Page 126 of Guarded Love

I could lie. Could minimize it, make it sound newer than it is. But I'm done with half-truths and careful omissions. "Since Puerto Rico. We made it official a few days ago."

"Puerto Rico." Knox runs a hand through his hair. "Fuckin’ A Blaise. You've been lying to my face for weeks."

"I haven't been lying?—"

"Bullshit." His voice rises slightly. "You’ve been the best of friends and talking to me about all types of shit and yet you couldn’t tell me that you're fucking my sister."

Willow flinches at the crude words, and something protective flares in my chest. "Don't talk about her like that."

"Like what? Like she's my sister? Because she is." Knox takes a step closer. "She's my sister, and you're supposed to be my best friend."

"I am your best friend. That hasn't changed."

"Everything's changed." Knox shakes his head. "You think I don't know what this means? You think I'm stupid? This is going to fuck everything up.”

I know he’s right that everything has changed, but it doesn't change anything. If anything, it crystallizes what I already know. I'm not backing down. Not from this. Not from her.

"Maybe it will fuck things up," I say. "But I'd rather have that than pretend this doesn't matter."

Knox stares at me like I've grown a second head. "Are you serious right now?"

"Dead serious." I squeeze Willow's hand tighter. "I know what I'm risking here, Knox. I know what this could cost me. But I'm not walking away from her. I can't."

"You can't?" He stares me down with his mouth slightly open as if he’s seeing me for the first time. "Holy hell, you are serious.”

Willow steps forward then, placing herself between Knox and me. I watch her shoulders straighten, see her chin lift the same way she did when she faced Leo. When she didn’t realize I was standing there on the sidelines watching her taking on that asshole.

"Knox, stop. Just...stop."

Knox's attention shifts to her completely. "Willow?—"

"No, let me talk." She takes another step toward her brother, closing the distance between them. "You want to know why we didn't tell you? You want to know why we kept this secret?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Because I was scared." The words come out in a rush, like she's been holding them back for weeks. "I was terrified, Knox. Everything in my life was already falling apart. The Leo situation, the harassment, feeling like I couldn't trust anyone. And then there was this thing with Blaise that felt...real. Important. And I didn't know how to tell you."

Knox's expression softens slightly, but his jaw is still tight. "You could have?—"

"Could have what? Come to you and said, 'Hey Knox, I'm falling for your best friend while my ex is trying to destroy my life online'?" She laughs, but there's no humor in it. "You would have lost your mind."

"Maybe I would have," Knox admits. "But that's not your call to make."

"Isn't it?" Willow's voice rises slightly. "It's my life, Knox. My relationship. My choice about when and how to tell the people I care about."

I watch this exchange and quickly realize I’m torn between pride at how she's standing up for herself and concern about where this is heading.

“Does that include not telling me about what was going on with Leo?” Knox asks.

“To be fair, she didn’t tell me the full story either and—” But I stop talking when Knox glares at me.

"You want to know about Leo?" Willow sighs before she continues. "Fine. I didn't tell you because I was already drowning, Knox. The harassment, the threats, watching Lilly get torn apart online…it was all too much. I was barely keeping my head above water. And then there was this." She gestures between herself and me. "This beautiful, terrifying thing that made me feel like maybe I wasn't completely broken."

Knox's expression shifts into something that doesn’t resemble anger, but I’m not sure what to call it.

"I was scared," she continues. "Scared that if I told you about Blaise, you'd make me choose. Scared that you'd hate him for caring about me. Scared that I'd lose both of you in different ways. I didn't know how to tell the person I love most in the world and the brother I'm terrified of disappointing that I'd found something good in the middle of all that chaos."

"You think you could disappoint me?" Knox looks as confused as I feel. “How?”