Chapter 31 #2
Feeling uneasy, I made my way to Henry’s apartment.
As soon as I stepped inside, my thoughts grew calmer, and his mum’s words faded into the background.
When I’d cleaned here with Grace for the first time, it had seemed wrong and strange—I had felt like an intruder.
But today, his apartment seemed familiar, because Henry was familiar.
I knew him. I knew what it was like to fall asleep next to him.
I knew how it felt to have his breath brush my neck.
And I knew how safe and protected I felt when he cuddled up to me.
As I reminisced about being with Henry, I got to work.
I started upstairs in the mezzanine and made my way through the kitchen, living room, guest room, gym, and finally, his bedroom.
It smelled of him—warm and safe—and I had to stop myself from inhaling deeply.
His bed was unmade, and the curtains were drawn.
Even though it was Saturday, Henry had probably left for the office so early that opening them wouldn’t have made a difference.
I flicked a switch, flooding the room with light.
I was just about to shake out the bedding when my gaze landed on Henry’s bedside table.
There was a book lying on it. And not just any book.
I didn’t need to read the title to know it was The Brave Cloud Princess by Evelyn Fairchild—I recognised the cover instantly.
The colours were brighter and more vivid than on my own copy, but the illustration was the same.
My heart swelled, and a wide grin spread across my face.
I pictured Henry in bed thinking about me—and reading a children’s book, just because it happened to be my favourite.
I pulled out my phone, took a quick photo, and sent it to him with a heart emoji. A quiet ping sounded from the living room, followed by approaching footsteps. I turned just as Henry appeared in the doorway.
He looked up from his phone. He was also grinning. “Are you snooping around my apartment?”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I said, batting my eyelashes innocently. “What are you doing here?”
“In my own apartment, you mean?”
“Why aren’t you at the office?” I clarified.
He took a step closer. I was certain I hadn’t seen the petrol-coloured suit he was wearing before. Just how many suits did he own? Perhaps I should snoop around a little when I got the chance and take a peek inside his walk-in wardrobe.
“I was looking for you. Giulia said you’d be here.” He stopped an arm’s length away, and I had to resist the urge to step forward and snuggle up to his chest. It was as if the night I’d spent in bed with him had got me hooked on being close to him. He studied my face intently. “Is everything OK?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I don’t know.” As he scrutinised me, I noticed the light sheen of sweat on his forehead, as though he were deeply stressed. “You seem tense,” he continued. “I was only joking about the snooping.”
“I know. It’s just . . .” I hesitated. I briefly considered telling him about the conversation I’d had with his mum, because I couldn’t shake the thought that she might be right.
But it would only upset Henry, and I didn’t want to drive yet another wedge between him and his family. “I had a fight with Rose.”
“The kitchen assistant?” Henry asked.
“Yes.”
“What did you fight about?”
“That blog. The Blackroom,” I replied carefully, testing the waters.
I could tell from his expression that he knew exactly what I was talking about.
“I said that the anonymous interviews might be fabricated. Rose didn’t take it well.
She’s convinced I only said it to protect you. I don’t think she likes you very much.”
“Hmm. That’s fine.”
“Is it?”
“Sure. As long as you like me.”
It wasn’t a question, but I answered anyway. “I like you. A lot.”
Henry’s laugh was low and unguarded, and it sparked a warm glow in my stomach that took my breath away.
I noticed the exact moment he realised the effect he was having on me—his laugh faded, his posture shifted, and with it, the air between us did too.
It heated up suddenly, as if someone had cranked up the thermostat.
Warmth flooded through me, bringing back memories of our night together.
It wasn’t my tears I was remembering, however, but how safe I had felt in Henry’s arms. I recalled the way his body had pressed against mine, how his hands had rested on my stomach, how his fingers had brushed my cheek.
My body seemed to move of its own accord when I took a step towards him.
His familiar scent, so present in his bedroom, grew stronger.
I was so close now that I had to tilt my head up to look at him.
But Henry didn’t meet my eyes—his gaze was fixed firmly on my mouth.
It was as if he could read my mind. I licked my lips.
A shadow passed across his face, and the longing in my chest intensified.
“I’m glad to hear that, because I wanted to ask you something,” Henry said roughly. “There’s a masked ball at the hotel next Wednesday, and I’d like it if you came with me. As my date.”
There was a brief silence.
“You . . . You want me to go with you to the ball?”
“Yes.”
I bit my lower lip hesitantly. “Are you sure you want to go with someone like me?”
Henry’s expression darkened. “What is that supposed to mean? Someone like you?”
I didn’t want to rat out his mum, but I couldn’t deny that she had a point.
Henry and I were too different. Even right now, we were like day and night.
Henry in his expensive designer suit. Me in my room attendant uniform—which happened to also belong to him.
I didn’t even own it. I had nothing, while he had everything.
People looked up to him and down on me. “Nothing. But do you really think it’s a good idea? ”
“I think it’s an excellent idea.”
“People will know who I am.”
“My stunning date?”
“Your employee.”
Henry raised my chin with two fingers, making it impossible to avoid his gaze. He gently stroked my face with his thumb, before running it over my lower lip. When I inhaled sharply in response, his own breathing grew jagged.
“Kate, if you don’t want to go to the ball with me, that’s fine.
But you’d better not believe for a second that I care what others think.
This . . .” he gestured between us, “is a thing between you and me. It’s no one else’s business.
I want to go to the ball with you, and that’s all that matters. So, do you want to be my date or not?”
I didn’t need to think about it for long. If I ignored the headlines, the gossip and the conversation just now with his mum, it was simple. I wanted nothing more than to go to the ball with him. But before I accepted his invitation, I raised a practical question. “I have nothing to wear.”
Henry grinned. “You could come naked, and then no one would talk about the fact that you work for me. The perfect diversion.”
“OK. But only if you go naked too.”
He wrinkled his nose. “I’ll be shaking a lot of hands.
It could get pretty awkward without trousers.
Imagine: I’m greeting the Chancellor of the Exchequer, someone jostles me—and suddenly his hand ends up somewhere it shouldn’t.
It would traumatise everyone involved. Maybe we should stick to clothes after all. ”
I laughed. “Fine. But that brings us back to my original problem.”
Without a word, Henry turned and made his way to the wardrobe across from his bed.
He pressed on a drawer, and it slid open smoothly.
Reaching inside, he pulled out a sleek black credit card, as if it were the most normal thing to keep between his socks and underwear. “This should solve your problem.”
I didn’t take the card. His mum’s voice echoed in my head. I hadn’t meant to hint that he should buy me something—I had simply been stating a fact. These events had a dress code, and I didn’t have the right clothes.
I shook my head. “I can’t.”
“Why not? There’s no limit on the card.”
I snorted, not sure if he was joking or not. “It’s not about that. I can’t let you keep spending money on me. I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
Henry looked at me. His expression was sceptical, as if he suspected someone had put the thought in my head.
“Kate, I think you’re the only person in this hotel who isn’t currently taking advantage of me.
Whether it’s because of my reputation, my expertise, or my connections—everyone wants something from me.
You’re the only person who isn’t asking me for something.
And you don’t have to, because I already want to give you everything. ”
Everything. The word sent a warm heat spreading through me, and once again the overwhelming desire to be kissed by Henry came flooding back with full force. “You . . . I don’t want you to think I’m just interested in your money.”
“I didn’t think that for a second.”
“Not even when I blackmailed you for four thousand pounds?”
“No, not even then. Although that was pretty naive of me,” he answered with a smile so charming that the butterflies in my stomach fluttered even harder.
“Let me buy you a dress, Kate. I wouldn’t just be doing it for you.
I’d be doing it for myself too. I want you by my side at the ball.
You can wear your leather jacket, for all I care, but something tells me you won’t want to.
So . . .” He held out his sleek black credit card insistently.
It was his expression rather than his words that convinced me. He genuinely seemed to want me there with him at the ball, and I wanted to be there for him. Just as he was there for me.
“Fine! But I won’t buy anything expensive, and I’m only borrowing the money. I’ll pay you back as soon as I get my first paycheck.” Which would be soon. I had been working at The Darlington for nearly a month, and October was almost over.
“You don’t have to,” Henry assured me.
“But I want to. It’s important to me.”
He nodded. He understood. Just like he’d understood about the second job. I didn’t just want to stand on my own two feet; I had to. So that I had a choice. And so that I could choose him without doubting my own reasons for doing so.
“Does that mean you’ll be my date?” His voice was so hopeful that I refused to think about his mum’s accusations any longer.
I wanted to see Henry happy, and for whatever inexplicable reason, the prospect of going to the masked ball with me of all people seemed to make him happy. Which in turn made me happy.
I smiled. “That’s exactly what it means.”