“Would someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?” Ky demanded, and everyone turned to him. Blake and Colby had joined us, and were barricading Eden from the scene unfolding. Ky was staring at me, impatiently awaiting answers.

I crossed the distance between us and took hold of his hands, and his aggravated stare softened slightly. “I’m so sorry. I should have told you, but for entirely selfish reasons, I didn’t want to admit that I was wrong,” I whispered as embarrassment and shame hit me.

“What are you talking about, Ash?” Ky asked, placing his thumb under my chin and forcing my eyes to meet his.

“He hurt me again, Ky. I walked in on him with another girl when I first arrived in Sydney. I fled and came back here and hid for a week. I want nothing to do with him.”

Ky’s grasp on my hand tightened, his jaw ticked, and his eyes moved from me to Lachlan. He was headed for a complete meltdown.

“This is your engagement party. Don’t allow him to wreck it. Take your gorgeous fiancé and go dance. Josh and I will sort this out.”

He still wasn’t looking at me, and his glare frightened me.

“Ky, please. Listen to me.”

Finally, his eyes met mine and the look he gave me destroyed me.

“You should have told me. You tell me everything.”

Eden came toward us, wrapped her arm around Ky’s waist, and started to pull him away. They didn’t get far, though. The sound of flesh meeting flesh stabbed the air, and the deep grunt of someone suffering in pain took hold of my attention. I swung around just as Josh’s fist connected sharply with Lachlan’s jaw. Lachlan stumbled back, and a smirk that made me shiver in the worst possible way covered his face. Rubbing his jaw, his eyes flashed to mine and I froze on the spot, unable to say or do a thing. He took two steps toward me, but was halted by Josh’s firm grip pulling him back by his shirt.

“I said fuck off and leave her alone. Do I really need to show you how fucking serious I am?” Josh warned in a voice I’d never heard before.

“I’ll take my fucking chances,” Lachlan snarled and looked directly at me. “This isn’t over, Ashlyn.”

Josh pulled him away, then whipped him around and delivered another loud snap to his jaw. I slammed my eyes shut and dropped my gaze to the ground. I could hear the commotion around us, and the voices of Josh’s dad and the man he classed as an uncle filled the night air.

All I could think of was that I had officially wrecked my best friend’s special night.

Way to go, Ashlyn.

I HAD TO BE in a fucking nightmare. That’s the only way to explain why I just witnessed Lachlan walking in like he owned the place. As soon as his gaze lingered on Ashlyn, my instinct to protect her kicked into full-force. Having her in my arms while we danced and feeling her body pressed against mine, and knowing that it wasn’t just me that was getting lost in the unknown, had felt fucking incredible. Seeing that piece of shit walk in like he didn’t have a care in the world tarnished every-fucking-thing.

The way he spat his venom at Ashlyn infuriated me. What right did this slithering snake have to make her feel like a piece of shit? I couldn’t handle the look that spoiled her stunning face. I couldn’t get a grip of my rising rage toward this asshole, so I snapped, and I knew I’d do it again in a heartbeat. With my fist, I showed him just how serious I was. Nobody would ever get away with saying that kind of shit about Ashlyn; I didn’t give a fuck who they were. He didn’t deserve a minute of her time, or to share the air she breathed. Thankfully, Dad and Douglas dragged him away and threw him out of the house. During that commotion, I disappeared out of the side gate without anyone noticing.

My head screamed obscenities, and my fist ached. Placing my fist delicately in my uninjured hand, I knew by the insistent throb that I had put all of my strength and weight behind every blow. I just didn’t give a fuck.

When I needed peace, I came here, the boardwalk behind my parents’ house. It was the one place I’d go to think and sort out whatever was bothering me, and now I had a shitload of things bothering me. After I sat down, I swung my legs over the edge and dropped my head to my hands.

“Josh, are you out here?” Ashlyn’s voice rang through the still air, and I slammed my eyes closed.

I didn’t know if I was ready to see her. The fear that I would say or do something I would later regret was bubbling just below the surface. The sound of her heels on the wooden boardwalk got louder with every step she took, and I knew she was getting closer to where I was sitting.

“Over here,” I revealed softly.

Her steps halted, and in the moonlight I saw her turn and look in my direction. Without saying a word, she headed toward me. My eyes followed her every step as her hips swayed. When she reached me, she stood close so her thigh was next to my shoulders. Her hand shot out, threaded around the back of my neck, and brought my head toward her thigh until it was resting against the satin of her dress. My arms instinctively circled her legs and I pulled her close. As her fingers threaded through my hair, my eyes fell shut and a wave of calm swam with wild abandon through me. Time stood still, and I wouldn’t know how long we remained in that position, but it was the peace I needed. When she pulled away, she took a seat beside me and mimicked my body language. We sat in silence, both of us looking out over the water, swinging our legs, and getting lost in our own thoughts.

“What can I do?” Ashlyn’s voice cut through the air and broke the silence.

“Just being here is good.”

She twisted until she was facing me. “How’s your hand?”

“I’ll live.”

“Stop being a tough guy and show me.”

I smiled at her sass, and hissed when she lifted my hand to have a closer look. I knew it looked worse than it was, but fuck it hurt like a bitch.

“Shit, Josh,” Ashlyn said. “We need to get you ice.”

“It’s fine. I just need to sit out here for a bit.”

“I can’t believe you fought for me,” she whispered, her voice strained and littered with worry and confusion. Did she really expect me to let that asshole come here and speak to her like he hadn’t fucked up? Her face was void of emotion, and her lip was tugged between her teeth.

“I’ll always fight for you, Ash. I’d move heaven and fucking earth for you. Don’t think that I’ll ever let an asshole treat you badly. I don’t care who it is. No matter what, I will always be there.”

“No one has ever said that before.”

“Said what?” I asked, disbelievingly.

“No one has ever said that they would fight for me.” As if she could read my mind, she said the words I never expected to hear. “Not even my best friend.”

Her eyes shimmered with something I couldn’t quite understand. Was it realization, confusion, or understanding flashing back at me? Being told that Ky had never made her feel like that pissed me off. He was meant to take care of her. I stepped aside for him. I gave up years of being with this girl. Ashlyn, who deserved the world, had to fight for everything she received, and she did it mostly on her own. That stopped now.

“I have a lot of explaining to do,” she stated softly, with the faintest smile.

“You talk when you want to talk.”

Ashlyn shifted toward me. Her eyes roamed over my face, before dropping to take in my throbbing hand. “We need to get some ice,” she whispered.

I shook my head. “Not yet.”

Once again, her magnetic force speared into me, and I needed to touch her, to feel the connection between us. There was nothing holding me back now. The world knew that she wasn’t with Lachlan, and that thought alone inspired me to not stop until I got what I wanted. I lifted my hand and cupped her cheek, and as soon as I did, her eyes fluttered shut under my touch. My thumb grazed her bottom lip, and suddenly everything appeared to me. No one had told her she was worth fighting for. I should have fought for her. I should have found another way to have her while still saving my brother.