“Okay, sure.” Dylan pushed his chair back and stood up, and was just about to walk across the kitchen when he stopped and fixed me with a strange look. “Hey, why is Estella here so early?”

My cheeks immediately flamed at Dylan’s innocent question and my eyes darted to Vincent for help.

“She brought me home last night and fell asleep here.” Vincent didn’t miss a beat.

“Oh, okay.” Dylan shrugged and proceeded to the cupboard.

I didn’t know why I hadn’t said that instead of feeling all awkward about it. I guess a part of me felt like something more had happened between Vincent and me, even though it hadn’t.

Vincent stood up and I followed him out onto the porch. We were silent for a few minutes before Vincent finally spoke.

“I’m sorry for putting you in that position last night.” He paused. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. I’ve thought about the things you’ve said to me. I’ve thought about the choices I’ve made and what I can do differently.”

He turned his obsidian eyes on me, and it was like they were on fire. “I want to change for you. I need you to know that I can be a better person. I remember everything I said to you last night and I meant every single word. I want you to know that.”

My voice was soft when I spoke. “I believe you.”

I reached out and touched his face, his mouth, his forehead. Our eyes drank each other in and I suddenly felt as though the final obstacle between us had been overthrown. Whatever walls had been built up between us were now gone.

Vincent was someone I could trust. He was a friend.

* * *

When Vincent pulled up outside my house, my heart sank. Seth’s BMW was parked out front.

I knew he’d come over to see Savannah, but honestly, I didn’t want him to see me with Vincent. He wouldn’t like that I was hanging out with a guy like Vincent. I mean, it had nothing to do with him who I spent my time with, but I just knew that this was not going to play out well.

“Whose car is that?” Vincent asked, a protective edge in his voice as we both got out of the car.

There really wasn’t any way to avoid the confrontation that was coming. I could already sense that Seth and Vincent would not warm to each other.

The front door opened and Seth and Savannah stepped outside. Savannah waved at me. “I thought I heard you pull up!” She raised her eyebrows in question at Vincent but said nothing.

Seth, on the other hand, looked mad as we all met halfway. There was an awkward silence in which Seth—dressed in a crisp, clean suit—and Vincent—dressed in his usual leather jacket and jeans—eyed each other up.

Seth’s bottom lip curled and he looked revolted. “Who the hell is this, Estella? You stay out all night with guys like this? Where were you?”

Before I could open my mouth, Vincent took a step forward.  “I’m Vincent Madden. Who the fuck are you?”

Seth looked like he’d been slapped across the face. I guess no one had ever spoken to him like that before. We Markson kids were always polite and well-mannered. Vincent was from another world.

“I’m Estella’s cousin.” Seth straightened up and puffed out his chest like a rooster on display. In comparison to Vincent, there was nothing impressive about him.

Vincent snickered and he had that smirk playing around his mouth whenever he was feeling particularly smug or confident about something. He turned to me and lowered his voice.

“Dylan told me it’s your birthday tomorrow. I want you to come by the house at six.” He eyes flickered over to Seth. “If that’s okay with your cousin.”

Seth’s face turned red and he looked like he was about to say something nasty to Vincent but then thought better of it.

“My cousin doesn’t own me,” I said, fixing Seth with a fierce look.

“Good. As long as he knows that.” Vincent ran a hand through my hair and inclined his head at Seth before leaving.

I didn’t even bother acknowledging Seth further, and hurried past him and into the house, wondering what Vincent had planned for me.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Vincent

“Vincent, I can’t see anything!” Estella cried, waving her arm in front of her as she tried to feel for anything that was in her way.

She was blindfolded and I had her other arm linked through mine, guiding her down the path to the creek.

“It’s just a little further,” I said into her ear, smiling at the way goosebumps popped up on her neck.

When we finally reached the clearing in front of the dock, I took of Estella’s blindfold and waited for her to react.

Her eyes grew wide and she clamped a hand over her mouth, staring at me like she wasn’t sure what to say. “I-you-oh my gosh! You did this for me?”

I nodded, placing a hand on her lower back. “Yeah, I knew you liked the creek so I got Dil to help me out a little.”

Estella’s eyes wandered over the lanterns in the trees, to the fairy lights wrapped around the tree branches, and then to the table set up just in front of the dock. There was a picnic basket on it with some bread and cheese and chicken that I’d bought pre-cooked—nothing fancy, but I hoped it was the gesture that counted.

Estella’s face was glowing when she turned to me. “This is amazing! I can’t believe you did all this! No one’s ever done anything like this for me before.”

“I hope you like it,” I said, leading her to the table and pulling out her chair for her.

Once she was seated, all I could do was stare at her. Estella was goddamn beautiful and here she was looking at me like I was the most amazing person she’d ever laid eyes on.

And there was a smile on her face—a genuine smile that I’d given her, not that fake shit she was always putting on.

I served her up a plateful of food and she eyed it warily before accepting it.

“Don’t worry,” I said with a laugh. “I didn’t cook it this time.”

“I liked that you cooked for me,” Estella said as she chewed on a piece of chicken. “Even though I’ve tasted better food from an eight-year-old.”

“Ouch, that hurts my feelings.”

Estella laughed, tilting her head to the side so that her honey brown locks flowed over her shoulders. She was so beautiful and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was everything I needed. Nothing else mattered anymore.

“I’m glad that you’re trying to change, Vincent. It gives me hope.”

I reached across and took her hand in mine. “I’m trying to change for you. I want you to see that I can be a better person. I want you to proud of me instead of being disappointed all the time.”

“Yes, but you being in this gang, you fighting, those are things that aren’t right. You can’t use violence and intimidation to solve all your problems.”

I squeezed her hand. “I’m leaving all that behind, Stelle. I’m giving all that up for you, for Dylan. I want us to have a life together because there is no way I could picture you not being in my life. I want you, all of you, and I’m giving it all up for you.”

“What about the fight that’s coming up?”

“I told Ryder I wasn’t going to do it. I told him I quit.”

Estella’s expression completely changed and her mouth fell open as she pulled her hand free from my grasp. She stood up from her seat and shook her head, backing away from me slowly at the same time.

Suddenly it felt like a crushing weight had descended into my chest at the look in her eyes. I’d been sure Estella felt the same way about me, but now I wasn’t even sure.

“Vincent, I don’t know how to do this with you.”

Her words cut into me like broken glass. I struggled to piece together what she was saying, but none of this was making much sense to me. As different as we were, we were right for each other. We didn’t make sense on paper, but we made sense on some other level. It was a level that only we could understand. So why was she pushing me away?

“You don’t realize someone was missing from your life until the moment they enter it. You were missing, Estella. Something brought us together, and I’m not going to let go. Push me away if you want. Deny that there’s anything between us. But listen to what I’m saying; I refuse to let you go. You can’t make me let go because you’re the only thing left for me to hold onto.”

Estella’s bottom lip quivered and I’d never seen her look so sad before.

“I’m a shell Vincent—empty, lifeless, dead. There’s nothing left inside of me to love.”

* * *

Estella

Vincent seized me by the shoulders, pulling me close to him so that I was faced with his dark eyes that seemed to be burning into me with each second that passed.

“Yes, there is, Estella. There’s a lot left inside of you to love. I see it in the way you put others before yourself. I see it in the way you take care of everyone. I see it in the way you look at me.” Vincent placed a hand on the center of my chest. “There is so much inside of you for me to love, but you have to love yourself first. You have to believe that you’re worth it, the way I know you are.”

His words were reassuring, but a part of me didn’t know what to believe.

“Don’t you understand? I’m dead. I died two-and-a-half years ago. I had to die so I wouldn’t keep reliving what he was doing to me. I didn’t want to stay alive anymore, so I killed a part of myself.”

Vincent took my hands in his, brushing his lips against my skin in a soft kiss. “Then let me bring you back to life.”

His words had me shaking all over. I didn’t want to feel this way, yet at the same time I did. I loved the way he made me feel. Everything was so confusing. Why couldn’t I just give into my feelings?