My head lolls back against the couch. I stare at the ceiling as the room grows darker. My phone rings a couple of times, but it’s not Corinne. I don’t give a fuck who else is calling.

  I’m not even sure how much time has passed when someone starts pounding on my door. Whoever it is doesn’t bother with the doorbell. This isn’t a delicate knock, but a ham-fisted banging without any consideration for the fact my head is fucking throbbing.

  Cursing, I lurch to my feet, swaying more than standing, and somehow manage to stumble to the front door. Pouring back more booze before I even managed to get sober probably wasn’t my best idea, but at least I don’t feel like someone reached their bare hand into my chest and yanked out my heart anymore. Well, not totally.

  The knocking thunders through the house, reverberating in my head again. If this is a door-to-door solicitor, I’m going to kick some ass.

  “Xavian? Open up!”

  I’d know that voice anywhere. “Jesus, hold your horses, Maxon. I’m getting there.”

  Not in a straight line and not quickly, but whatever.

  After a couple of missed tries, I finally grab the knob, unlock my front door, and wrench it open. Not only is my oldest brother standing on my porch wearing a scowl that tells me he’s pissed, but a very unhappy Griff stands beside him. Harlow scowls at me from between them.

  There’s going to be yelling. My head is ready to revolt. My stomach… Probably better not to think about that.

  “What?” I bark.

  One thing I know about this family? Everyone is passionate, opinionated, and temperamental. If I can’t find the balls to hold my own against whatever’s brought them here, they’ll run me over until I’m nothing but a stain on the asphalt. Then they’ll tell me it’s for my own good.

  “What the hell happened?” Harlow demands, shoving me back so she can step into my foyer.

  I nearly stumble onto my ass. “Why don’t you just come on in?”

  “Fuck, he’s drunk,” Griff mutters.

  “What was your first clue?” I slur back.

  Maxon sighs and lets himself in. “We need to talk.”

  Griff follows suit, then shuts the door behind him. “Now.”

  Hell, no. “If you’re here about what happened at the club last night, rest assured I’ve already had my ass chewed.”

  “Bethany told us,” Maxon clarifies. “She feels bad. So do we. I know Griff and I told you to take Corinne out and show her off, but we didn’t tell you to simulate sex in a booth where the whole damn club could roll video.”

  “I already know I took it too far. Corinne agrees. That’s why she fucking left me.”

  Griff winces. “We saw. It’s all over social media. Someone caught footage of her racing through the lobby of the Aston at two o’clock this morning with Riley’s arm around her. Speculation is everywhere that she’s gone back to him.”

  “Her engagement ring is on the kitchen counter,” Harlow calls across the house.

  When the hell did my sister disappear to start snooping?

  “Yep. I ruined everyone’s life. But she’s convinced now that everything turned out rosy since her ex is going to loan her the money she needs.” I snort. “So she said hasta la vista. Our fake engagement is over. And poof, she’s gone.”

  “It was fake?” Harlow pops her head around the corner, brow raised.

  Shit. I forgot my sister didn’t know, but hiding the truth isn’t important anymore. “All of it.”

  “Except the part where you fell in love with her?” Griff asks.

  “How the hell did you know?” I scowl.

  Maxon snorts. “Experience. Besides, there’s no other reason a guy gets as shitfaced as you are after a woman leaves.”

  “What’s worse is that she left me for an asshole who doesn’t love her, who’s bought and paid for by that fucking brother of hers.” I explain the situation, trying not to stumble over my words. “Not that she’ll ever know because”—I glance at my phone again, which still doesn’t show my message was ever delivered—“yep, she blocked me.”

  Maxon and Griff exchange a scowl.

  Harlow merely snorts and saunters toward us. “So that’s it? You’re just going to give up?”

  “Corinne made herself pretty clear. She. Doesn’t. Want. Me. She doesn’t love me, either. So you three should take your judgmental, sanctimonious stares some fucking place else and let me wallow in peace.”

  Maxon sighs. “You’re usually a witty drunk. Funny. Happy. Now you’re just sappy, sloppy, and sad.”

  “Pardon me for not living up to your expectations. It was only a matter of time before I disappointed you, too. It’s why Corinne didn’t want me. Hadley didn’t, either. Hell, even the old man blew me off before I came into the world.”

  My oldest brother grabs me by my hastily donned shirt, which I apparently put on backward some drunken hours ago, then pulls me into a tight hug. “Everyone who matters in this family wants you. That’s why we fucking hired an investigator to find you. That’s why we persuaded you to move to Maui. That’s why we pursued going into business with you.”

  “Bethany changed her mind.”

  “Clint and I talked her off the ledge,” Griff assures me. “She was just scared, doing her mama-bear how-am-I-going-to-feed-my-babies thing. We’ve talked through a strategy to restore the reputation of the brokerage. An apology, some groveling, followed by good behavior. And time. It will go away.”

  “He’s right.” Maxon pulls back and looks me in the eye. “But don’t ever think we don’t want you around. And don’t you dare give that asshole who gave us half our DNA another thought.”

  “He didn’t want any of his kids except as trophies.” Harlow approaches on soft footfalls.

  Since she never does anything quietly, the gesture catches my attention. “What do you mean?”

  The three of them exchange a long, weighty glance.

  Maxon is the first to break the silence. “He pitted Griff and me against one another from the time we were little. As a teenager, I failed to live up to his cutthroat expectations. He ridiculed and belittled me until the day he died.”

  “I managed to live up to his fucked-up notions of a good son, and I lost myself so completely, it nearly cost me everything,” Griff admits.

  “Don’t ask how he treated his daughters, just be grateful you didn’t grow up with Barclay.”

  “But we understand the scars you’re carrying,” Maxon insists. “The doubt, the worry, the anxiety that—deep down—you’re unlovable. Every one of his adult children gets it.”

  I swallow back a sudden tightness in my throat. Yeah, I knew their childhoods hadn’t been all smiles and rainbows, but this is the most honest they’ve ever been about their pasts.

  “We’ve all suffered in relationships because of him, too.” Harlow sends me an unexpectedly gentle expression. It’s not pity; it’s understanding.

  Why is that fucking threatening to undo me? I swallow against the sting in my eyes and glare at them all when I really want to thank them for baring themselves. “What did you do?”

  “To get over it?” Griff shrugs. “Understanding. Time. Love. I would still be a hot-tempered, fucked-up manwhore if Britta hadn’t taken me back.”

  Maxon nods. “I would still be a miserable, angry workaholic, drinking my dinner and fucking a different woman every night if Keeley hadn’t come along and made me look at myself through a lens other than our father’s.”

  I can see on their faces that their respective battles were hard-fought and brutal. But as much as I appreciate their honesty, I don’t know how it helps me.

  Corrine is gone, and she won’t even let me tell her what a horrible mistake she’s making.

  “You’d be horrified to hear what a mess I was before Noah. I was willing to marry a man I didn’t love, who wasn’t even faithful to me, because I was convinced it didn’t matter. In my head, the institution of marriage was rotten to the core and the best anyone could hope for was a spouse they didn’t want to murder. Since my ex-fiancé traveled constantly, I figured he’d be as good a husband as any. It took a humiliating wake-up call and meeting Noah to make me see I was selling myself short.”

  “That’s great. Happy as hell it worked out for you all. It’s not going to for me. Corinne went back to her ex. You got that part, right?”

  “And you’re just going to let that stand? You’re not going to fight for her?” Griff looks at me like I’m insane.

  “What’s the point? I was the only idiot who thought that what we had was real.”

  Harlow shakes her head. “I watched her last night. She’s nowhere near immune to you. Besides, those pictures circulating all over social media of her arriving at the hotel with Riley show her crying. She wouldn’t waste tears on you if she didn’t care.”

  I’m dying to believe that. I just don’t.

  “Harlow is right. You think love came easy for any of us?” Griff challenges. “That it just landed in our laps and wrapped around us like a warm, fuzzy blanket, making us feel all secure about our futures? No. I had to threaten and grovel at the same time just to get Britta to listen.”

  My sister nods. “It wasn’t pretty. He still didn’t know if they were actually getting married the morning of their wedding. And Noah, bless him… He fought for me every day. He fought my attitude, my fears, my disdain for love and marriage. He never once gave up, and somewhere in my thick skull I finally realized he never would, because no matter how much I denied it, he knew I loved him, too.”

  “Exactly,” Maxon agrees. “And I… Well, you all know I have a little control freak in me.”

  “A little?” Griff laughs. “That’s an understatement.”

  “Of the decade, at least,” Harlow adds.

  I nod. “They’re right.”

  Maxon clears his throat. “I had to give Keeley free rein over our future. To prove I meant it, I sang in public for her. Microphone, audience, the whole nine yards.”

  “Damn…” I’ve only heard my oldest brother sing “Happy Birthday” in a crowd, but that was cringy enough.

  “You see? We’ve all fought. I’m sure Bethany and Clint have told you about their rocky start.”

  The one where he lied about his name and pretended to be a friend and co-worker so he could seduce her for revenge? “Yeah.”

  “Don’t think that didn’t take all kinds of hustle on his part to earn her trust again.”

  “Months of it,” Griff assures me.

  “And Evan was just crazy. He took out a personal ad for a wife, even though Nia had been in love with him for years. After that, he had to work like hell to prove that he was all in with her,” Harlow puts in. “Love might not have been easy for any of us, but having it has been priceless.”

  They aren’t listening, damn it. “She left. If I keep chasing her, don’t I look like the creepy stalker guy who can’t take no for an answer?”

  “Maybe,” Maxon acknowledges. “Do you care more about that than having her back?”

  “No.” And that’s not really my objection. I’m afraid to have my heart ripped out for good. Hadley bruised it, but Corinne… “I don’t know if I can handle her shutting me out again.”

  But…I’m already hurting. What more do I have to lose? And if I truly love her, shouldn’t I do everything possible to warn her that her ex and her brother are conning her? It might not change how she feels about me, but if her future is happier, even if that’s without me, that’s more important.

  “You can,” Maxon swears. “You’re made of strong stuff. You’re a Reed. Maybe take a shower so you smell less like whatever the fuck you’ve been drinking. But if you put on your big-boy pants and tell her how you feel, that just might be enough to win her back.”

  He’s being overly optimistic. But I have to warn her.

  “I’m too drunk to drive.”

  “We got you.” Griff claps my shoulder. “We’ll take you over there and be your backup.”

  “Not me,” Harlow cuts in. “I have to go home and breastfeed. Besides, I won’t look too menacing with milk stains.”

  I refuse to look down and see if my sister’s shirt is already wet. “You won’t. Go. And thanks for the pep talk.”

  Because I know them, I know opening up wasn’t easy.

  She grins. “You look a little green. Is that the alcohol or talking about my boobs?”

  “Both.” I wince.

  Everyone laughs.

  “You got this. I promise,” Harlow adds, serious once more. “I’ll let you in on a secret… Girls like her don’t orgasm in public for a guy they’re not crazy about. So if worse comes to worst, take her to bed until she can’t say no anymore. It worked for Noah.”

  I didn’t need to know that. “Harlow…”

  She chortles. “You’re even greener. It’s hysterical.”

  “Fuck you,” I groan.

  “Love you, too.” She kisses me on the cheek, then heads for the door. “Call me once she’s said yes.”

  I’m not convinced that will ever happen, but they’re right. If I want any chance at a future with Corinne, I have to keep fighting for her. Everyone she’s ever loved has abandoned her in some way or another. I can’t do the same and expect her to trust me. I have to show her I’ll be there, no matter what—even if she hurts me.

  And if it doesn’t change her mind…I’ll keep trying until she does.

  “We will,” Maxon promises. “Now get out of here before you make us all puke.”

  With a final wink, my sister leaves. My brothers give me matching expectant stares.

  I race to my bedroom, take the quickest shower in history, and brush my damn teeth. Then, feeling almost human, I swipe the car keys off the counter, assure Maxon and Griff that I’m sober and I’ll be fine flying solo, then rush off to throw my heart on the line one last time.

  Dark envelops me as I race down the highway at breakneck speeds. It’s a miracle I don’t get pulled over.

  During my drive, I prepare all I can. I have to think smart if I want Corinne to dump Riley—and not because I prove he’s Parker’s lap dog but because she chooses me.

  After the last eighteen hours, it’s a tall fucking order.

  A slew of calls later, I’m ready. Thanks to Owen, I have Riley’s room number at the posh resort he can’t afford. I also get the unhappy news that, as far as the PI can tell, Corinne never checked in separately. She’s staying with her goddamn ex. Even if they didn’t fuck last night, tonight’s a new opportunity to get down and dirty.

  I’m putting a stop to that. If I have my way, that sellout son of a bitch will never touch her again.

  The drive seems to take both twenty hours and a nanosecond. Finally, I screech into the parking lot, slam on my brakes in front of the valet stand, and toss the attendant in a loud Hawaiian shirt my keys.

  Since I know the layout of this hotel, it doesn’t take me long to find Riley’s room.

  I raise my fist and pound on the door. If the fucking bastard answers, he’ll likely try to slam it in my face, but I’ve got a strategy. He’s not bigger than me, and he’s not smarter than me. He definitely doesn’t have right on his side.

  Instead, Corinne opens the door, her long hair in a messy bun. She’s dressed in some of the unsexiest pajamas I’ve ever seen—green with white stripes covering everything from her neck to her ankles. The shirt is emblazoned with an animated teddy-bear face from some childhood cartoon I vaguely remember. It’s obvious she cried off most of her makeup and removed what little was left. Her eyes are as swollen as that bruised lower lip she keeps chewing. She looks miserable.

  I’m dying to hold her. But she stands firmly in the doorway, preventing any semblance of intimacy.

  “What are you doing here?” she breathes.

  “Making a few more things clear to you.”

  She sighs tiredly. “Xavian—”

  “Are we alone?” I’m not letting her shut me down before I’ve even said a word.

  “Yes. Riley went to get himself some food. I wasn’t hungry.”

  He left her alone when she’s more upset than I’ve ever seen her. What a bastard…

  But his absence is an unexpected boon. And a smart man knows when to capitalize on his advantages. I’ve been called an asshole a lot, but never stupid.

  “Let me in so we can talk.”

  Corinne hesitates, her stare clinging to me like a kid through a candy store window. But she shakes her head. “We’ve said everything that needs to be said.”

  “Wrong.” Since this isn’t the first time I’ve been pushy and it won’t be the last, I nudge her aside and stalk into the room, pulling the door from her grasp and letting it slam shut behind me.

  Riley’s suitcase sits in one corner on a rack. Hers is spread out on a chair on the opposite side. There are two queen beds and they both look slept in. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a victory.

  She gasps. “You shouldn’t be here.”

  “Because Riley might catch us?”

  She shakes her head. “Because we just hurt each other.”

  That alarms the fuck out of me. “I hurt you?”

  “The things you said earlier—”

  “Weren’t meant to upset you. They were meant to make you think.”

  “They did.” She frowns like the memory is too painful. “About things I never should.”

  My heart starts racing. “Like what?”

  “Like…things between us weren’t fake.”

  Her body language is telling me to back off, but my gut screams that’s the worst thing I could do. Now I just have to swallow my fear that Corinne will never want me for me and man up. “For me, none of it was. Ever.”

  Her lips part in shock. “Don’t say things you don’t mean. I can’t handle…”

  Tears start falling, ripping me apart. I step into her personal space, take her face in hand, and stoop down until I’m looking her straight in the eye. “I mean it, with every part of my body, especially my heart.”

  That only makes her cry more. “No, you don’t.”

  She’s not calling me a liar; she’s afraid to believe. I see it all over her face.

  Hope surges hard. “I do. And I’m going to prove it.”