Page 84 of Barron's Second Chance
Eden held her breath, mesmerized by his words. She wouldn't know what to say even if she could speak.
"I know this is only a small gesture, but I hope it shows you how serious I am about you. You come first. Your comfort, your mental health, and your peace of mind. I don't want you worrying about women coming onto me or ever doubting your self-worth. I want to be your safe space. I want to be able to win your trust back."
"Barron," she whispered, her voice breaking in emotion.
He bent and kissed her forehead before rising.
"Where are you going?" She asked, confused.
"That's all I wanted to come to tell you," he softly said. "I love you, Eden. That's not going away two weeks, two months, or twenty years from now, so please don't feel any pressure. If it's a no, it's a no. I'll respect your decision. Lissa will still be banned; nothing will change."
With one last kiss pressed to her head, she watched, mouth agape, as he strolled towards the door before opening and closing it softly behind him.
"I guess that answers my question on what his intentions were."
Eden yelped and jumped as Josh appeared in the hallway. Christ, she thought he was fast asleep.
She pressed a hand to her racing heart. "How much did you hear?"
Josh shrugged. "Enough to know the reason why you and I couldn't make it work."
Eden frowned. "Because we were more friends than lovers."
Josh only gave her a small smile before striding fully into the living room, hands deep in the pockets of his lounge pants. His chest was bare and completely covered in tattoos. She had once made it her mission to discover each piece of art before realizing that he regularly added new ones to any spare bit of skin.
"My turn to come clean." He grimaced. "I figured out last night that Barron was more than just a school friend. I told him to figure out his intentions with you because you’d been through a lot, and I didn't want him messing you up. Again."
"Youtoldhim?" She rose to her feet, feeling betrayed for the second time tonight.
He held out his hands in defense. "I didn't go into details. I just said that you went through some heavy stuff when I first met you; and that I figured it had something to do with him. Was I wrong?"
She shook her head in anger. "You shouldn't have said anything," she snapped.
"You're right. I'm sorry. But I had to know. I had to know whether he really loves you."
She stared at him. Her anger was still palpable at his revelation. "And you think he does?"
Josh just shrugged before rubbing a hand at the back of his neck. "Well, blokes in love can usually recognize each other."
Her mouth opened in shock. "You're in love? With who?" She tried to think back at the bevy of beauties he usually dated.
Josh gave her a long, eerily calm look before the full impact of what he meant dawned on her.
Her eyes widened, her mouth dropping open again at his admission. "Wha...? How? I mean, what? Josh...," she stammered, feeling absolutely flabbergasted.
"Relax. Nothing that a bunch of groupies on tour can't fix." He gave her an awkward smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"But... Josh. I-I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry."
She was devastated. Eden had no idea that he felt this way about her. When she ended things between them, he gave her his usual easygoing smile and agreed they were better off as friends. The following week she heard he was hooking up with some famous reality star.
"Babes, it's not your fault. I knew you didn't feel as strongly as I did when we were together. Something was holding you back. Now I know what it was. Or rather, who it was."
At her wrecked silence, Josh sighed heavily before coming up and pulling her close for a hug. "I shouldn't have said anything. That was selfish of me. But honestly, babe, I'm all good."
She wrapped her arms around him tightly, tears of sadness falling from her eyes.
"You're one of my best friends. You know I love you, right? If I lose you -"
