by Monroe, Max
I run a hand through my hair and swallow.
“Say it, Theo. For fuck’s sake, tell me I’m wrong right now.”
The easy way out of this would be to lie and tell him nothing is going on, but I can’t do that. I don’t want to do that. He’s one of my best friends, and he deserves the truth from me.
“I’m sorry, Cap,” I say instead. “I know I should’ve told you. I was going to tell you, but Lena and I were just finding the right time. I—”
“What. The. Fuck?” he shouts. “You? Fucking you? Of all people, you’re the one who is messing around with my little sister?”
Eyes jump to us from all around the room, and I hold up both of my hands in a submissive gesture.
“It was an accident, man. I didn’t even know she was your sister at first. I didn’t know she was your sister until you dragged me to that runway show.”
But my answers only seem to make him angrier, and instead of responding with words, he chooses his fist. Rearing his big arm back, Cap tosses a punch straight at my face.
I duck and watch his thick fist breeze past my face.
When I lock eyes with him again and see the rage and frustration and hurt that lies beneath his gaze, I feel so fucking bad.
Guilty, even.
If anything, I deserved that punch.
He shouldn’t have had to find out like this. I should’ve been honest with him from the start.
So, when he rears back again, I don’t budge. Nope. I stand there and take what I deserve like a man—one hard-as-hell hit of Cap’s fist to my right eye.
“Oh my God! Cap!” Lena yells, closing in from across the room right as Cap’s fist meets my face.
It jolts me back two steps, and instantly, pain sears my right eye and radiates to my fucking forehead.
“What the hell!” Ruby shouts, and Lena joins in.
“Oh my God! Have you lost your fucking mind!”
“Ah fuck,” I mutter and lift my hand to my eye and prepare for the next one, but it doesn’t come.
“What the fuck, man? Why didn’t you duck?” Cap questions on a yell. “You were supposed to fucking duck again, goddammit! Fight me! Something!”
I shake my head with a tortured laugh. “I deserved it, Cap. I deserve your anger, and you deserve your chance to be angry.”
“What is wrong with you?” Lena shouts as she steps up and shoves her brother in the chest. “What are you doing?”
“It’s fine, Lena,” I say swiftly, holding up my free hand. “I wouldn’t say the timing is perfect, but he deserved to know the truth just as much as I deserved that punch.”
“Fucking hell,” Cap mutters, spinning around and shaking an angry head in his hands.
In an untimely validation of innocence, Harrison exclaims, “And you thought I was the one trying to get with your sister! Looks like I’m not the sister-chaser after all!”
I turn around to the sound of his voice, but what greets me is much worse. Pretty much the entire wedding reception, including the bride and the groom, are staring at us in shock.
The music has stopped. Who the fuck knows if the cake was cut. And instead of watching the bride and groom enjoy their big night, everyone is looking at Cap and me like we’ve gone insane.
Fuck. This was not how this was supposed to happen.
“God, Harrison,” Thatch mutters. “Your timing is fluffing shit, dude.”
“What?” Harrison questions, completely clueless. “What’d I say?”
“Fuck, Milo,” Cap says and runs a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry for all this.”
“Milo is the last person who can be mad about something like this,” Evan chimes in on a chuckle. “Not too long ago, we were both in a similar situation. On my wedding night, in fact, because I found out Milo was in love with my little sister.”
Milo grins. “Apparently, love isn’t truly in the air unless someone is getting punched.”
Maybe giggles. “Can we cut the cake now?”
“Yeah, kid,” Milo says and pulls his wife close to his side. “Let’s go cut the cake.”
The music starts back up on a screech as the bride and groom head over to finally cut the cake, and Lena moves toward me, grabs my face, and inspects the damage closely. “Are you okay?”
“It’s fine,” I say and gently remove her hands from my face. “But I need to go talk to him.” I nod toward Cap, who is now walking toward the outside balcony.
“I’ll go with you,” she says, and I shake my head.
“I think I need to have this conversation with him on my own,” I say and lean forward to press a tender kiss to her lips. “But save a dance for me?”
She smiles around a tentative nod. “You got it.”
Once I offer a quick apology to a still happy and smiling Milo and Maybe, I make my way outside and find Cap standing on the balcony, his elbows resting on the rail.
Ruby doesn’t hesitate to leave her fiancé’s side, promptly going back into the reception and giving us a minute to talk.
“I’m sorry,” I say, knowing, as the offending party in this situation, I have to be the one to speak the first words. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
Cap glances over his shoulder but doesn’t budge from his spot.
“I swear, I didn’t know she was your sister when I met her in Positano,” I tell him the truth.
He shakes his head and sighs derisively. “She’s the mystery woman you tweeted about, isn’t she?”
“Yeah,” I admit. “To say I was shocked when I found out she was your sister is putting it mildly.”
“You should have been up front with me,” he asserts, and I know he’s right. I’ve known I should have said something from the beginning.
“I’m so sorry for that, man. I should’ve been honest once I figured it out.”
He shakes his head. “You know, I knew something was up with her. I just knew it, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Every time I talked to her,” he explains and locks his gaze with mine. “She sounded…light.” He shakes his head. “Apparently, shady motherfuckers make my baby sister happy.”
I cringe and chuckle at the same time.
I wait patiently for him to gather his thoughts. He deserves the time to sort through it without me pushing him. “Tell me this, Theo. No bullshit. Just the straight-up truth, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Are you in love with her?”
I nod again. “I am.”
He closes his eyes tightly, asking, “Does she love you?” without opening them.
“I don’t know,” I say because, truthfully, I don’t. “But I’m not going to pressure her, and I’m going to continue to let Lena set the pace right now. Her internship and career are incredibly important to her, and I’m going to be supportive of that.” He opens his eyes to study me closely. “Honestly, Cap, I just want her to be happy.”
“Me too.”
“Well then, when it comes to Lena, we both want the same things for her.”
He searches my eyes. “If you’re bullshitting me, I will murder you. No hesitation, dude.”
“I swear.”
He nods slowly and then shoves off a foot to put a very aggressive finger to my chest. I keep my feet planted. “I’m not sorry I punched you,” he says, and I laugh.
“Trust me, I deserved it.”
“Yeah.” He claps a hand against my back. “You fucking did. And I won’t hesitate to do it again if necessary.”
I nod. “Are we good?”
He shakes his head. “No.”
I sigh heavily.
“But treat her right and, eventually, we will be.” He shoves me in my chest hard enough to make me rock back on my feet and heads back into the reception.
I watch as he goes.
Somehow, someway, I survived Cap finding out about Lena and me.
No murder or homicide. No broken friendship.
Just a black eye and an admissi
on that I’m in love with her.
I’ll fucking take it.
Lena
The beats from the Bluetooth speakers throughout Theo’s apartment are booming, and the luxurious experience that is the rain shower in his master bathroom has warm water pouring over my hair and body in a way that has me mentally saying, I need one of these.
Lizzo starts in on the lyrics, and I’m right there with her. I sing at the top of my lungs about being that bitch and lather shampoo into my hair.
I shake my naked hips and shut my eyes while I put my head under the water. The soap suds slip out of my locks and down my shoulders and legs, and the delicious scent of vanilla and coconut mingles with the steam.
“What are you doing?”
I stop singing the chorus and open my eyes to find a naked Theo standing inside the shower, staring back at me with a sexy little grin on his lips.
“Me and Lizzo are taking a shower.”
“You and Lizzo are probably going to get me in trouble with my neighbors,” he retorts and places his hands on my still shaking hips.
“Whatever.” I roll my eyes heavenward. “Like this multimillion-dollar palace isn’t soundproof.”
“Palace? You a fan of my apartment, honey?” Theo asks with a quirk of his brow, and I laugh. Outright.
“Oh, come on, the Queen of freaking England would be a fan of this apartment. Beyoncé and Jay-Z would be a fan of this apartment,” I tease. “The Kardashians wish they had this fucking apartment.”
I’m not even joking. Theo’s palatial apartment is located in what New York real estate calls the Golden Triangle. A seven-block stretch located between Park and Fifth Avenues, it is known as one of the poshest, richest, wealthiest hoods in the world.
Places within the triangle go for motherfucking millions. And I know this because my parents have resided inside this triangle since I was a little girl.
Theo just chuckles and reaches around me to grab the shampoo. “I’m pretty sure the Carters are quite happy with their loft in Tribeca.”
I snort. “Your life is kind of insane.”
“Like you should talk,” he retorts and scrubs shampoo into his hair. “You’re the heir to HawCom, Lena.”
I grin. He has a point.
“Speaking of my father,” I say and rinse the body wash off my legs. “I won’t be coming back here after work tonight because I have dinner with my parents.”
“Dinner with the parental units, eh?”
“Yeah,” I confirm. “I’d invite you, but I’m not quite ready for you to meet the wicked witch of the Upper East Side yet.”
He just grins. “Honestly, it’s probably a good idea to give Cap a little more breathing room.”
“Yeah.” I snort. “I couldn’t agree more.”
Technically, it’s only been a week since shit went down at Maybe’s wedding, and while my brother seems to have accepted that Theo and I are dating, he’s not exactly thrilled about all of it. Surely, a little more adjustment time is warranted before Theo starts going to family dinners and shit.
Even though I’m tempted to stay in this shower with naked Theo and prolong the pleasurable experience with some other pleasurable experiences, I have to be at Loro’s studio by eight, and it was nearing seven when I got in here.
So, I do the horrible, adult thing and quickly finish up my shower, press a kiss to Theo’s soft lips, and step out.
Fifteen minutes later, I’m dressed in my favorite Good American jeans, a white silk blouse, and Chanel heels, and eating a bowl of boring corn flakes in Theo’s kitchen when he walks into the room dressed in a smart suit and his dark hair still a little damp.
I smile. God, he’s handsome.
“Coffee ready?”
“Yes,” I answer and then add, “Also, just FYI, if you expect me to hang out here more, you need better cereal.”
“What’s wrong with corn flakes?” he asks while he pours himself a cup of coffee.
“It’s boring, Theo.”
“And what would madam prefer? Cinnamon Toast Crunch?”
“Uh…yeah. Or at the very least some damn Cocoa Puffs.”
He chortles. “I’ll make sure I add it to the grocery list.”
“Thank you.”
He flashes me a wink over his shoulder as he stirs sugar and cream into his mug. After he takes a sip, he sets it down on the counter and faces me. “Lena, I have something very important to tell you.”
“Okay…” I pause and explore his gaze for a hint, but he gives nothing away.
Instead, he walks around the kitchen island and proceeds to pull me out of my chair and into his arms. I squeak out in surprise, but when he takes my mouth in a deep kiss, my little squeak turns into a moan.
Our lips and tongues mingle and dance long enough for arousal to start building between my thighs.
When he squeezes my ass with both of his big hands, I’m ready to wrap my legs around his waist and fit in a little morning delight after all, but he ends the kiss with a little peck to my lips.
I pout, and he smirks down at me for a moment before whispering into my ear, “I like waking up with you in my apartment.” I lean back to look at him. “Actually, the location doesn’t matter. I just like waking up to you.”
His blue eyes are warm and tender, and my heart just kind of twirls and turns and twists inside my chest.
“I like waking up to you, too,” I whisper back.
“Let’s plan on doing it more often.”
A smile slides across my lips. “I’m down with this plan.”
“Now,” he says and steps back to grab his coffee mug from the counter. “I need to head out and get to an early meeting. Call me after your dinner?”
“Definitely.”
“Have a good day, honey.” He kisses me one last time. “And I can’t wait until next weekend.”
Ah, yes. Paris.
“I can’t wait for next weekend too.”
As he’s walking out of the kitchen and toward the entry, I realize that the pain that’s starting at my jaw and radiating up my cheeks is because of this big stupid grin on my face.
Goodness gracious. It’s pretty fucking hard to have a bad day with this guy around.
That’s because you’re starting to l-o-v-e, love him…
Lena
Always running ten minutes behind, I step inside my parents’ Upper East Side apartment and make my way into the large dining room where the rest of my family has already sat down. I avoid any and all obligations with my mother at all costs, but the annual gathering for my dad’s birthday seems to be the one thing I can’t in good conscience avoid.
“I’m so sorry I’m late!” I say by way of greeting and head straight for the man of the hour.
“Happy birthday, Daddy,” I whisper into my father’s ear and give him a big hug. “Love you so much.”
“Love you too, sweetheart.” He squeezes me hard. “And I am so glad you’re back from Italy.”
“Me too.” I grin and make the rounds—hugging Cap and Ruby and offering a neutral hello and an awkward hug to Vicky—before I sit down at the table.
“It’s nice that you finally decided to join us,” my mother says as I pull the white cloth napkin off the table and place it over my lap. “It appears you still have a penchant for forgetting what time it is.”
“Again, I’m sorry I was late,” I apologize through a stiff jaw. “I tried to leave work earlier, but we’ve been swamped at Loro’s SoHo boutique since New York Fashion Week.”
“Loro Gianni, right?” my father asks, a genuine smile on his lips, and I nod. “How long is your internship, Lena?”
“I’ll be working with him for another two months.”
“That’s fantastic.”
“Loro is really fond of Lena,” Cap chimes in. “Told me she is a big reason why his runway show went so well at Fashion Week.”
“I’m still mad I didn’t get to go,” Ruby says, and her melancholy smile turns knowing. “But I guess it’s a g
ood thing I didn’t go, huh?”
“Why’s that?” my dad asks, glancing back and forth between us.
“Because Cap brought Theo instead.”
“Theo Cruz?”
“Yeah.” Cap groans. “Theo Cruz, otherwise known as Lena’s new boyfriend.”
My mother takes a break from downing her martini to actually look interested in the conversation. “You’re dating Theo Cruz?”
Of course that name rings a bell for her.
Anyone with money is tattooed inside her brain.
And although we haven’t officially used those terms, I can’t find a reason not to go with it. I mean, we’re exclusive. We’re not even secret anymore.
So, yeah, I guess we are dating and he is my boyfriend.
My chest feels warm and fuzzy when those realizations settle in, but I don’t have time to think too much on it because Vicky is staring me down with pursed lips while she waits for an answer.
“Yes, Mother. Theo and I are dating.”
She looks downright thrilled.
“Well, that’s a relief,” she says, and for once, her voice matches her words. “Finally, you’ve found an eligible suitor before you get too old for men to find you desirable.”
Eligible suitor. What fucking year is it? 1950?
“You’re just saying that because he has money, Mother.”
“Yes,” she responds like that’s a completely normal response. “And surely you, of all people, know money is a good thing. I mean, you’ve certainly spent the last twenty-eight years reaping the benefits of your father’s and my money.”
I’m tempted to correct her and say “pretty sure you mean my father’s money because you don’t do shit besides spend it on Botox and massages and Louboutins,” but in the name of my dad’s birthday, I choose to keep my mouth shut.
And, thankfully, for the rest of dinner, the conversation switches to Ruby and Cap’s wedding.
Until everyone moves into the living room to have an after-dinner drink.
Everyone but my mother and me, that is.
She corners me before I can get to the hallway.