I stared at my reflection in the mirror as I inhaled deeply through my nose and blew it out past my lips.

The service was done, and a small group of the closest friends and family had gone back to Will’s parents’ house after the burial. I stuck close the entire time, trying to keep my finger on the pulse of Garrett’s mood. For the most part, he was silent, but there were times when his hand would squeeze mine, and I knew he was reminding himself that I was there. I’d only just left his side for the first time minutes before, needing to use the restroom and take a breather to get my head on straight. Spending the whole first half of my day at a funeral had brought up unpleasantness that I needed to get control of.

I wanted all my focus to be on soothing Garrett, and I couldn’t do that while being bombarded with memories of my own loss. I pulled in one last breath and twisted the knob on the sink before holding my wrists under the cold water. I’d just started feeling better when the door swung open, giving me a start.

“Oh shit. Sorry. I didn’t realize anyone was in here.” I caught the reflection of the woman I’d briefly met earlier in the day, Will’s sister, Lyla. She looked to be about my age, with sun-streaked blonde hair and red-rimmed amber eyes. She was stunningly beautiful, even though her face was a pale mask of heartache and despair that I was all too familiar with.

“No, it’s fine. I was finished anyway,” I said quickly before she had a chance to leave. I dried my hands on the small towel hanging next to the vanity and turned to smile. “All yours.”

Her smile was sad and looked painfully fake. “You’re Gwen, right? Garrett’s girlfriend?”

That statement gave me pause. “Well, Garrett’s… something. I’m not quite sure what you’d call us.”

“Oh.” Her forehead wrinkled in confusion. “I just assumed with how close you two looked—”

“No, we are. I mean, we were… close….” I let out a frustrated sigh, running my hands through my hair. “It’s complicated. I kind of messed up, but I’m trying to fix it.”

Sympathy shone in her expression. “That’s all you can do, right?”

“Right.” I nodded. I was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable, keeping her from her privacy, so I started for the door. But there was one last thing I wanted to offer before I left. “I… understand what you’re struggling with. I lost both my parents a few years ago.” Understanding and maybe a little appreciation reflected in the sad depths of her eyes. “I just… well, I know it’s awkward, seeing as we don’t know each other, but if you ever find yourself needing someone to talk to, I just wanted you to know I get it. And I’m available. All you have to do is ask Garrett how to get ahold of me.”

I turned to exit when she said my name. With a glance over my shoulder, I saw that her smile was a little less brittle, a little more genuine. “Thank you. Those guys… well, it’s tough for them to find good people to surround themselves with. It’s astounding, the number of fame whores and attention-seekers. They’ll go to great lengths to use people like them. Something tells me you’re one of the good ones.”

“I try to be,” I whispered, a wealth of emotion making it difficult to hold her gaze.

“Keep trying. You’re good for him. He needs that in his life.”

I gave a small, jerky nod and closed the door behind me, letting her words marinate as I stood in the empty hall. I wasn’t sure why hearing that from a stranger had such a profound impact, but it did. And I realized that, for the first time in days, I could actually breathe. I hadn’t felt whole since I packed my stuff and walked out of Garrett’s house, not until now. There hadn’t been a single time in the past twelve hours that I thought about not fitting into his world. It was like the last piece of a puzzle had fallen into place the moment I took his hand back at the funeral home.

I was such an idiot to not have realized it before. I didn’t need to fit into his world—I just needed to fit him.

“Hey. You okay?”

Garrett’s gravelly voice pulled me from my reverie. “I’m good,” I replied. “How are you holding up?” I studied his face as I waited for him to answer.

He looked at me and offered a small, sad smile. “I’m okay.” He closed the distance between us and his arms came around me, one hand on the small of my back, the other stroking the nape of my neck just under my new tattoo. “Just ready for today to be over. Never thought I’d be putting my brother in the ground. It doesn’t seem real.”

I leaned in to him, breathing in his heady, masculine scent. “I know what you mean. I can’t tell you how many times I looked up, expecting to see my parents walking through the front door after they were gone.” I tipped my face up so he could see me. “Each time was like being punched in the stomach, but it gets easier, Garrett. I promise.”

His hand at my neck came around and the pads of his fingers stroked my jaw. “Does it still hurt?”

I wasn’t going to lie to him. After my parents died, I’d discovered that the lies given to me to try and make me feel better only hurt worse in the long run, so I gave it to him straight. “It’s always going to hurt. Losing someone you love never stops hurting. But we learn to cope with the pain until one day it doesn’t consume us anymore. That’s when you’re able to look back and smile at all the good memories. You have that to look forward to. Once enough time has passed, you’ll be able to smile again.”

One corner of his mouth curled up in a smirk, giving me a tiny glimpse of a dimple. “Thanks for giving it to me straight.”

“It also helps to have someone to lean on during the hard times,” I told him on a whisper, watching as the jade green in his gaze grew darker as his eyes scanned across my face.

“You gonna be that someone for me?”

My chest clenched with hope. “For as long as you’ll let me.”

That dimple deepened and I lost my breath. “What if I said I’d let you forever?”

I tried to sound calm, but the words came out in a squeak. “I’d be okay with that.”

I felt his chest shake with a quiet chuckle and I wrapped my arms around his waist, giving him a tight hug as I pressed my cheek into his warm, solid muscles. “Maybe I’ll take you up on that,” he rumbled softly. “And maybe I’ll tell you about Will later when it doesn’t hurt so much.”

My eyes stung, but I made a valiant effort at keeping the tears at bay. “I’ll look forward to that.” We drifted into silence as we moved back into the living room, standing on the outskirts, content to just hold each other and watch the people around us.

“I know what you did,” I finally whispered several minutes later. I’d been trying to find the time to bring it up, to thank him for what he did for me. “With Kimber and Chris. Declan told me. I… thank you. I don’t deserve that kind of loyalty, not after what I did.”

“That’s the problem, Gwen. You never believed me when I said you were everything.”

We lapsed into silence once more, his words banging around in my head like a drum. That yearning I felt for him grew stronger even though he held me in his arms. It wasn’t enough. Nothing would be enough until I made things right, until I had his forgiveness.

Until I had him.

An ache filled my chest as I caught sight of Lyla moving around. She’d put on a brave face, smiling and welcoming everyone graciously, but I recognized a woman close to her breaking point. Her hands were shaking, her lips trembling. The only thing holding off the impending breakdown was the fact that she had a houseful of people she could play hostess to. I was well aware of how the process worked.

I was still staring, remembering what it felt like to be in her shoes, when I noticed her head come up, her attention shifting across the room. Following her gaze, I found she was watching Mace where he stood with Declan, Killian, and a few other people I didn’t know. When I focused on her once again, I saw the sorrow on her face morph into longing.

Oh wow. That’s definitely interesting.

A deep, gruff rumble from Garrett’s chest pulled my attention away from Lyla. “Fuck,” he grunted. “This isn’t good.”

I opened my mouth to ask what was happening at the same time Garrett stood and grabbed my hand, dragging me along with him. We were across the room from the front door when a flash of red caught my eye and I sucked in a surprised breath. “Is that…?”

The woman I recognized as Tatum from the after party weeks before moved through the house, straight to Lyla. They embraced like long-lost friends, both of their faces awash with a new wave of tears. “I’m so sorry,” I saw her say from my place beside Garrett.

His hand clenched mine, and when I looked up, his eyes were bouncing between Tatum and Declan, concern marring his handsome brow. The hug ended and both women wiped away the tears that were trailing down their cheeks.

Before I could speak a word, Garrett’s hand was pulling mine and we were on the move, heading to where they stood. “Tate.”

The woman’s head turned at the sound of Garrett’s voice, and a smile of warm familiarity overtook her face. A pang of jealousy ricocheted through my chest as he released my hand to wrap her in a hug. But then something unexpected happened. The moment they separated, she turned to me with the same friendly face she’d had for Lyla and Garrett. Then she hugged me.

When she pulled away, her warmth was still surrounding me. “You must be Gwen. I’ve heard so much about you. I’m glad to finally meet you in person.”

My mouth dropped open at her unexpected welcome, and it took several seconds for me to find my voice and stumble over my words. “I—you… uh, you have?”

“Sure. We ran into each other in LA. He couldn’t stop talking about you. I’ve been dying to meet the woman who was able to tame the caveman.”

“Please,” Garrett rumbled. “You know I was the easiest one to deal with out of all those assholes.”

She shook her head and rolled her eyes teasingly.

It’s nice to meet you too,” I offered. “Garrett had nothing but nice things to say about you.”

She had a huskiness to her voice that leant a sultry tenor to her laugh. “I highly doubt that.” She gave Garrett a playful smack to his abs. “This guy was like a brother to me growing up, so I was basically the annoying sister following them around, getting in their way.”

The rest of the guys joined our small huddle just then, and there was no missing the sudden tension that began swirling heavily through the air. I couldn’t help but focus on Declan, who stood somewhat removed as Killian and Mace greeted Tate like longtime friends. When they finished, he finally spoke.

“Tatum.” Those short two syllables packed more of a punch than I would have expected. Where Declan’s demeanor was an open book, full of avid yearning, Tate’s came across as bored and closed off.

You could practically cut the hostility with a knife. If Garrett hadn’t been holding so tight to my hand, I would have started backing away from the powder keg that was Declan and Tate. So I wasn’t at all surprised when I heard Lyla speak up. “I, um, need to get to the kitchen. We’re almost out of mini sandwiches.”

I almost opened my mouth to offer help as she began moving away but Mace beat me to the punch. “I’ll help.” He put his hand on the small of her back and began leading her away. I couldn’t miss the way her eyes flared with what looked like panic as he hustled her out of the living area and into the kitchen.

I shifted from foot to foot, trying to look anywhere but at the two of them, but I couldn’t turn away no matter how badly I wanted to.

“Deck. You look better than the last time I saw you,” she said in a flat, emotionless tone. Then her mask slipped and I saw the raw anger shining through. “Not that I’d expect you to remember the last time I saw you. If I recall, you were balls-deep in some skank and high as a kite. I’m pretty sure you didn’t even know I was there.”

“Oh fuck,” Killian mumbled.

“Ah hell,” Garrett grunted.

My eyes grew wide as saucers as Declan let out a feral growl. The next thing I knew, he had Tate over his shoulder and was stalking up the stairs as she shouted and pounded on his back. The sound of a door slamming shut out her shrieks, and I looked up at Garrett in concern.

“Uh… shouldn’t someone—”

“Just leave it, baby,” Garrett interrupted. “Trust me, you don’t want to wade into that mess.”

“About time those two hashed their shit out anyway,” Killian said, humor laced through his words.

A crash sounded from somewhere upstairs, loud enough for the whole house to hear. Lyla came running out of the kitchen, her lips more swollen and pink than when she left us, and her hair was suddenly mussed. “What was that?” she asked, looking up at the ceiling above our heads.

“My guess, World War III,” Garrett answered. “Deck and Tate are alone in a room together.”

“Oh,” she breathed. “Well… it’s about time.” She turned and headed back into the kitchen, Mace close on her heels.

I looked at Killian and Garrett and found I was the only one who seemed to be worried about the events taking place between the two couples. Well, all right then.

“You ready to get out of here?” Garrett asked, pulling my gaze from the kitchen doorway. I glanced up, unable to read his expression. “I’m thinking we need to talk too.”

A whole new mess of nerves exploded in my belly as I nodded, unable to speak. I was too busy worrying about what it was he had to say.