Page 16

Athanasios

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

She hasn’t said anything since I started driving again.

Damn, kissing her wasn’t part of my plan. When I told Zeus I’d take her home myself, my intention was to get Brooklyn used to being around me, because from now on, the cards are on the table, and I’m going after what I want: her.

“This doesn’t change anything between us,” she finally says.

“What happened changes everything, and you know it. Now I know what your mouth tastes like, Brooklyn. I’ve already heard your pleasure-filled moans. I want more. I want it all.”

“We can’t. I won’t lie . . . I feel attracted to you too.” She takes a deep breath. “I feel very attracted to you, but I’m not like the women you’re used to dating.”

I park in front of her family’s house. “Look at me when you’re talking to me.”

She turns to face me again. “You make me nervous.”

“It’s not nervousness; it’s desire. A chemical reaction of the body. You want me as much as I want you, and that kiss earlier only proved how compatible we are. I’m not going to force you, but I won’t give up.”

“Why me?”

I’m saved from having to answer when the front door opens and Eleanor steps out.

“Your family is waiting for you,” I say.

She turns around and waves at her stepmother. “We’re not done talking,” she says.

“We’ll have time for that. Believe me when I say I won’t give up.”

Her cheeks turn red. “You’re very direct.”

I take a strand of her hair, feeling its softness between my fingers. “You’ve had your share of liars in your life. With me, you’ll always find honesty.”

She looks at me as if trying to analyze whether I’m telling the truth.

“Your stepmother is coming.”

She glances quickly in Eleanor’s direction. “Do you think I can walk to the door? I don’t want to arrive in a wheelchair.”

I lower the car window, and Eleanor leans against it.

“Hi, everyone. We’ve been waiting,” she says.

“Hi, Mom,” Brooklyn replies.

“Eleanor, how are you?” I greet her. “Brooklyn wants to walk into the house. Can you keep the kids inside for a few more minutes?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll wait for you.”

I walk around the car, open Brooklyn’s door, and undo her seatbelt. Then I lift her into my arms.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s too far for you to walk. I’ll carry you. On the porch, I’ll set you down, and you can enter as you wanted.”

She wraps her arms around my neck. “Why me?” she asks again.

“Because I want you,” I say, lacking a better answer.

We reach the porch, and before setting her down, I ask, “Ready?”

“Yes. I can do it.”

“I know.”

“You have a lot of faith in me.”

“Broken people are unbreakable, Brooklyn.”

Once she’s on her own feet, I ring the doorbell. When the door opens, Silas appears, dressed in jeans, a button-down shirt, and a tie. He’s holding a small bouquet of daisies.

Shit, should I have bought her flowers too? It didn’t even cross my mind, but now, faced with the smiling little boy offering flowers to his mother, I feel like an idiot.

Soraya is also dressed up, wearing a red dress and holding a small gift bag.

Brooklyn takes a step back, leaning against me, and I think it’s because she feels overwhelmed.

I wrap an arm around her, holding her firmly against me.

“Hi, Moooommy,” the little boy says.

“Hi, Moooommy,” his sister echoes.

“Oh my God!” She’s trembling, and I don’t let go.

“You’ve got this,” I whisper in her ear.

Finally, she lets go and walks toward them. She opens her arms, and both toddlers cling to her legs.

The scene messes with me in the worst fucking way.

A family.

Brooklyn is home, safe with her family.

She has it all.

What more could I possibly offer her beyond good sex and material comfort? I’m hollow. Most of me has been dead for years.

“Hi, Athanasios,” Madison greets me. “Are you staying for dinner? Zeus is arriving with his brothers soon.”

I look at the woman standing with her back to me. Brooklyn seems to be in the clouds now that her kids are around.

She’s happy. She’s not the kind of woman I usually get involved with—someone who knows the rules of the game of seduction.

“No. I need to go,” I say.

Brooklyn turns around, and I notice how confused she looks. For the first time, I’m the one who looks away.

Silas comes closer and tugs at my pants. I ruffle his hair, then run the back of my hand across Soraya’s cheek before stepping away to grab their mother’s luggage from my trunk. After that, I say my goodbyes. “Good night, everyone.”

“Wait,” Brooklyn calls out just as I start down the stairs. “Why are you leaving?”

“I’ll leave you to enjoy your family.”

She looks like she wants to say something, but at the last minute, her posture stiffens. “Good night,” she says, and then she turns her back on me.

I walk away without looking back.

Anyway, today is my night to have dinner with my partners, so after confirming via text, I head to the restaurant we usually go to.

Fifty minutes later, I down my first glass of whiskey—my favorite, from Duke Rodrick MacQuoid’s distillery.

“Rough day?” L.J. asks, sitting across from me.

“Brooklyn was discharged.”

“I heard. Isn’t that reason to celebrate?” William asks.

“I took her home. I saw her with her family.”

“And?”

“She wants love. I could see that when she reunited with her relatives. I don’t have what she needs.”

“You’re insecure about a woman?” William teases.

“No. I’m trying to put her needs ahead of mine. I’m sure I’ll find other candidates.”

“Holy shit! She really got to you.”

“She’s beautiful, and we have chemistry. It’s happened before. It’s nothing new,” I say simply, even though I know I’m lying to myself.

Neither of them says anything, and it irritates me.

“What are you two thinking?” I ask.

“Maybe you should take the time to build something with her, Athanasios,” LJ says.

“Why would I?”

“Brooklyn has managed what no other woman ever has: she’s taken priority in your life over yourself.”