54. Chapter 51
C harlie texted me earlier, letting me know that everything was set up on their end. She wanted to tell her brothers the plan, and I spent a few phone calls convincing her not to. I know the feeling of wanting to trust your family above anything, but if they told her father what was happening, tonight could get… bloody.
Pocketing my phone into the gray slacks that were delivered earlier this week, I grab the matching tux jacket and push my arms into it. It fits my broad shoulders perfectly, hits right at my wrists, and I position the silver cufflinks dad gave me into the buttonholes.
When I’ve made sure my hair is combed back and brushed my teeth, I head to the living room, where Talon and Cin are waiting on the couch. She looks stunning in her dark purple dress, that shows off one of her thick legs. Talon’s shirt beneath the black jacket matches the purple perfectly.
Lori and Mack are next, both wearing emerald green. Lori’s makeup is nothing like her daughters, where Cin has black rimming her eyes, her mother has a touch of mascara. Creed and Fern join us, both outfitted in a blood red that appears festive but looks menacing at the same time.
“You look beautiful, Fern,” I tell her when she comes over to hug me.
Throwing her arms around my middle, she hugs me tight and whispers, “Be careful tonight.”
I nod, looking up to find Henry.
I forget how to breathe for a solid minute. His dark hair’s been slicked back like that spy in the movie where the kids rescue the parents. His curls lay on his neck in spirals that mix with each other, and his beard–that I want to feel against my lips–is trimmed short and looks amazing.
The navy color of his suit compliments mine, as asked, and his hazel eyes appear darker because of it. He looks… Goddamn, I don’t even have the words. No one speaks, as if they’re waiting for me.
“You look…” my eyes drink him in from his perfectly polished shoes all the way back up to his eyes that are staring back at me. “God, you’re perfect.”
He blushes, glancing around the room.
Creed claps, bringing all of the attention to him. “Everyone knows their jobs, right?”
We all nod or agree in unison before heading toward the vehicles Creed brought in to take us all to the party.
“How’ve ya been lass?” Kel asks Cin in his thick Scottish accent as he helps her into the SUV.
“Good to see you, man,” Toby says before Tal has the chance to grumble. Kel was our security when we all took a trip to New York for Cin’s birthday. He’s one of Hemlock’s finest, and it looks like Logan’s driving the other SUV, which means they’ve not killed each other yet.
Logan’s a man of few words. I’m not even sure I’ve heard him speak.
Nerves settle in my gut as Henry scoots in beside me. He smells like vanilla and sugar, something entirely him.
“I have to stay with Charlie tonight,” I whisper in his ear. “But I’m going to have a hard time keeping my eyes off of you when you look like this.”
His hand covers mine, and he squeezes.
If the plan goes well, we’ll be okay. Charlie will be holding the reins to her family’s empire, and Henry and I will be free to be together.
He holds my hand the whole way there and doesn’t let go, even when we park and everyone starts to get out.
“Henry?”
He turns to look at me, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows, and I start to worry that what he’s about to say won’t be good.
“Are you–”
He swoops in, cutting off my words with his lips. His hands grip the sides of my neck as I wrap my arms around his body.
God, when was the last time we kissed, actually fucking kissed? I can’t remember, but the feeling of him melting into my arms, as if he knows this is it. That this is the moment he’s been waiting for since my mother died, and I shut myself off to the world. I put every ounce of love I have into the kiss, praying that this is his way of saying he forgives me.
When we part, I let my head rest on his, “I love you, Henry Forbes.”
He sputters a half laugh, half cry. A broken, ugly sound that falls from his lips. “God, I thought I’d never hear those words again.”
We sit like that, breathing in each other before he says softly, “Be safe, and come back to me.”
It hits me once Henry disappears outside the doors that he didn’t say he loved me back.