Brothers of Paradise Series

“Thank you for the letter,” I begin.

He nods. “I’m glad you read it.”

“It was… oh, I’m sorry, Henry.”

“What for?”

“For pulling away. For needing time.”

“No, don’t apologize for that.” His hand lands on the small of my back-lightly, like he’s afraid I’ll object-and he heads toward an empty bench. We sit close, but not touching. “Faye, you have nothing to apologize for.”

I meet his strong gaze. “Neither do you.”

His mouth turns down in a faint frown, eyes unreadable. “What happened with Kyle was unforgivable. My lawyers are working on a slander suit as we speak, and if I have any say in the matter, he won’t work again. Not in New York, at least.”

The fierceness in his voice makes me want to smile. “He acted out of envy and rashness.”

“It was petty.”

“Yes, but he doesn’t deserve to have his career destroyed completely.”

Henry’s gaze drops to my hands, resting in my lap. He’s quiet for a long beat before he speaks. “You’re a better person than me, to be capable of believing that.”

“No, I’ve just thought about this a lot.”

He nods, but it’s miserable. “Then you know as well as I do that Kyle isn’t the real culprit. I am, and I’m sorrier for that than you can imagine.”

“Henry?”

“I hired you, knowing what I knew about why you left your last job. I knew how important this job was for you. Regardless of whatever pull I felt, I shouldn’t have asked you to be my date to the wedding. It was unprofessional at best, seedy at worst.”

I reach for his hand and thread my fingers through his. He lets me, even as he continues to stare out across the park with his jaw clenched. “Did you ever see me as an easy lay? An assistant you just wanted to fuck?”

His eyes flick to mine, and there’s both hurt and anger there, despite his efforts to mask it. “Jesus, Faye. No. Never.”

I grip his hand tighter. “And did you ask me to the wedding with the aim of sleeping with me?”

“No.” His voice grows fainter. “I wanted time with you.”

“Then your actions weren’t seedy. Henry, I said yes. Every step of the way, I was right there with you.” I fight through my embarrassment and say the next part, too. “I was even urging you on, at some points. We both acted unprofessionally. But it wasn’t seedy.”

His fingers curl around mine, my hand nearly swallowed whole in his steady grip. “You have regrets. It’s the one thing I couldn’t bear, and I caused it anyway.”

“No.”

His look tells me that he doesn’t believe me, and I scoot closer, our thighs touching. “I don’t. Did I, at the moment, with Kyle? Yes. The price seemed high. But Henry, do I regret anything that happened between us? Absolutely not.”

“I never wanted to hurt you,” he says. “Not the way Elliot Ferris did. I never wanted you to feel like I only wanted you for your body, or that I didn’t value your ambition. You’re the most talented woman I’ve ever met. I wanted to support your career, not ruin it.” He runs his hand through his hair, and the agitation in him breaks and spills over, his carefully controlled features dissolving into anger. “I didn’t handle it right. Us.”

His words, the longest speech I’ve ever heard him make, warms something in me. “You didn’t play your cards right? Henry, I thought you always won.”

“You were never a game.”

I lean in closer, until his eyes widen in surprise, and neither of us is breathing. “You weren’t a game to me either,” I say. “But… if we were playing, I’d say we could still come out of this as winners.”

“Both of us?”

“Yes.”

His hands find my waist, pulling me closer. “Tell me.”

“As far as I see it, there’s nothing stopping us from being whatever we want to be, now.”

Henry’s thumb smooths over my waist. He’s giving me a smile, so genuine that it squeezes something inside me. “You’re giving me another chance, Faye.”

“No. We’re giving us another chance, because we’re both responsible for this. If that’s what you want?”

His smile turns teasing, reminding me of the many nights we’d spent sparring in his office. “If? I need to work on my writing skills, if you’re still unsure of what I want after that letter.”

I press my lips to his. He responds softly, sweetly, and warmth spreads through my body. This. This is what I’ve wanted since the beginning. Him beside me, holding me. Someone I respect and like in equal measure.

“Maybe we could do things right this time. In the right order.” We’d never even been on a proper date together, and still, I’d met his family. We’d done things out of order.This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

He pushes my hair back. “You want to be taken out to dinner?”

“Maybe.”

“Wined and dined, huh.” He puts a hand on my knee, a warm weight against my skin. “Breakfast in bed. Sunday brunches.”

I grin at him. It all sounds so… coupley, so unlike anything I’ve had with a man before, and the teasing in his voice is lovely. “Morning showers,” I add.

The hard cut of his jaw clenches once as he swallows. “Yes. To save water,” he says. “Very sustainable of you.”

“I was top of the class in Intro to Sustainable Building. Haven’t I told you?”

Henry’s smile widens. “No, I don’t believe you have, but it doesn’t surprise me.”

“Material efficiency,” I whisper. “Ecological conservation.”

He leans in and kisses me again, with more pressure this time. All thoughts of teasing him evaporate as the warm heat of his tongue slides against mine. Nobody has ever kissed me the way he has; like he wants to own my body and crown me as queen at the same time. Strong fingers tip my head back slightly, giving me better access. I’m breathless when he pulls away.

“Sorry,” he says, “but talking about sustainable architecture gets me pretty riled up.”

I laugh. “Really? How do you get through a day at work?”

“Barely.” He reaches for my hand and pulls me into standing. “Now come on, Alvarez. Show me your neighborhood.”

We walk through the park and out onto the main street. My part of Brooklyn is quiet and calm, and I tell him that, but he only shakes his head.