“Great. So you’ll be able to see him more.”

“Yep.” A small frown pulled at her mouth.

“What’s the matter?”

She sighed. “It’s just Max knows I’ve had some problems in the past, but I don’t think he knows that I can’t leave the house. What am I supposed to say when he asks me out?”

“Can’t Cole explain stuff to him?”

“My brother doesn’t admit it much, but he’s embarrassed about me.”

“Then we better start moving forward on your goals so we can get you out on a date with him.” My optimism sounded a little forced even to my own ears, and the look on Finley’s face was gloomy with defeat. It was definitely a daunting situation, and I had no real answers for her except to continue with small steps and see where they led.

“You’re right,” Finley said quietly. “For tonight, I’m not going to worry about it. I’m just going to have fun.” The conviction in her tone and words seemed genuine, and I was relieved to hear it.

“Good idea. Go back to him, Finley. I’ll be fine. I might even have one more of those super sweet drinks just to help me get in the party mood.”

She hugged me and went back inside. Seconds later, my alcohol soaked friend had found me again. This time he had the nerve to take hold of my arm.

“There you are, garden of Eden. I was hoping we could share an apple together.”

“I’m not really in the mood for fruit.” I pulled away from him and hopped down the small flight of steps leading to the yard. I was confident he wouldn’t have the balance to walk down stairs, but he proved me wrong. Annoyance was quickly morphing into fear. I looked around, but the few party-goers who had stepped outside were too busy with their conversations to notice drunken Mike staggering after me like a horny Frankenstein. With large feet and a lumber that bordered on clumsy, he was alarmingly fast on his feet. He grabbed my arm and twisted it. There was nothing I hated more than a scene, and I concentrated on keeping my cool. After all, I had my wits and one big advantage, I was sober. He, on the other hand, was having a hard time focusing as he swayed back and forth like a giant tree about to fall. I shoved him hard with my free hand, but it was like pushing against a brick wall. My theory of him being an easy pushover had been squelched. Leaving the patio had been a huge mistake.

I took a step back and realized we were tucked securely into a corner of the rose garden wall. Unfortunately, our location did not escape his bleary-eyed notice either. With no small amount of force, he had me pressed against the wall. He stuck his thick thigh between my legs and held tightly to both my arms. He leaned forward and smothered my scream with his disgusting mouth. He released one of my hands and grabbed at the shoulder of my shirt. I shot my fist into his stomach, but at such close range, it had little impact. Then a hand grabbed his wrist.

“Damn, is that you, Cole?  I’m just having some fun,” Mike mumbled without looking away from me.

“Guess again.”

This time Mike’s face snapped up and he backed away. “What the hell, Jude? Where did you come from?” Mike grabbed my arm again. “I found her first.”

“Let go of her now and then get the fuck off my property.”

“What are you, the bouncer?” Mike attempted to sound calm, but there was a streak of terror running through the center of his words.

Before I could take a breath, Jude had him pressed up against the wall with his arm across Mike’s neck. “I don’t know. Let me bounce your thick skull off this wall a few times and we’ll find out.”

Mike’s face turned red, and he flailed an arm at Jude but missed.

“Leave now and we won’t have to call an ambulance to pick you up.” Jude’s chilling tone caused the guy to put up his hands in surrender. Jude shoved his arm against Mike’s neck harder and then released him.

Mike stumbled away coughing and cussing. We’d attracted a small crowd, and I looked around at the faces then finally brought myself to look at Jude. I knew the moment I looked at him I would burst into tears. And I did not disappoint myself. His green eyes were a mixture of rage and concern.

He reached for my hand, but I pulled it away.

“You win,” I blurted through sobs and ran back through the house and to my room. I was fairly certain I’d elbowed my way through the crowd without Finley noticing. I was glad for that. Even though my night had gone from bad to horribly ugly within the space of half an hour, I definitely didn’t want it to stop Finley’s night.

A whimper of relief fell from my lips as I reached my room. I flopped onto my bed and buried my face into my pillow just as a knock sounded on the door.

“Eden, it’s me. Let me in.” The sound of Jude’s voice pushed the tears harder.

“I’m fine, Jude. Just go away.”

The door opened and he stepped inside. I didn’t look up from the pillow.

“Go ahead and say I told you so,” I muttered into the pillow. “You were right. I couldn’t handle it.”

“Actually, I didn’t see that coming. I mean Mike’s an asshole and everything, but I had no idea he’d pull that shit.” He was directly over my bed, but I still couldn’t bring myself to look at him.  “Come on, Eden, take your face out of that pillow. I just want to know that you’re all right.”

“Okay, but I must warn you that my nose and eyes get really puffy when I cry.” I wiped my tears with the palm of my hand and sat up against the headboard.

Jude crossed his hands in front of his face. “Holy shit, that is frightening.”

I threw my pillow at him, which he deftly snatched from the air before it made contact. He sat on the edge of my bed, and once again, I was acutely aware of his nearness as if electric charges were sparking between us.

“Thank you, by the way.” My eyes watered again. I’d had unwanted advances from guys before but I’d never been as scared as I had been this time. “Let’s not tell Finley.”

“Agreed,” he said. “Hopefully people are already too wasted to relay the story. At the moment, she’s busy swooning over Max.”

“Is he a trustworthy guy?” I felt better switching subjects and getting my mind off of my traumatic experience.

“Max is all right.” Jude combed his fingers through his black hair and it stuck out in every direction. I’d been so busy surviving the party, I hadn’t noticed just how heartbreaking he looked in his black t-shirt and jeans. “Fin has had a thing for the guy for the last three years. And I think he’s always liked her, but—”

“But he doesn’t realize how bad her problems are?”

“I don’t think Cole talks about it much. Just like my dad, he kind of likes to shrug it off like it’s no big deal. I don’t want her to get hurt. It’s the last thing she needs.”

“Your sister might be dealing with some things, but she has an incredible grasp on people and the world. I don’t think she’ll lose her head over him. He’s just a guy, after all,” I added with a grin.

“I’d say you’ve got a pretty incredible grasp yourself there, Valley. You’ve known my sister for a few days and it’s as if you’ve known her a lifetime.”

“I feel like I’ve known her a lifetime. Hey, she mentioned you were pissed at Cole for inviting someone you didn’t want to see. Was that sleazebag, Mike, the guy?”

He shook his head. “Nope. That was a different sleazebag. Although after tonight, Mike’s definitely the king of sleaze. The other guy didn’t show. I think Cole told him not to come after my subtle warning.”

I laughed. “Was it anything like the subtle warning you gave Mike? I thought he was going to pee his pants. It would have been so great if he had. Who was this guy that you disinvited?”

“He’s the reason I’m wearing this thing.” He held up his ankle. “His cocaine, my freedom. I got pulled over in my car for speeding, and the fool dropped it between the seats. But my sentence is almost done now.”

“Then I guess you’ll be leaving soon?”