What? I needed to leave. She did not understand. “Really, Amanda. I need to go. He doesn’t want me here, and this is his family. I should have asked him.” I was pleading now. If she didn’t let me go, I was going to start begging.

“Krit is an ass. He has always been an ass. And Brittany has a thing for singers. She’s been after Krit for years. Why she is with him, I have no idea, other than to tell you he is an ass.”

This was wrong. Krit was not an ass. I had blindsided him by showing up here. He reacted the way anyone would. “He’s not an ass. I am. I should have asked him if this was okay. I don’t think sometimes.”

Amanda opened the front door and pulled me inside. Then she turned to look at me. She stared at me for a minute, then a sad smile touched her lips. “You are so not an ass. And I love Trisha, but you’re too good for Krit,” she said, then nodded toward the sound of people. “Come on in. This is my mom’s house, but make yourself welcome. Let’s go see the birthday girl and give her this sparkly present she’s gonna love,” she said, handing the gift back to me. “Then we will get you—and me—a drink. I need one after that.”

We rounded a corner and came into a large kitchen that looked like something out of a magazine. Balloons were everywhere, as was the color pink. A tall three-tiered cake sat on the bar with pink and white stripes on one layer, and pink and white polka dots on another layer. Then the top layer was white and had the number nine and the name Daisy in pink. A pink sparkly crown sat on the top. It was the birthday cake of little girls’ dreams.

“That is one fabulous cake,” Amanda said as we entered the room. Trisha spun around, and her smile brightened when she saw us.

“Isn’t it? Can you believe Rock ordered this? He went to the bakery and everything two weeks ago. I told him to get her a princess cake. He sure is an overachiever,” she said with a laugh. “I’m glad Amanda found you and helped you find your way in here. I was going to call Krit and see if you could just ride with him, but then I forgot.”

Oh no. Not a good thing to say when Krit would be coming in behind us at any moment.

“Probably good you didn’t. He came with someone. I’m pretty sure Blythe wouldn’t have wanted to ride with them.” The distaste in Amanda’s tone didn’t go unnoticed by Trisha. She stopped and looked at Amanda. The questions were there in her eyes, but she wasn’t going to ask them with me standing there.

“If I had known she needed a ride, I would have driven myself,” Krit said as he entered the room. There was a hard edge to his tone as he shot a glare at Amanda.

I couldn’t look at him. I jerked my head back around to stare at anything but Trisha or Krit. I didn’t belong there. I didn’t belong anywhere. I knew that. I had always known that. Being there was wrong.

“Didn’t know you were bring a guest,” Trisha said in a tight voice. Just what I needed. For her to get upset with him too. They were all jumping on him like he had done something wrong. It wasn’t fair. I ruined everything. Mrs. Williams had told me that more than once. I had wanted to believe she was lying to me, but I could see that she had been right.

“Didn’t know you had invited Blythe,” he repeated in a clipped tone.

I winced. He was angry about that. Why hadn’t I asked him about it first?

Trisha took a step toward him, her eyes slanted, and she looked ready to slap him. “This is Daisy May’s birthday party. Not a place you bring an uninvited guest. One I should have been told about.” Trisha had raised her voice. This wasn’t good. They were about to fight. I could see the look on Krit’s face, and he wasn’t going to back down from this. Trisha’s husband was huge, and I didn’t imagine he would be okay with Krit raising his voice to Trisha.

This mess was my fault. I had to fix it.

“Don’t. Please. I think that y’all have the wrong impression here, and Krit is being treated unfairly.” I looked at Trisha. “What I told you today was the truth. I wasn’t trying to keep a secret. I was being honest. Krit and I are friends. That’s it. He also wasn’t expecting me to be here. I didn’t ask him if he was okay if I came. I should have.” I waved a hand over to where he stood with his date. “As you can see, he brought someone. Someone of his choosing. And that’s okay, because he is just a friend. He isn’t doing anything wrong. I’m the outsider here. I’m the one who doesn’t belong. And if you invited me because you thought that Krit would want me here, then I am so sorry I gave you that impression.” I took a deep breath, then looked at Krit. “I really am sorry. I didn’t think. I told you I would mess up, because I don’t always know the right thing to do.” I set the gift on the counter. “Thanks for inviting me. I really enjoyed spending time with you today. But this is a party for friends and family. I’m making it tense and awkward with my presence,” I said as I looked at Trisha, willing her to understand.

Then I walked to the door, making sure I didn’t get too close to Krit or his date. I just wanted to go back to the safety of my apartment. I heard whispering, and I walked faster. They were talking about me, and that was something I was used to.

Luckily, I got outside and to my car before Amanda could decide to keep me from leaving again. I had left the door unlocked, which I never did. The shock of seeing Krit with that girl had made me forget all about it. I climbed inside, thankful for the security of my car so that the tears burning my eyes could fall now in peace. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my keys and fumbled with them through the tears now freely flowing and hindering my sight. Once I had the key to the car, I managed to shove it in the ignition. The car cranked.

Then the passenger door opened, and Krit was sitting down beside me.

KRIT

She was crying.

Holy hell, something in my chest exploded. I had made her cry. Sweet precious perfect Blythe. What sick worthless motherfucker makes someone like her cry? Me and my worthless ass. God! I should have stayed away from her. I’d been selfish and had wanted to be near her because of how she made me feel, how being near her filled me and made me have a complete feeling. But I would sacrifice my soul never to have to see her cry. To know I did this was worse. A thousand times worse.

“Blythe,” I managed to get out through the thickness in my throat. “I am so sorry, sweetheart. Please, god, love, please don’t cry,” I begged, and reached over to wipe the tears streaming down her face. I didn’t want to do this there. I wanted to hold her. Fix this. God, do anything to make her smile and forget this ever happened.

I opened the car door and got out and walked around to her side. Reaching in, I took her hand and pulled her out and into my arms. I needed to hold her just for a minute. I was taking us home, but first I had to feel her close to me. She was stiff in my arms, and that sliced through me like a hot blade. I deserved it. I’d handled this completely wrong. I knew her insecurities, and I didn’t take them into consideration when I reacted the way I did. She had misunderstood me.

“Krit!” Britt’s voice reminded me that she was still there. Shit. Blythe moved to get away from me, but I held her tightly to my chest. She was very confused about Britt, and I intended to clarify that. But first I had to get her to stop crying.

“Come on, I’m driving,” I told Blythe as I wrapped my arm around her and tucked her to my side to keep her from running off from me. She went, but she was like a robot. She didn’t mold into my side or cling to me in anyway. She was so damn tense, it hurt.

After I got Blythe in the passenger seat of her car and buckled her up, I headed for the driver’s side. Britt stood with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. I didn’t have time for her drama. Blythe was likely to bolt on me if I didn’t get this car moving.

“Thanks for helping me find the purse. I have something important I have to deal with. I gotta go,” I said, not looking at her as I climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Important! Really! You f**ked me like a wild man in your bed just two hours ago, and now you’re running off because she’s crying?”

Closing my eyes, I gripped the steering wheel tightly to keep from reaching out the window and strangling her. That was not what I wanted Blythe to hear. I got the hell away from Britt and her loud mouth. She used to be easy. Now she was a pain in my ass. Today was the last time I’d take her to my bed. It was a massive mistake to begin with.

“I’m sorry about her,” I said, hating that I even had to bring her up around Blythe.

“Don’t. It’s okay.” She sniffed, and I glanced over at her to see her wiping her face with both her palms. “You shouldn’t be leaving, Krit. It’s your niece’s birthday party,” she said softly. “I just ruin everything.” The pain in her words were my doing.

“Do not ever, ever, say that again. Do you understand me? Don’t ever.” I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. I had to gain control of my emotions. “You make everything better. Why can’t you see that? Who f**ked your head up so bad that you can’t see how amazing you are? And Goddamn it, Blythe, you’re unbelievably gorgeous, and you don’t know that, either. How is that even possible, love? You have a mirror. You can see that your outside package is just as beautiful as your inside. It shouldn’t be possible for you to be so damn blind when it comes to yourself.”

She didn’t say anything. I glanced over at her, and she was staring at me like I had lost my mind. Her eyes were wide and confused. The red-rimmed swollen puffiness even looked adorable on her. Did she even have to be a pretty crier? Damn it, I needed her to have a fault. Anything. Something to put me on a more even playing field with her.

“Fuck, you’re even perfect when you’re eyes are swollen. Ain’t fair, love. How do I deal with that? Hmmm?” I turned back to the road and focused on getting us to the apartment. I needed to get a washcloth and clean her tear-streaked face. Then I needed to hold her. I wanted to hear her laugh. Right now I would settle for a smile. Anything other than that hurt look in her eyes.

When I had stepped out of Britt’s Camaro, and Blythe had been there staring at me with a panicked look on her face, I hadn’t been prepared for that. I was frustrated that I hadn’t had time for Britt to take me back to the apartment so I could get my bike. She’d had to come with me, and that frustration multiplied when I saw Blythe looking at Britt.

I didn’t want her near Britt. Britt was a part of my life I didn’t like Blythe to see. Blythe was the good part of my life, and Britt was part of the darkness I didn’t want touching Blythe. That all hit me at once, and I hadn’t handled Blythe correctly. She assumed she was completely to blame. For what? Coming to a party my sister had invited her to? How did Blythe get into her head that she was wrong for that? I was the jackass, and Amanda and my sister were in complete agreement.

Blythe had picked up on their anger toward me and rode in like my avenging angel to make sure no one blamed me. She wasn’t going to let them attack me in anyway. Even though I deserved it. I had gone to the party intent on getting Blythe and fixing the mess outside. But then she had gone from her typical shy nature to standing up in a roomful of people she didn’t know that well. Blythe defended me with a look on her face that blatantly dared anyone to argue the fact that I was innocent.

No one in my life had ever done that. Not even my sister. I was positive at that moment, when my sweet quiet Blythe was loudly telling a room of people who knew better that I was a nice guy who was treated unfairly, that I would follow her off the edge of a cliff if she asked me to.

I pulled into her parking spot under the apartments and quickly got out of the car and went around to get her. She had already started to get out, but I grabbed her hand and pulled her close to me. Then I locked the car before tucking her keys into my pocket.

“Come on,” I said gently, and threaded my hand through hers. She wasn’t as stiff as before, but she wasn’t warming up to me either. She let me hold her hand, but she kept her distance.

When we got to her door, I pulled out her keys and unlocked it, then I went inside, taking her with me. I went directly to the sofa and sat down while bringing her with me and tucking her into my lap. I wrapped both of my arms around her. I bent my head and rested it in the curve of her neck and throat, and inhaled her sweet scent.

I was completely obsessed with her. Addicted wasn’t a strong enough word. She had surpassed my addictive tendencies, and I was full-blown obsessed. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for her. All she had to do was ask. I would give anything up just to get to hold her like this again.

“Krit,” she said in a quiet voice.

“Yeah?” I wasn’t ready to stop smelling her yet. My lips were pressed against her soft skin, and I liked having them there.

“You have to go. You have to sing tonight,” she reminded me.

I had forgotten. I had never forgotten about a gig before, but tonight it was the last thing on my mind. There wasn’t any room for anything other than Blythe. Sighing, I leaned back, and with one hand dug my phone out of my pocket. With the other hand, I held onto her for fear she’d get up and leave me.

I pressed Green’s number.

“Tell Daisy May I said happy birthday,” Green said into the phone. “And now get your ass here.”

“I’m not coming tonight,” I told him, lifting my eyes to lock on Blythe’s.

“What? What do you mean you can’t come tonight?”

“I have something more important. Someone more important that I need right now,” I told him.