Chapter 27 #2
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 was him. 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 swallow hard. “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.
“Oh,” I murmur. “Bennett’s home.”
The front door creaks open, followed by a loud, painful groan. His footsteps are unsteady as he stumbles into the kitchen, not even noticing that I’m straddling West’s lap as he makes a very hungover beeline for the coffee machine.
“Fuck,” he groans as he stumbles into a chair.
I pull back from West, who’s trying not to grin as Bennett drops his forehead onto the counter like the weight of it is too much.
“I think our baby’s got his first hangover,” I whisper to him.
“Should we be kind or cruel?” West whispers back.
“Definitely kind.” I hop off his lap and walk over to Bennett, grabbing a coffee cup and filling it halfway, because the man has the shakes and I’d rather he not make a mess. “Here,” I say, passing it to him. “Good night?”
“Jesse has a lot of guitars.” He blinks, like he’s still half drunk. “And a lot of whiskey.”
“Ouch.” I wrinkle my nose. “Have you had anything to eat?”
“Don’t mention food,” he whispers.
I bite down a smile. “Go up to bed,” I tell him. “I’ll bring you some water and painkillers, okay?”
He nods, then groans, as though the movement caused him pain. “You’re the best,” he tells me.
I stroke his arm as he turns and starts walking back down the hallway. As he shuffles to the stairs, West beckons me back to his lap. I slide over him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Poor Bennett,” I say.
“Poor me. I have one employee out of action due to the after effects from torture, and the other in bed after a guitar based whiskey massacre.” He slides his hands over my hips. “I’m going to have to rethink my entire HR strategy.”
“You have a strategy?” I ask, smiling at him. “It really doesn’t show.”
He shakes his head, but he’s smiling too. Then his eyes narrow. Only slightly, but enough for me to recognize that look.
“I have an idea,” he murmurs.
“What now?”
“We should take Bennett to the Hamptons with us.”
“For our romantic getaway?”
“I wasn’t planning on having him share our room.
” He laughs softly. “But seriously, it’ll be good for him.
Networking. Meeting people. Maybe getting him away from his uncle’s clutches even more.
” He tips his head to the side, his eyes locking on mine.
“And I’m slightly concerned that if we leave him here for the weekend, he’ll blab our secret to everybody before we’re ready. ”
I nod slowly, touched at how much he wants Bennett to succeed. And from a completely selfish point of view, having Bennett with us at this stupidly swanky Hollywood party would make me feel less like a fish out of water.
“Fine,” I say. “Let’s have an office outing. Very professional.”
“Perfect,” West says, kissing me one more time. “Me, my wife, and my hungover office intern. Nothing screams professional more than that.”
I smile at the happiness in his voice. We won’t be hiding, we won’t be sneaking around. Instead, we’ll be going to a party as man and wife. I feel a surge of hope rise through me.
For the first time since this all started, it feels like everything’s going to be okay.
Which is, quite frankly, terrifying.