Chapter 37
Thirty Seven
Henry
“Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in.”
Jas grins from behind the bar as I walk through the door of her restaurant.
The smell of oak, garlic, and good whiskey hits me like nostalgia.
I used to come here almost every night in the early days — when she’d just opened the place and I was still figuring out who I was.
But lately, life’s been busier. Work, responsibility…
Matilda. She’s filled up the space that used to be hollow.
“Evening, Jasmine,” I say, taking a seat at the bar.
“Ergh, don’t call me that.” She flicks her cloth at me. “What’ll it be?”
“Whiskey. Double.”
“Coming right up.” She grabs the good bottle from the top shelf — the one she only uses for friends, not customers. “So, what brings you slumming it with us commoners tonight?”
“Do I need a reason to have a drink with my best friend?”
Her brow lifts — that same look she’s been giving me since we were teenagers whenever I lied. I take a sip instead of answering.
“Uh-huh,” she says. “Okay, I’ll play along. How’s life, Mr Architect Extraordinaire?”
“Good,” I say. “Really good, actually.”
Her head tilts, suspicious. “Really good? You never say that unless something’s going on. Does this have anything to do with Matilda?”
“It may do,” I admit, trying and failing to suppress a grin.
Her eyes go wide. “Oh my god, you slept with her!”
I nearly choke on my drink. “Say it any louder, Jas. I think the people in the back missed it.”
She beams, far too pleased with herself. “Well? Don’t leave me hanging.”
“Yes, we’ve been seeing each other,” I say quietly. “A couple of weeks now.”
“What?!” she shrieks, and a few diners openly turn to look.
“For the love of— yes, Jas. Keep it down.”
She leans across the bar, grinning like a cat. “So it’s serious then?”
I sigh. “I don’t know.”
For a second, the noise of the restaurant fades. “I can’t stop thinking about her,” I admit, voice low. “I want to be near her all the time, but part of me keeps saying to step back before it all blows up in my face.”
Jas softens, her teasing gone. “Why would it blow up?”
I laugh dryly. “Because she’s my assistant. Because she’s applying for a promotion in my company. Because she’s… her. Kind, hopeful, uncomplicated. And I’m—” I swirl the whiskey in my glass. “—not.”
“You’re not as broken as you think,” she says gently.
“I am,” I reply before I can stop myself. “I always find a way to ruin things.”
She studies me for a long moment. “Henry, you talk like it’s already decided. Like you don’t get a choice in whether you hurt her.”
“Maybe I don’t.”
“Bullshit,” she says sharply. “You’re not that man anymore. You sound like someone trying not to break her heart.”
I stare into the amber glass, her words echoing.
“What are you trying to say?”
She takes a slow sip of her wine. “I’m saying you’re falling for her. The question is whether you’ll let yourself — or run away like you always do.”
I huff a laugh, shaking my head. “When did you get so wise?”
“I’ve always been wise, dipshit.”
Before I can respond, the front door opens and a voice calls, “You know, some of us actually pay for our drinks around here.”
Jas rolls her eyes. “Speak of dipshits.”
I glance over to see Lukas, her brother, strolling in with that effortless charm he’s always had. He’s the human embodiment of sunshine and chaos — all smiles, messy hair, and perfectly timed banter.
“Three times this week, Luke?” Jas calls. “What gives? You trying to move in or just scaring off my paying customers?”
He leans against the bar, grinning. “What can I say? I missed my big sister. Now that I’m back in the country, I’m making up for lost time.”
“Uh-huh,” Jas finally interupts, unimpressed. “You’ve seen more of me in seven days than you did in seven years.”
Lukas chuckles, brushing her off, but something in his body language doesn’t match the easy tone. His gaze sweeps over the restaurant, quick but searching — scanning faces, corners, tables. Looking for someone.
When he doesn’t find them, a faint shadow crosses his features before he masks it with another grin.
I take a slow sip of whiskey, watching him over the rim of my glass. I’ve known Lukas long enough to know when he’s bluffing — and right now, he’s hiding something.
He catches me watching and raises his glass. “Good to see you, Chase.”
“You too, mate.”
Jas gives him a look that could slice through steel. “Don’t ‘mate’ him, Luke. He’s not here for your charm. He’s here to brood and drink expensive whiskey.”
“Ah, perfect,” Lukas says, sliding onto the stool beside me. “Two of my favourite hobbies.”
Jas mutters something under her breath and wanders off to serve another table.
Lukas leans on the bar, scanning the room again, that same flicker of disappointment crossing his face. Then he turns back to me with a too-bright grin. “So, how’s the empire? Still bossing everyone around?”
“Something like that,” I say dryly.
He chuckles, but his mind’s somewhere else — I can see it. It’s written in the restless tap of his fingers on the counter.
Interesting.
When Jas returns, she catches me watching him. “Ignore him. He’s being weird,” she says under her breath. “Has been all week.”
“Noted.” I down the rest of my whiskey, though the taste feels dull now. Something about Lukas’s energy lingers — the tension he’s trying too hard to hide.
Jas notices my silence and flicks my arm. “Hey. Stop analysing my brother like a case study. You were mid-crisis about your love life before he showed up.”
“Right.” I force a smile. “Back to my downfall.”
She rolls her eyes, but the softness returns. “You’re not doomed, Henry. Maybe it’s time you stop assuming everything good in your life has an expiry date.”
Her words sit heavier than the whiskey. I don’t answer — instead, I reach for my phone, the need to hear from Matilda gnawing at me.
Henry: Hey. How did the rest go?
Seconds later, my screen lights up.
Matilda: Good. I feel loads better. About to head back to it. I’m sorry I cancelled on tonight.
Henry: It’s fine. I probably wouldn’t have let you work anyway. Like you said — I can be a distraction.
Matilda: I know. It’s getting addictive. It’s a problem I really need to work on.
Henry: Is that what you want? For the problem to go away?
The message hangs there. Maybe I shouldn’t have sent it — but my chest tightens, needing the answer.
Matilda: Maybe I’m mad, but… no. I don’t want the problem to go away.
My heart kicks against my ribs.
Henry: Let me take you away this weekend?
Matilda: Where? What about the presentation?
Henry: I know a place. You could use the break. Clear your head. Just you and me.
The minutes crawl by. Then finally —
Matilda: I told you you were a distraction. :) Okay, I’m in.
I can’t stop the grin that spreads across my face. Jas must see it because she leans on the bar and smirks.
“Fucking hell,” she says, shaking her head. “You’ve got it bad.”
Across from us, Lukas laughs at something the waiter says — but his eyes drift back to the door again, searching.
And for the first time all night, I’m not the only one in the room quietly waiting for someone who might never walk through that door.