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But I can see her. The way her lips press together, calm and sure. The way her eyes stay locked on him, not the cards, like she’s been waiting for this exact moment.

My chest aches. Christ, I love her. She’s fire and steel and the one good thing I’ll never deserve. And here she is, carrying the weight of my sins on her shoulders.

If she loses, it’ll destroy her. Not because of the resort, or Marchetti. But because it’ll feel like her father all over again. And I swear to God, I won’t let that happen. I’ll burn everything down before I let her get hurt again.

Her eyes meet mine for the briefest of moments. I try to hold her gaze, to show her that I’d break every rule that was ever made for her.

And then Vin slaps his hand down, turning to meet my eyes with a victory gaze. I feel like I’m about to throw up. Two of clubs and eight of hearts.

“Jesus,” Hudson mutters. Because it’s done. Along with the two queens he has a hell of a win. A hand like that doesn’t happen often. And not much can beat it.

But Eden doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t blink. She lays down her cards with steady fingers. A Queen of spades followed by the nine of diamonds. “Full house beats two pairs,” she says softly, her voice cutting through the air like a blade

For a heartbeat, silence reigns. Vin’s smirk freezes on his face, his thick, ring-adorned hand resting on the pile like he can will the win.

A laugh of disbelief escapes from Hudson’s mouth. Bennett’s shoulders sag in relief. And when Asher turns around, I see his eyes are wet. The bastard is actually crying.

But me? My heart feels like it’s about to explode. Love. Pride. Fear. Relief. It all surges at once, until I don’t know whether to fall to my knees or drag her into my arms and never let go.

I can see the tremor in her body now, the exhaustion in her eyes. She looks straight at Vin. “Get out of my house and leave my family alone.” She stands up, lifting her brow. She’s exhausted but ready to keep on fighting if she has to.

He glares, but something in her tone makes him obey. He scowls at Bennett, then storms past the bodyguards.

I take a step toward her, ready to tell her everything. How proud I am, how much I love her, how I’ll spend the rest of my life proving she belongs with me. “Jesus, Eden…”

But instead of walking into my arms, where I need her, where I want her, she ignores me and looks at Bennett.

“Can you drive me to Autumn’s place?” she asks him. “And grab my bag from my room. It’s already packed.”

The silence that follows is suffocating. Hudson frowns, like we’ve just solved one problem only to find another. Asher stares at the floor. Bennett nods, then shoots me an apologetic look before he goes and does exactly as she asked.

Good. She needs somebody on her side.

And when she walks to the front hall, waving off her brothers, completely ignoring me, it’s all I can do to keep standing. Because I’m hollowed out. Breaking.

Realizing that I’ve almost certainly lost the best thing that’s happened to me, and it’s all my own fault for not talking to her.Again.

She walks out of the door, her head high. And I’ve no idea how I’ll get through this.

EDEN

Neither of us say a word as Bennett drives the short distance across the island to Autumn and Parker’s home. I assume Parker will follow soon, but I don’t know. All I do know is that we’re in West’s car, and I assume he gave the keys to Bennett, which makes me feel even worse than I already did.

Somehow, I manage to hold it together until I see Autumn waiting for me in the doorway of the lighthouse, likely Parker called her and told her I was on my way. As soon as Bennett stops, I manage to mutter out a thanks before I grapple at the door handle and yank it open, running as fast as I can into my sister’s open arms.

And then I sob. Hard enough to make her neck damp and my body feel weak. All the anger, frustration, and most of all the hurt comes out, as she rubs my back and murmurs sweet words in my ear.

It’s only when I get control of my breathing that I realize Bennett is still here. Right behind me.

“Uh, why does the lighthouse look so… glitzy?” he asks.

I look up. I hadn’t even noticed the décor. There’s a huge silver banner across the doorway, saying ‘Let’s Go Girls’ and inside the door is what looks like a giant inflatable penis with West’s face on it.

West’s gorgeous, beautiful face. Oh my God. “You decorated for my bachelorette,” I whisper. I’d forgotten all about it. Between the mayhem and fear, everything else was pushed out of my mind.

“It doesn’t matter,” she tells me. “I was going to take it all down. I already called and canceled everything else.”

More tears squeeze out of my eyes. “But you worked so hard…”