Page 252 of Face Off

Bliss opens the box. This marble is silver with threads of icy blue and white turning through its center. Easton takes it from the velvet and places it directly into her palm before curling her fingers around it.

“She’ll see him lose his shit,” Easton says.

Cade releases a strained laugh. “Thank you for your confidence.”

“I’ve seen you look at her. You’re fucked.”

Bliss reaches for Easton. His arms close around her carefully, and the toughness he wears around everyone else dissolves when she whispers something against his shoulder. Easton closes his eyes, holds the back of her head, and allows himself several seconds before stepping away.

Ryan reaches into the bag a third time.

Rider removes his suit jacket button as he approaches. His face remains calm, but his eyes tell another story when Ryan gives him the next box.

“We still had Rider,” Ryan says. “And there was only one moment that could belong to him.”

Rider looks at Bliss. “The doors.”

Her lips tremble.

“Tomorrow, the ceremony doors will be closed,” Rider says. “It will be you and your dad waiting on one side while Cade stands on the other. You’ll hear everyone settling into their seats, and Daniel will probably threaten Cade one final time because fathers enjoy tradition.”

“Absolutely,” Daniel says, wiping his face.

“You’ll look at your father,” he tells Bliss, “and ask whether your mother is watching.”

Bliss begins shaking before he finishes.

Rider crosses the remaining distance. He doesn’t rush or attempt to stop her tears. He stands directly in front of her with the box held between both palms.

“She is, Bliss,” Ryan says and I know why. Ryan is the only other one in our friend group whose mom is gone too.

His voice remains steady even as his eyes shine beneath the garden lights and I know he is wondering if everyone watching is asking themselves if what Lance said about her was true. “I promise you, she is.”

Rider places the box in her hands.

Bliss opens it and reveals a pearl-white marble threaded with gold. Light moves through it when her trembling fingers lift it from the velvet.

Rider touches one finger beneath her chin. “She isn’t missing it.”

Bliss drops the marble back into its padded box and throws her arms around him. Rider catches her instantly. One hand spreads between her shoulders while the other cradles the back of her head, holding her with the quiet kindness that has always made people trust him with the parts of themselves they can’t explain.

Daniel turns into Knox’s shoulder. Knox folds one arm around him while Ryker closes in on the other side. Kellen covers his face with both hands, and Lyon pulls him against his chest while Emmitt wipes his own cheeks with the back of his wrist.

Around them, nearly two hundred people remain silent enough that I hear Bliss’s uneven breaths against Rider’s jacket.

Ryan places the microphone beneath his arm and reaches into the inside pocket of his suit jacket.

He removes a fourth box and this one is larger than the others. Cade’s brows pull together when Ryan looks directly at him.

“This one is from me, and it’s for you.”

Cade steps forward. “Me?”

“You make her dreams come true,” Ryan says. “If Bliss asked for the sky, you would bankrupt your father building a staircase to reach it.”

Harrison Mercer lowers his glass. “He’d better use his own money.”

“You would still pay for the permits,” Elenore tells him.