“You need to get back out there and enjoy your party,” I said, breaking the silence and offering Ky a half-assed smile. I stepped across the kitchen and grabbed his hands, squeezing them tightly in silent plea. “We can talk about this tomorrow. Not tonight. Not on your special night.”

His gaze dropped and took in our joined hands before looking back at me. “Just tell me why you felt like you couldn’t discuss this with me.”

I sucked in a breath. “I couldn’t have you looking at me like I’d made the worst decision of my life, like I had disappointed you . . . like you are looking at me now. I needed to handle it myself. If Lachlan hadn’t contacted Josh, no one would have known. Not until I was ready.”

Time stood still as his eyes bounced over my face, then his hands tightened their grip. Ky was showing all the signs that he was going to accept my response, that this, that we, were going to be okay.

“I don’t want you to think you ever have to hide anything from me again. It fucks with my head that you had to go through this on your own.”

“I wasn’t on my own; I had Josh.”

The sound of the backdoor opening halted our conversation, and a timid Eden appeared. “Sorry to interrupt, but Aunt Carole is leaving and wants to say goodbye.”

Ky kissed my cheek and let go of my hands. “No matter what, don’t feel you have to hide anything from me.”

I took a moment after Ky and Eden left the kitchen to compose myself. My hands were still shaking, and I felt like a rubber band ready to snap. Seeing Lachlan had affected me more than I wanted to admit. I didn’t like the girl I became when all my insecurities came to the surface. That Ashlyn was timid, untrusting, and lacked self-confidence. It immediately pushed me back to a place I chose to ignore and didn’t want to believe existed. Nobody deserved to have that control; not my parents, and definitely not Lachlan.

With a deep breath, I put a smile on my face and stepped out of the house to rejoin the party. The Lachlan fiasco seemed to have been forgotten, and now guests were dancing, chatting, and enjoying all things Ky and Eden. Maybe the night wasn’t completely wrecked.

“How are you, sweetheart?”

I jumped at the sound of Sue’s concerned voice and turned in her direction. Her face held comfort and sincerity, and it caused my heart to swell. All I needed was a motherly hug and a promise that everything would be okay, and I knew Sue would provide me exactly that. I moved closer, and she engulfed me in the tightest hug I’d ever experienced.

“You know I already consider you a daughter, Ash, so if you ever need to talk, you call me or come over. I am so proud of my boy, and I always thought you two would be perfect together. Tonight proved that,” she revealed wistfully.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

She moved until she was standing in front of me, and her eyes glistened with something that I adored seeing from her: love.

“You and Josh. You two are meant to be together, and you are and will continue to be the best thing to ever happen to him.”

“There is nothing between Josh and me,” I whispered as the ability to breathe fled my body.

“Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart,” she offered with a knowing smile that I recognized, and her resemblance to Josh was two-fold. “I’ve set up Josh’s room for the two of you. You don’t mind sharing with him, do you?”

“Um, that should be fine. I don’t know where he has gone, so he might not be back.”

“He’ll be back.”

Two hours later, I was lying in Josh’s childhood bed, wide awake, while the rest of the house slept. There had been no sign of Josh since he left, and he wasn’t responding to calls or texts. I had officially stepped into worried territory.

Footsteps in the hall grabbed my attention. I waited with baited breath for the next move, then a shadow appeared from under the door.

“Josh?” I whispered into the still air as the room was momentarily flooded with light from the hall.

“Yeah, it’s me, Ashy.”

I pulled myself up onto my elbows and watched him step into the room. “Where have you been? I’ve been calling and texting you.”

“I just needed to go for a walk and sort my head out.”

I dropped back to the bed in defeat. “Oh, okay.”

He walked around the room in silence, and my eyes followed his every move. He opened the bag that was sitting on the chair, then pulled out a pair of sweatpants and placed them on the edge of the bed. The moment he turned around, his eyes found mine and I couldn’t stop myself from staring in fascination as he began to loosen his tie.

“I’m about to crawl into bed beside you.”

Warning sirens started screaming in my head. “You do realize we are at your parents’ house?”

“Right at this moment, I don’t give a fuck where we are. I need you any way I can have you tonight, so I’m climbing in beside you and taking whatever I can get.”

My body hummed at the thought of being wrapped up in his warmth. I swear he started moving in slow motion as he unbuttoned his shirt and slid it over his shoulders. I’d always admired his body in secret, but in the dark bedroom, with only the shadow of the moon, I could admire it openly. All the running and trips to the gym had given him a body that I wanted to admire and explore with my hands and mouth. A firm chest led into ridges of muscles, which covered his stomach and led to a prominent V on his hips. Heat spiraled out of control within me, and I suddenly had the urge to giggle into my pillow like a school girl perving on the hottest guy in class. But somehow I resisted.

“What are you wearing?” he whispered as he began unbuckling his belt.

I swallowed hard. “Panties and one of your old shirts that I found.”

“Take off your panties.”

“You cannot be serious,” I shot in an unusually high pitch.

The sound of his belt falling to the floor shattered the air. “Do you honestly think I’d joke about that?”

“My panties are staying on, thank you very much.” I crossed my arms and tried to ignore the feelings of rebellion that started to appear. Taking my panties off would lead to guaranteed orgasms, but it would also mean that I was breaking a promise to myself of not going there with Josh again.

“Do you like the panties you’re wearing?” He leaned on the edge of the bed and moved in close to my face.

I felt his breath bouncing off my lips as the air around us spiraled out of control. “Of course I do. They cost me a lot of money,” I rushed out in response.

“Well, you either take them off or they’ll be ripped off. Those are you choices.”

Holy shit, I was in trouble, and trouble never felt so good.

Josh lifted the comforter, then slid in bed beside me and didn’t take his time in prowling toward me until his body covered mine. The close proximity of our bodies and the immediate warmth that immersed me, felt incredible.

“Are you good?” he whispered.

“I was worried about you,” I admitted freely.

“I just needed to get away from everything and be on my own for a bit. I went to the beach.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Not you, Ashy. Everything else.”

“Tonight was crazy,” I said softly as my memories shot to life and the night was replayed. “I still can’t get my head around what happened. How could someone change so much? There is absolutely no way I would even consider going back to Lachlan, but I’m not sure he understands that.”

“I’ll make sure he understands it,” he stated firmly.

I smiled. “Thank you again for what you said and did tonight.”

He shifted his body slightly on top of me, and my legs opened willingly to compensate him. “I meant what I said, and you never have to thank me for that. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. He doesn’t deserve another thought, especially right now.”

He was right. The more I thought about Lachlan, the more I felt myself slipping back into dark thoughts that revolved entirely around not being good enough. Tonight was meant to be a celebration of love for my best friends, not a reminder of fucked-up heartbreak and insecurities.