Page 117 of The Billionaire's Bride

"Yeah." A hot sensation stabs at my chest. "It wasn’t your fault either." I hold his gaze.

"I forgive you, man," I finally say. The pressure builds behind my temples. My throat closes. I draw in a breath, then another. Force myself to feel every single fucking emotion that coils in my chest. "I forgive you; you hear me?"

"Me too." He swallows. "I forgive you."

That’s when I hear footsteps approach us.

"What the hell is happening here?

42

Ava

The sound of voices had woken me up. I had pulled on my clothes then crept out of the room. I had peeked into the living room, to find the two of them engaged in conversation.

I had hesitated, not wanting to interrupt, when Baron had charged Ed. They’d sprawled to the floor, rolled over. I had stepped toward them, intent on breaking up the fight; that's when Ed had placed his forehead against Baron’s in what was, clearly, an emotional moment between the two.

They had spoken in low voices. I crept close enough to hear them forgive each other… And the way they had looked at each other… There was so much pain, so much shared history, so much…anger, and underneath all of that, so much…connection. It was such a private moment… I had felt like an intruder. It didn’t feel right, somehow. I had witnessed what was, clearly…something very emotional between them and they weren’t even aware of it… That’s when I had spoken up.

Now, both of them glance at me, until Edward springs up. He holds out his arm to Baron, who hesitates, then grabs it. Ed pulls him up. Both men turn to face me.

"Well?" I glance between them, "What was that all about?"

Both men hold my gaze; twin expressions of stubbornness greet me.

"Come on," I blow out a breath, "I heard you guys speak, and this wasn’t a normal bro-to-bro conversion, the kind you guys normally indulge in."

"Bro-to-bro?" Edward mutters. "What does that even mean?"

"I mean, it wasn’t the kind of posturing you Seven indulge in when you get together. This felt…raw…and real…and painful."

"That’s because it was." Baron blows out a breath. He glares sideways at Ed, and the two exchange one of their looks.

"See?" I throw up my hands, "This is what I mean. You guys have a shared history and neither of you ever shared it with me."

"It wasn’t the right time earlier." Baron stalks over to me, "But it is time now." He cups my cheek. "Believe me when I say, it’s not an easy story to tell but," he swallows, "you deserve to know."

I glance past him at Edward, who nods at me.

"Okay." I swallow. "Tell me then."

Baron leads me over to the settee, then sinks down next to me. Edward sits in the chair opposite us. He glances at Baron, who takes my hand in his. He weaves his fingers through mine and the gesture is so…tender, so unlike how Baron has been with me before. And it’s not like he hasn’t been affectionate… But this, is almost more like a plea for my support… My heart stutters. My throat closes.Oh, hell, do I really want to know about what they are going to tell me?

"So," I square my shoulders, "what is it?"

He hesitates and I glance down at my palm that is swallowed up by his much larger one. I bring our joined hands up and kiss the back of his. "You can tell me anything, Baron."

His chest rises and falls. I glance up to find him staring at me with such vulnerability in his eyes, my breath grows shallow and my heart begins to pound. "What is it?" I murmur, "You’re scaring me, Barry."

"Barry?" He blinks. "No one calls me Barry."

"Guess I do, now."

His lips quirk. He rolls his shoulders before composing himself. "You know about the incident, of course, and I guess you’ve heard something about how Ed and I…" he firms his lips, "how we were hurt the worst by it?"

"It’s what I gathered from the girls, yes." I nod.

"When we were kidnapped, Ed and I were initially held with the rest of the Seven," Baron says in a hard voice. "We were all blindfolded and gagged then, so we could hear the rest of the boys, but not see them."