After attempting to watch Bridgerton, Eden finally gave up and switched off the television.

The house was still; quiet.

Josh had turned in early after spending the day reviewing his set list for the fair. He played a few of his songs acoustically for herself and Kelly - much to the other woman's delight.

Without his band supporting him - the lights, electric guitar, bass - she had forgotten how incredible his voice was, stripped back and bare.

Kelly had felt the same way; tears had glistened in her eyes at the intimacy of his performance.

After he had run through what songs he had chosen to perform - family-friendly with explicit lyrics changed, of course - Eden had made him some lemon tea and encouraged him to take a soak in their bathtub. She knew Josh's guilty pleasure was a relaxing bubble bath with a glass of Merlot.

With nothing holding her interest, she might as well turn in herself. Truth be told, even if it was only eight o'clock, she was exhausted. Both physically and mentally.

She had woken up a little sad knowing that it was her last group talk today. She had honestly enjoyed it immensely and had already earmarked some charities to support that were aimed at adolescent girls. The next few months would be super busy for her but perhaps she could do something similar to what she had done now once her time freed up.

Today's session had been an emotionally draining one for her. She hadn't planned on divulging to the group details of her past depression and mistakes but had seen an opportunity that she knew she'd regret if she missed.

A thirteen-year-old girl a few towns over had recently self-harmed and was currently on a ventilator in ICU. A girl in Eden's class had mentioned a loose connection to her and after a few in the group expressed their horror at the situation, Eden had seen her opening.

She didn't get into too much detail about what happened to her. These were young girls, after all, and she wasn't sure their parents would appreciate her talking about sex and drugs with them, however innocent.

Anyway, the whole experience, while provocative and beneficial, had made her dog-tired and ready for bed.

Yawning widely, Eden went through the motions of turning plugs off at the wall, closing windows, and checking she had locked the back door. Years of living in New York had made her extra vigilant in being safe, even though New Haven rarely saw much serious crime.

As Eden poured herself a glass of water to take to bed, she checked her phone again and frowned at the empty screen.

No new messages.

She couldn't deny the pit drop in her stomach. She was disappointed. Last night, Barron had asked her again before he left to text him today once she was free. And she had every intention of doing so. She wasn't playing games with him or holding out for him to reach out first.

After class Eden had gone straight to meet with Joshua and Kelly and didn't get home until after five. By the time she checked her phone, she had admitted that she was a little disappointed that Barron hadn't reached out himself.

Still, she had flicked him a message apologizing for the late reply and asking him if he was still free. That was over two hours ago now.

Feeling low, she picked up her glass of water and turned to make the trek to her room before a movement through her front window caught her eye. She watched as a car pulled up to the front of her house and parked. It took her a moment but she recognized that car. And its driver.

Speak of the devil.

She sucked in a breath as she watched Barron climb out of his vehicle and walk determinedly up their pathway. Without thinking she made her way to the front door, yanking it open before he could knock.

He paused in surprise, his gaze wandering and flaring over her briefly before he continued striding forwards, coming to stop just in front of her.

She swallowed heavily as she considered his intense stare. His jaw was clenched and his hands flexed a few times by his side.

"Barron, hi," was all she said. "This is a surprise." As he continued to stare she rambled on. "I did text you. I know it was late but-"

"It's okay," he softly interrupted. "I would've reached out much sooner but I had some stuff to take care of."

"Oh." Her hand tightened on the door, awkwardness seeping through.

"Can I come in, please? There are some things I need to get off my chest."

She stepped back without hesitation. "Sure, come in."

He stepped through into her home, walking straight to their living area.

He wore a look of such raw vulnerability and earnestness. It was making her a little anxious as well as curious.

"Do you want to sit?"

Without warning, he whirled around and clasped her by the shoulders. She didn't have a moment to react before he pulled her body forward, enveloping her in a tight hug.

She stood there motionless for a moment, too shocked at his sudden behavior to form any sort of return.

Slowly, Eden wrapped her arms around his waist, partly because she felt awkward standing there with her arms limply by her side. But mainly - the feel of his hard, warm body pressed up against her was doing things to her. As unexpected as his gesture was, it wasn't unwelcome.

"Is everything okay?" She asked against his hard shoulder while she discreetly breathed in his clean scent.

He pulled back, but instead of letting her go, he clasped her smooth cheeks between his hands. Like a magnet, her gaze was locked onto his, and she held her breath in suspense.

"I'm hoping it will be," he said. His hands left her face and she instantly felt bereft from his touch. Until he reached down to grasp both her hands in his. As if he couldn't bear to not be touching her.

"I'm going to tell you something that might make you mad," he started.

She tensed at his words but Barron instantly tugged at her hands, squeezing them. "No. Not that," he firmly said. "Never that. Never again."

His mouth twisted in a self-deprecating smile. "Not that I blame you. I haven't really done jack shit in getting you to believe in me again. In us. I've been all talk, baby, and no action."

She frowned. "I wasn't thinking that," Eden insisted. And she hadn't been.

Barron only nodded but looked relieved at her answer. "I came to your class today."

Eden was stunned speechless. "Uhhh..."

"I thought I'd take the bull by the horns, so to speak, and force you to talk with me."

Her brow knitted in mild annoyance. "I was going to message you. I told you that I had a packed day, that wasn't an excuse."

"I know, baby." He sighed in frustration. "I could feel time slipping away. You slipping away. I grew impatient."

"So you came to see me today... did something come up?" She asked in confusion.

"No. I left before you finished." He shifted his eyes away from her for a brief second before returning back to her. Their depths were filled with a fierce emotion that caused her to look away.

"I heard part of your talk."

Her eyes widened in alarm. "What part specifically?" She slowly asked.

"I overheard you talk about your depression. That it led you to make some bad choices-"

"You were eavesdropping?!" She screeched.

Outraged and embarrassed she immediately tried to wrench her hands free from his. She could feel her cheeks burning, her palms starting to sweat in panic.

"Let me go!" She gritted out when he wouldn't let loose of her hands.

"No. Please just listen to me," he begged.

"You violated my privacy, the privacy of my girls-"

"No!" He firmly said, finally letting her go.

She whirled away from him, running her hands through her hair in agitation.

"Eden, I promise you. I didn't mean to listen in. I was only planning on waiting outside until you finished. The door was half open, I caught a snippet of what you said."

"Yeah," she turned on him, eyes flashing in anger, "enough to know that I had suffered from depression and had made terrible choices," she sneered.

He spread his hands in a calming gesture. "That's all I heard. As soon as one of the girls started talking I walked away. I already felt bad invading your privacy, there's no way I wanted to do it to the girls."

Some of the fight left her body at his admission. As angry as she was at his intrusion, she was glad that he had the good sense not to stay eavesdropping at the door.

"Will you please tell me about it?" He quietly pleaded.

"You mean you didn't overhear enough?" She arched her brow, her arms crossed in a defensive pose.

"Please," he whispered, coming up to her slowly; as if she would pounce away at any moment. "I-I need to know."

She hunched her shoulders, rubbing her arms with cold fingers; gaze averted in embarrassment.

"Not much to say," she mumbled. "I went a little wild when I left for New York."

"Is that all?" He softly asked.

Annoyed she glanced at him, angry at his little therapist attitude. "No, that's not all. I fucked a lot of men, drank a lot, and did drugs. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

He flinched at her coarse words but pushed on. "Because of me?" He asked. "Because of what I did to you?"

She gave a hollow laugh. "Don't flatter yourself."

Barron only stood there, regarding her with suspiciously damp eyes.

She threw her hands in the air. "Fine!" She sank down on the couch, hands gripping her thighs. "When I left for New York, I put you to the back of my mind." She gave a small humorless laugh. "Or so I thought."

She felt rather than saw him take a seat next to her, his silence encouraging her to continue.

"There were a lot of people, men," she amended painfully, "who paid me attention. They told me how beautiful I was, how special." She shrugged. "After what happened with you, with Lissa, it felt nice to be wanted, desired."

She took a peek at him. His head was bent, jaw clenched and hands were in tight fists on his lap.

"I thought, 'well, Barron didn't think I was good enough, but these people do.'"

She saw him flinch, the tip of his nose looking a bit red.

"I did a lot of things I wasn't proud of. It wasn't until Sofia visited me and called me out on it that I sought help."

"That's why she hates me so much," he said, his voice a little hoarse. "I mean, apart from the obvious. She saw the aftermath of what I did, the pain it caused."

"Possibly," she shrugged. "I realized I hadn't dealt with the depression that came after our breakup and that's what made me susceptible to making terrible choices. So I got help, cut off toxic friends, and became teetotal for a while."

Barton bent his head, elbows on his legs.

The silence was heavy and became too much for her.

"Hey, it's okay. What doesn't kill you and all that," she tried to joke.

Still, Barron was quiet until finally, he lifted his head towards her. His eyes were wet and his mouth was turned down in sorrow.

"I realized something today," he gruffly said. "I've been all talk. I've told you that I've changed and demanded that you talk to me - demanded that you listen to my explanations without even a thought of how it would affect you." He shook his head in disgust. "I haven't gone out of my way to show you that I've changed. That I'm not that same selfish guy. I just assumed you would figure out that I've grown up, gotten wiser."

She frowned at him, unsure where he was going with this.

"I let Tracey go today."

She jolted at that perplexing announcement. That she wasn't expecting. "What?"

"I also banned Lissa from The Good Home."

"Wha-what?" She shook her head, his comments briefly stupefying her.

"Obviously I can't make up for fucking up the first time," he told her as he clasped her clammy hands in his, "but what I can do is make you as comfortable and protected as possible when you come back to visit. Even if you never take me back, I want you to know that I'm putting you first. Like you should've been all along."

"So you fired Tracey and banned Lissa?" She slowly repeated, trying to wrap her head around his speech.

"Lissa's come to The Good Home a lot over the years. Sometimes to start arguments with me and other times to try and pick me up."

His hand squeezed hers as he sensed how uneasy the turn in conversation made her.

"I've always turned her down or just plain ignored her. Her antics that night nearly cost me my second chance with you. I realized that I've always gone easy on her and never set that line in the sand. That her flirtations are one hundred percent not wanted nor reciprocated. Her coming to my office that night, which isn't the first time she's tried to do that, is enough to have her banned."

She licked her dry lips. "A-and Tracey?"

He shook his head. "Her attitude hasn't been the greatest. Not only to me but to the staff and customers. Granted, some of the blame lies at my feet but I sincerely apologized to her and explained where my head was at. Her cornering you at my office and spouting off," his mouth twisted in anger, "I should've fired her straightaway."

"How did she take it?"

Barron smiled as he lifted a hand to push an errant strand of hair behind her ear.

"Always my soft-hearted girl," he murmured. "She was pissed. But she told me that she was planning on leaving town anyway. Actually what she said was 'fuck you and this fucking podunk town.' But don't worry, my love, I gave her severance pay and told Ian to give her a good reference. The last couple of months aside, she was a good worker."

He cupped her cheeks in his hands. "I'm so sorry for all the hurt, all the pain I caused you. And I'm sorry for fucking things up so much since you've been home."

Eden held her breath, mesmerized by his words. She wouldn't know what to say even if she could speak.

"I know this is only a small gesture, but I hope it shows you how serious I am about you. You come first. Your comfort, your mental health, and your peace of mind. I don't want you worrying about women coming onto me or ever doubting your self-worth. I want to be your safe space. I want to be able to win your trust back."

"Barron," she whispered, her voice breaking in emotion.

He bent and kissed her forehead before rising.

"Where are you going?" She asked, confused.

"That's all I wanted to come to tell you," he softly said. "I love you, Eden. That's not going away two weeks, two months, twenty years from now so please don't feel any pressure. If it's a no, it's a no. I'll respect your decision. Lissa will still be banned, nothing will change."

With one last kiss pressed to her head she watched, mouth agape, as he strolled towards the door before opening it and closing it softly behind him.

"I guess that answers my question on what his intentions were."

Eden yelped and jumped as Josh appeared in the hallway. Christ, she had forgotten that he was here.

She pressed a hand to her racing heart. "How much did you hear?"

Josh shrugged. "Enough to know the reason why you and I couldn't make it work."

Eden frowned. "Because we were more friends than lovers."

Josh only gave her a small smile before striding fully into the living room, hands deep in the pockets of his lounge pants. His chest was bare and completely covered in tattoos. She had once made it her mission to discover each piece of art before realizing that he regularly added new ones to any spare bit of skin.

"My turn to come clean." He grimaced. "I figured out last night that Barron was more than just a school friend. I told him to figure out his intentions with you because you had been through a lot and I didn't want him messing you up. Again."

"You told him?" She rose to her feet, feeling betrayed for the second time tonight.

He held out his hands in defense. "I didn't go into details. I just said that you went through some heavy stuff when I first met you; and that I figured it had something to do with him. Was I wrong?"

She shook her head in anger. "You shouldn't have said anything," she snapped.

"You're right. I'm sorry. But I had to know. I had to know whether he really loved you."

She stared at him. Her anger was still palpable at his revelation. "And you think he does?"

Josh just shrugged before rubbing a hand at the back of his neck. "Well, blokes in love can usually recognize each other."

Her mouth opened in shock. "You're in love? With who?" She tried to think back at the bevy of beauties he usually dated.

Josh gave her a long, eerily calm look before the full impact of what he meant dawned on her.

Her eyes widened, her mouth dropping open again at his admission. "Wha...? How? I mean, what? Josh...," she stammered, feeling absolutely flabbergasted.

"Relax. Nothing that a bunch of groupies on tour can't fix." He gave her an awkward smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"But... Josh. I-I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry." She was devastated. Eden had no idea that he had felt this way about her. When she had ended things between them he had given her his usual easygoing smile and agreed that they were better off as friends. The next week she heard that he was hooking up with some famous reality star.

"Babes, it's not your fault. I knew you didn't feel as strongly as I did when we were together. Something was holding you back. Now I know what it was. Or rather, who it was."

At her wrecked silence, Josh sighed heavily before coming up to her and pulling her close for a hug. "I shouldn't have said anything. That was selfish of me. But honestly, babe, I'm all good."

She wrapped her arms around him tightly, tears of sadness falling from her eyes.

"You're one of my best friends. You know I love you, right? If I lose you -"

"Don't be daft, you're not gonna lose me, love," he insisted.

For a long time, they simply held each other tightly. Eden's heart bled when she thought of all the times after they had broken up when she would casually tease him about when he would settle down with a steady girlfriend. Not knowing that he carried an unrequited love for her.

"Listen," Josh pulled back, wiping the wetness from her eyes. "Barron's a decent bloke. I may have only spent a few hours with him, but I can see how much that man loves you. He couldn't take his eyes off you all night." His mouth kicked up in a smile. "Besides, anyone who's a fan of Man U is a class act in my book," he joked which conjured a shaky smile from her.

"He may have cocked it up the first time but he's pulled his head out. He's mad about you. Anyone can see that."

Eden sniffled but didn't respond.

"And I know you well enough to know that you're a bit keen on him, too." He stared into her devastated face. "Probably a little more than keen."

Eden shook her head, feeling overwhelmed by all the heavy bombshells that had been heaped on her tonight. She wanted to analyze with Josh some more but she was already feeling a tad awkward about his revelation. She had no doubt that if he hadn't confessed his feelings for her, she would've made them a cup of coffee and poured her heart out to him about the whole mess. She didn't want to prolong Josh's torment at having to counsel the woman he had just confessed to being in love with.

Josh must've sensed that she needed a moment to herself so he patted her shoulder affectionately.

"Anyway, that's my good deed for the year done. I'm knackered. I'll see you in the morning, love."