“Didn’t I tell you not to come near my sister again?” he growls, then points at Eva. “Andyou—I told you not to see him again.”
Josy reaches up and gently presses a hand against his chest. “Baby, I need you to calm down. Can you just talk like a civilized person?”
His jaw ticks and I see his chest rise and fall fast. Then he looks down at Everly in Josy’s arms. Something shifts.
“Okay, sweetheart,” he mutters. “I’ll do it. Just for the two of you.”
He walks over to the couch and sits, pulling Everly into his lap. Josy follows and sits beside him, placing a calming hand on his knee. Smart. If Everly’s in his arms, he’s not swinging fists.
Eva and I sit down on the other sofa across from them. I glance at her, she’s calm, but her fingers tighten around mine. I know she’s scared this could blow everything up.
Noah leans forward slightly, resting one hand on Everly’s tiny leg, the other on his knee. His voice is quieter now, but it’s still sharp around the edges.
“Didn’t I make myself clear earlier today? I don’t want you two together.”
Eva sighs next to me, and before I can say a word, she sits up and faces her brother head-on. “Noah, I love you,” she says firmly, “but you arewayout of line. You can’t tell mewhat to do with my life. I’m a grown woman, and I’ll do whatever the hell I want.”
Noah opens his mouth, but she lifts a hand, stopping him.
“No. There’s nothing you can say to justify this caveman behavior. You’re acting like Esteban is the worst man on the planet. Like I need protecting from him or something. Are you for real?” Her voice cracks slightly, not from weakness, but from hurt. “How can you be this upset that we’re together? You should be happy for me. I finally found someone who loves me. Someone who truly appreciates me.Me, Noah. Can you believe that?”
Noah’s voice softens. “Of course I can. You’re amazing. You’re gorgeous.”
“IknowI’m amazing,” she snaps, lifting her chin. “But not everyone sees that. Esteban did from the beginning. And he was too good, actually. He triedsohard to stay away from me. But I wanted him. I wanted him so bad I started falling for him, and I couldn’t stop.”
She looks at me and smiles, and it does something to my chest I can’t name.
“He’s funny, smart, gorgeous, and he treats me better than anyone ever has. I threw myself at him, repeatedly. I did everything in my power to tempt him.”
Noah turns to me, eyes narrowed, like he’s daring me to confirm that.
“Yup,” I say, raising a hand in surrender. “She’s not lying.”
Eva laughs lightly. “And the crazy part? He never once tried anything. He pushed me away every single time. Until he couldn’t anymore. And I’m so glad he didn’t keep fighting it, because we’re happy, Noah.Reallyhappy.”
She reaches over and squeezes my hand again.
“Esteban was ready to talk to you the next day after we made it official,” she continues. “But I told him not to. I didn’t want you to know yet. I wanted more time with him before you went all crazy-big-brother on us. So if you’re mad, then maybe this whole mess is my fault.”
I shake my head, turning to Noah.
“It’s notallher fault. I should’ve told you, Noah. And I’m sorry for that. Truly. I didn’t want to hide anything from you. But I won’t apologize for falling for her. I won’t.”
Noah’s jaw ticks, but he stays quiet, watching me.
“I know you’ve got your reasons. And they’re valid, man. I recognize who I used to be. I played around. I flirted with anything that moved. But I’ve been trying to grow past that, and I’ve been telling you and Austin that I’ve been wanting somethingrealfor a while now, you just didn’t believe me.”
I lean forward, locking eyes with him.
“But it was all true. I’ve been looking for something real. Forsomeonereal. And the moment I looked at Eva… I knew. She was it. I tried like hell to ignore it. For you, man. But I couldn’t.”
My voice breaks a little, and I don’t care.
“I fell in love with her. Deep. And I’m so damn lucky she sees something in me. So I need you to understand that this isn’t a fling. I’m in this. I want a future with her. I see us growing old together. I see kids. A messy, beautiful life.”
I glance down, then back up.
“I just need you to see that too. I’ll protect her with everything I’ve got. And if I ever screw that up—if I ever hurt her—you can punch me again. Hell, I’ll let you break my nose next time.”
