4. Rooftop Fireworks
4
ROOFTOP FIREWORKS
brOOKS
I’d worn enough suits in my life to know when one was too tight in the shoulders—but this wasn’t one of those nights. The tux fit like a second skin, thanks to Archer’s annoying insistence that we use his tailor. I adjusted the bow tie for the third time anyway, standing near the edge of the Orion Mind Institute’s exquisite rooftop event space. The lights of Manhattan blinked all around like the city was winking at us on this warm May night.
What made my shoulders tight wasn’t the suit, but the thought—hope?—I’d run into Maisy again.
Since seeing her in the boardroom, I’d fought with myself every single day not to text her. Not to reach out, just to talk. Not to think of her body next to mine as we lingered on the sand, kissing on the private beach of Buchanan Island over her last Spring Break before graduating from Columbia…
Next to me, Archer flirted with a woman from the donor board while Lacey made her rounds, circulating with strategy and precision. She appeared polished in a sleek navy satin gown that shimmered under the string of lights—less ‘assistant at a work event’ and more ‘charming hostess.’ I’d bet no one here would guess she was a small town girl from somewhere in Texas.
Still, it wasn’t Lacey I scanned the crowd for.
I spotted Rex Buchanan first—laughing too loudly and holding court like he owned the place, which, considering he and his brother, Richard, paid the hefty price tag, he practically did. As I approached, he spotted me and lifted his glass.
“Brooks Bellamy,” Rex said. We shook hands and clinked our glasses of champagne. “How does it feel to be guests of honor here tonight?”
“Archer threatened to change our company name to ‘Bellamy & Bellamy Minus Brooks’ if I skipped another event.”
Rex smirked. “I’m glad you’re here.” His gaze slid toward the side of the rooftop. “Especially considering Maisy works here now. Crazy coincidence, huh?”
I smiled tightly, following his gaze, finally setting my eyes on her. “Yeah. Serendipitous.”
He eyed me like he knew better, but said nothing more. Just slapped me on the shoulder. “You look good, man.”
“Back at you. Fatherhood complements you.” At that, he whipped out his phone so fast. The next thing I knew, we were several hundred deep into photos of little Maximillian Buchanan—and the kid wasn’t quite three months old. As adorable as he was, I stole glances at Maisy as much as possible while trying to stay with this conversation. “So, how is being a dad?”
“It’s fucking amazing. I’m blessed. I’d be home with Max and Chelsea instead of here tonight, except like you, my brother forced me to attend. He wanted to stay close to Vivian as she has a month to go with her pregnancy, but she’s on bedrest according to doctor’s orders. I’m cutting out of here as early as I can.” He finally tucked his phone away.
Before I could reply, someone from the Orion staff called Archer, Rex, and me toward the small stage at the front of the rooftop. The CEO, Dr. Patterson, was already stepping up to the microphone to thank donors and staff, and with special thanks for the Buchanans’ investment and the Bellamys’ intriguing design.
As we climbed the steps, I glanced out over the crowd, not wanting to lose sight of Maisy. And there she was... I did a double take and almost stumbled forward.
Our eyes locked, with her soft smile and a slight raise of her glass to me. Talk about a moment in time just for us.
Dr. Patterson launched into his speech, talking about innovation, the future, the groundbreaking of the Horizon Wing, and more. He thanked the Buchanans for their investment. Then Rex stepped up and said a few words about the importance of the research at Orion and how his father would have been proud of their support.
Our turn came next. Archer stepped forward to shake Patterson’s hand, and I followed suit. We smiled for the press, holding between us the crystal commemorative statue they handed us in gratitude, like it meant something more than concrete and contracts.
Marketing and public image had become more important to Archer over the past few years than to me. Tonight, my mind wasn’t in the spotlight. Not when Maisy stood out in the middle of the crowd, the woman I could never forget.
When we stepped down from the platform, the crowd erupted into polite applause, and photographers snapped a few more shots. I headed straight for Maisy, on a mission to talk or simply to smell her and feel her energy near me.
Before I could get far, Lacey appeared at my elbow. “Three clients are waiting to speak with you,” she said smoothly, her voice low but pointed.
“I’ll make the rounds in a while,” I responded.
Her lips thinned. But she nodded and stepped back. I cut through the thinning crowd to where Maisy waited for me. Neither of us pretended we weren’t being drawn together like magnets.
A wine-colored one-shoulder dress clung to her curves in a way that made my pulse stumble. Her hair swept up effortlessly, and she was—to me—the most captivating woman at the party.
“Maisy,” I said, voice steady despite the rapid thump in my chest. Her bare shoulder, sporting sun-kissed skin, begged to be kissed.
“Brooks.” She looked stunning. And unreadable. My favorite and least favorite combination.
“You look incredible,” I offered. She could wear a potato sack and I’d still get hard. My mind drifted quickly back, picturing her in the barely there bathing suits she’d worn across our spring break getaway back when we were a new item.
“You do, too.”
“I hoped you’d be here,” I admitted.
“I work here. It was sort of mandatory.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “Although I have to say, I didn’t expect to see you here. Honestly, I’m so busy, I didn’t have time to read the memo on what this event was about. Nice work on the design of the new wing. Well-deserved accolades.”
“Thanks.” I hesitated, then borrowed Rex’s line. “An interesting coincidence that in a major metropolitan city of over eight million people, we’d both end up at Orion? Feels like fate is trying to get our attention.”
She gave a half-smile. “Or fate just enjoys making us uncomfortable.”
Was this awkward for her? It wasn’t for me. Okay, maybe I was fumbling around for words and things to talk about, all to avoid what I really wanted to say to her—not a day went by when, at least once, I didn’t wonder where she was or what she was doing. But I wouldn’t admit it to her or anyone.
“Fate is such a tease, considering this seems to happen to us time and again.” My gaze held hers and I lowered my voice. “We meet, things happen, then we walk away. So it has me curious. What will happen this time?”
A flirty smile rolled through her lips, captivating me. “I guess we’ll soon find out.”
“Maybe fate is at work here,” I finished as a few fireworks lit up the sky. As if perfectly timed, the touch of pyrotechnics complimented the growing mood between us. “See? It’s a sign.”
She grinned and I chuckled, ready to lean in, make my move, unfortunately, Lacey reappeared, this time more boldly. She hooked her hand through my elbow, standing a little too close.
“Brooks, there’s a Mr. Lennox asking for you now,” she said, with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Maisy’s smile fell, and her eyes darted to Lacey, then at our joined arms, then at me, jumping to conclusions.
“This is my assistant. Lacey,” I blurted.
Maisy nodded. “Oh, of course. Hello.”
“This is Maisy Calhoun, the sister-in-law of Rex,” I mentioned, and caught the icy nod from Lacey. A flicker in Maisy’s gaze left herself momentarily open for me to see right through her. She was jealous.
That gave me an ounce of hope. There was plenty there still between us. And I couldn’t wait to find out where it led us this time.
“I should let you get back to your clients,” Maisy said, voice calm, but I could feel the withdrawal beneath it.
“Maisy—” I started, but she rushed off. As I watched her disappear into the crowd, I wondered if I would ever be done chasing these moments fate kept dangling just out of reach. Like a carrot? And me, the most rabid rabbit, always desperate for a bite.
I reluctantly followed Lacey to Mr. Lennox, and he started in on the latest project he was hoping to enlist our services for. Only my mind couldn’t let me be, constantly feeding me memories of that spring break week I’d spent with Maisy back when Rex and Chelsea had been recently engaged and started planning their wedding.
Rex had wanted to take his fiancee on his yacht and sail to the Buchanan’s private island. They brought Maisy along for her spring break, sort of her last hurrah before graduating from Columbia. It had surprised me when Rex invited me to join. I’d gotten the vibes from Chelsea that she didn’t want me ruining her sister’s future opportunities in the field of neuroscience. After all, Maisy was considerably younger than me, and Chelsea probably worried I’d be a rake and ruin her.
I’d agreed to go and would never regret it... With five days together to talk, laugh, and play on the beach in the middle of nowhere, I fell for Maisy that week. Hard. Fast.
Add into that the matter of her virginity, and I became obsessed with having her all to myself. We kept each other plenty satisfied, but I was a true gentleman. I didn’t take her innocence, no matter how much she offered it to me, the little minx.
She was young, about to graduate college. The age gap between us hadn’t bothered me, but she was on the cusp of greatness. Anyone could see that. She’d get her degree and was determined to do something incredible with it. A future with us together looked bright on the horizon, and I thought we had plenty of time ahead of us, not worried whether I’d claim her virginity at some point.
Only on the last day of that trip, I didn’t expect Maisy to hit me out of nowhere with the news that she would leave the week after graduation to work for the Scientific Fleet of Oceanic Enterprises—a plum assignment cruising in the Southern Hemisphere with her professor for a year.
An entire year of not seeing her, of not watching the love between us grow into something permanent? Of not having her in my arms, protecting her from that asshole professor?
None of it made sense, but she refused to consider passing up the opportunity for which she’d worked so hard. She practically begged for me to take her virginity before she left, but I couldn’t. I should have. But I didn’t.
I only knew once I had her, I wouldn’t want any other man inside of her. And that would drive me insane spending a year apart, wondering if other men were. Too much could happen across three hundred and sixty-five days.
What choice did I have? I chose my sanity and I let her go at that point... and hated every second without her since.
Mr. Lennox droned on about something and I suddenly realized he’d quieted and expected me to say something. Thanks to Lacey at my side, elbowing me, I jolted. “I couldn’t agree more,” I replied, and he seemed satisfied. The torture of this conversation went on longer than it should have.
We stood near a glowing sculpture of simulated brain activity with flashing lights, like neurons. It seemed to be mocking my mind. Somewhere far behind me, Maisy laughed at something someone said and it carried to me like a siren’s song. How could Maisy, who wasn’t even within five feet of me, still make my pulse trip over itself?
I bit my tongue and pressed my nails into my palm to keep from interrupting Lennox, to prevent myself from turning to see who it was making Maisy laugh. But I had an inkling it was the professor. Finally, I couldn’t stand it and twisted my head—of course I was right. He evidently had her entertained with some remark.
My jaw clenched because the world was upside down. It should be right-sided with me next to Maisy, not him. And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it right now. She was far from mine—yet.
Fuck, what was I thinking? It’d been a few years with Maisy inhabiting my thoughts. Again and again, each time Maisy and I got close, we walked away. What made me think this time would be any different if I tried?
I muddled my way through the rest of the conversation with Lennox and shook hands with him before he drifted to the next victim he could pin down to listen to him. Then I let Lacey lead me around to a few more conversations, my passion growing weaker for it all by the minute.
“Brooks? Are you okay?” Lacey eyed me suspiciously when it was finally just the two of us, with Archer still off somewhere else schmoozing away.
“I’m fine,” I flatlined.
“Was it that woman? Maisy? Who was she?”
The one who got away, but I kept that to myself. “My ex.” A look of understanding came over her.
“If it helps, you’ve seen and talked to everyone on the guest list you wanted to. I kept track to be sure according to our discussion in the office yesterday. So we could leave. Shall I call us a car? Would you mind if I share a ride with you?” She innocently fluttered her lashes at me.
“Uh...” I scanned the room and didn’t spot Maisy again. Then glanced at Lacey and remembered everything Archer said about her crush on me. Good, dependable Lacey. Pretty, but she wasn’t Maisy. Easily one of the best assistants we’d ever had, though, so I shouldn’t ruin it by taking advantage of her and putting my neglected cock out of its misery. I could use her to help me forget Maisy, if I were one of those types of bosses. But I wasn’t.
“Thanks, but no. I’ll stay with Archer. You’ve been amazing help tonight. You go home. We’ll see you in the morning.” I nodded.
For a flash of a second, her smile faltered, then curled again. “Yes, see you then.”
Fuck. I wish I could get it up for other women like Lacey, but Maisy ruined me.