rumble of an engine outside, followed by the slam of a car door.