Chapter Twenty Three
ASTON
The morning light isn’t just shining through the windows of my kitchen, it’s shattering against my retinas like fractured glass.
I sit at the island, my hands wrapped around a mug of black coffee that tastes like burnt dirt, and my head is throbbing.
The empty bottle of bourbon from the night before is still sitting on the counter, like a monument to my cowardice.
The television in the living room is muted, but I saw enough this morning.
The sports networks are looping footage from the NFL Honors last night.
Ace, hoisting the Offensive Player of the Year trophy after thanking our parents, his brothers, coaches, and staff for their support and a picture of him with my mom, who is beaming on his arm.
The thud of the front door closing cuts through the silence.
I don’t move. I don’t even have the energy to lift my head, but I hear the boots echoing across the wood floor, loud and uninvited.
“You look like shit, Aston.”
I blink, then squint as Archie walks into the kitchen. He’s wearing a heavy flannel jacket, a cowboy hat pulled low, and a backpack slung over his shoulder.
“Arch,” I croak, my throat dry as hell. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you in Texas?”
“Yeah, well, I should be, but Dad called me after talking to Ace last night and said he wasn’t as happy as he should have been,” Archie says.
He doesn’t wait for an invitation. He just walks straight to the cabinet, grabs a clean mug, and pours himself a cup of coffee.
He takes a slow sip, leaning against the counter, his eyes drilling into me with a weight that makes my skull feel like it’s splitting.
“Apparently, Ace is confused. And Mama’s spent the last twenty-four hours ‘vibrating with anxiety’—Dad’s words.
And you skipping out on this event with him for sponsorship meetings doesn’t track. So, I got on a bird.”
I blow out a breath, my fingers tightening around my mug. “You shouldn't have come, Arch. I just … couldn’t make it work.”
“Cut the shit,” Archie says. His tone is level and steady and lacking any trace of humor.
“You called me days before the show and threw out a hypothetical about falling for a brother’s ex, and then you backed out of the biggest night of your twin brother’s career.
I’m not leavin’ until you tell me the truth, and I brought enough clothes and shit with me to sit here for a few days, so start talkin’. ”
The walls feel like they’re closing in, and I suck in a deep breath. Then I look down at the dark liquid in my cup, the truth spilling out before I can stop it.
“It’s Eva.”
Archie freezes, his mug halfway to his mouth. He stares at me, his brow furrowing as he processes what I just said.
“Eva?” he repeats. “Evangeline Carrington?”
“Yeah. I was supposed to go with her to LA for the awards. But then Ace called and asked me to go with him. It happened all at the same time. I didn’t know what to do.”
“Dude …” Archie lets out a long, slow breath, running a hand over his face. “You didn’t tell me this is who it was about. You gave me nothin’.”
“In my defense, you didn’t ask for a name.”
The look he gives me is the same one he uses on the field to intimidate cornerbacks.
“Not funny,” he grumbles. “I didn’t know if you were talking about some random girl Aiden hooked up with at some point, or that Soleil girl Ace was dating for a while. I thought it was just some kind of random fling.”
“Well, it’s not a fling,” I say, my voice rising.
“It’s pretty fuckin’ real. Hell, it's been real for years. We should have made a go of it in college, but I never pulled the trigger, and Ace did. She would have chosen me back then if I had just asked. Somehow, we found each other again on the sidelines and..." I sigh. “It’s not like I went into it looking to hurt Ace. It just happened. And now I’m fucked because … I love her. I love her, and I’ve completely fucked up because I was too big a pussy to face my twin brother. ”
Archie looks at me, the initial shock on his face smoothing out to something more serious. He knows the history between Ace and Eva. He knows they dated for a year in college. He knows that Ace was hurt when they broke up.
“Eva is a little more complicated—you’re right,” Archie says. “Ace was pretty into her from what I remember. Took him a while to clear her out of his head. But, Aston … if you love her, if this is the real deal for you, then you’d better get off your ass and fix it.”
I look up, meeting his eyes. “Fix it? Do you remember what you told me? Family always comes first.”
“Look, I was basing it on the zero information you gave me,” Archie counters, stepping closer to me.
“Blood is blood, Aston. That’s the real deal.
But so is falling in love. So if you think she’s the one, your forever, then it’s time to be a good man and a good brother.
That means you don’t hide in the dark and let the people you care about take a hit from you.
You can’t keep this from Ace for another second.
It’s the lying and the hiding that’s poisoning this situation, not the love. ”
He pauses, taking in a deep breath.
“You remember when Emma got pregnant with Lainey?” Archie asks.
“We were in college, I was getting ready for my last season at Walker before the draft. But I knew I was already falling for her, and there was never a single doubt in my mind that I was going to take care of her and our baby. I wanted that life. Even with all that certainty, Dad still laid down the law.”
A smile touches Archie’s lips at the memory.
“He wasn’t mad. He just wanted to make sure I understood the gravity of the life we were bringing into the world.
He looked me dead in the eyes and told me I needed to step up and be a good man, a good father, and always take care of Emma and our baby, no matter what.
He wanted to make sure I had the backbone to stand by the choices I’d already made in my heart. ”
He taps his knuckles against the stone counter.
“It’s the same playbook for you right now, Aston,” Archie says, his voice firm.
“Go fix this with your girl. And then you go stand in front of our brother, your twin brother, and look him in the eye, and you tell him the truth. He’s probably going to want to swing at you, but he’s your blood.
He’ll find his way through it because he loves you.
But you have to give him the respect of the truth. ”
The words hit me like a brick. The hangover doesn’t matter. The exhaustion and self-pity don’t matter. The fear that I’ve kept locked in since Eva and I slept together at Liam and Alie’s wedding is replaced by a spark of adrenaline.
Archie’s right. Hiding isn’t protecting anyone. It’s just keeping me from the only woman I’ve ever loved, and it’s hurting the brother I’ve been tied to since day one.
I stand up and finally feel like the air is rushing to my lungs.
“Eva’s still in LA,” I mutter, my mind tracking the timeline of her schedule. “I can’t even imagine how pissed she is. I’m not sure if I can get her to forgive me, but I’m sure as shit gonna do everything I can.”
Archie smiles, reaching out and slapping my shoulder with enough force that I stumble in my less than steady hungover state. “Then you better be ready the second she touches back down. Figure out what you’re gonna say, then go get your girl.”
“Thanks, Arch.”
“Don’t thank me yet. You still have to talk to Ace, and I’m not getting in the middle of it. Now go take a shower. You smell like ass.”
I grab my phone off the counter, ignoring the ache in my head as I open my text thread with her.
For months, I’ve been pushing this truth into the back of my mind, living in a blissed-out bubble with her.
But as I stare at the screen, reading back over her messages, I know this is the real deal, and I have to do everything I can to make this right.
I have to fight for her. I have to face the noise and clear the wreckage I’ve made. Then I have to put my heart on the line until she feels certain I’ll never hurt her like this again. I want to text her, call her, but this conversation needs to be done in person. I just hope I’m not too late.