Page 220 of The Havenport Collection

Luke

I had not realized just how boring and lonely my life had been until Nora stormed in like a wild hurricane. In just a few short weeks she had upended me completely.

I loved seeing her working at my kitchen table on her laptop, snuggling on my couch, and asleep in my bed. All the numbness I had felt was slowly drifting away.

We had fallen into a routine of working together, eating together, showering together, and sleeping together every night.

She claimed to not be a cuddler, insisting she needed her space. But every night she wound up on my side of the bed, wrapped around me, her legs tangled in mine.

I cooked for her, sharing my heritage and my mother’s recipes, watching her delight at discovering the joy of radish kimchi on her bossam . We took trips to the wine cellar at the estate to grab bottles for our weekend cooking and home renovation marathons.

Together we chipped away at her home improvement projects. I had never steamed wallpaper off a wall before, but turns out I was actually pretty good at it.

Today she had even roped me into helping her paint the living room.

It had been a long time since I had painted and even longer since I’d had so much fun doing manual labor. Nora had the music pumped up and was dancing around in an adorable pair of shorts, her shapely legs flecked with paint.

Watching her have so much fun and talking with her about her home filled me with so much pride. There were so many sides to Nora, not just the tough act she put on for the world. She was playful and silly and vulnerable. I loved that she had let me in, let me see what lay beneath the hard exterior.

I pulled her into my chest for a kiss and admired how hot she looked with paint in her hair when I heard a sound.

We turned to see three men standing in the doorway. Oh, shit . It was her brothers.

Instantly, Nora stood up straight and put her hands on her hips.

“What are you guys doing here?” she asked.

They stepped into the room, admiring the paint.

“I came to check on the floors,” one I vaguely recognized said. They were all so different, but similar. Dark hair, dark eyes, and strong noses, clearly brothers.

They stood there staring at us, and I had to do something to break the ice. “Lucas,” I said, extending my hand to the one who had spoken.

“I know,” he replied, crushing my hand with his grip. He was shorter than I was but bulky and muscular.

“That’s Gio,” Nora said. “He laid the hardwood floors for me.”

“Great job,” I said, looking at the other two. “Hey, Christian. Matteo.”

Christian, impeccably dressed in a cashmere overcoat and loafers, looked at Nora and me and raised his eyebrows.

Matteo was the complete opposite in jeans and a T-shirt.

He crossed his heavily tattooed arms and looked pissed off.

I had seen him around town a bit, but he was famously quiet and always scowling.

I assumed he was not going to be a big fan of me dating his baby sister.

Nora pursed her lips and rolled her eyes at her brothers.

“We just came to confirm this,” Christian said, gesturing between us. “I told Matteo that you were dating Lucas Kim and so we decided to tag along to investigate.”

I put my arm around Nora who was looking more and more enraged. “Yes. Nora and I are dating. As you can see, we’re in the middle of painting. Do you guys want a beer?”

“No,” Nora shouted as Gio said, “Yes.”

Matteo grimaced while Christian tried to smooth things over. “We just wanted to say hi and properly introduce ourselves, that’s all.”

“You have known Lucas for years; your husband cuts his hair. You all know him, so cut the shit. You are here to gawk at us and try to scare the poor guy away from me, and I’m not having it. Take your toxic masculinity elsewhere.”

Christian had the good sense to at least look chastened, but Gio and Matteo stood firm. They clearly loved their sister but definitely didn’t understand her.

“Leave,” she said. “I know why you’re here. You heard about me and Luke and now you’re here to scare him and do that performative male bullshit where you pretend I am some delicate flower in need of protection.”

“Nora. No need to get hysterical,” Gio said, and I thought I saw smoke actually escape Nora’s ears.

“Luke and I are dating. He is amazing and has a huge dick.” All three of them cringed visibly. “And if you don’t leave my house right now, I’m going to tell you all the things he’s done to me with it.”

“Fuck, Nora. You are so evil.”

“Why are you like this?”

“My ears!”

She pointed her finger at her three brothers, all of whom had started to back up toward the door. They no longer looked tough and imposing, but like scared little boys. “You barged into my house like some squad of goons. You’re lucky I’m in a really good mood.”

Grumbling, they said their goodbyes and left as I stood there in awe.

“You really are something.”

“I’m so sorry about that.” She looked so embarrassed. “They do shit like this all the time. Like I’m a possession, not a person. Drives me insane.”

I rubbed her arms and held her close. “It’s okay. As an only child I think it’s nice they look out for you. I mean, knocking would be ideal, but I’m sure you can train them properly.”

She smiled up at me. “You’re a good man, Luke Kim.”

I leaned down, inches away from her luscious lips. “You make me better, Nora Rossi.” And I captured her mouth in a passionate kiss.

After we christened the freshly painted living room, we cleaned up and headed out to grab some dinner. We ended up at Schmitty’s where we ate fried clams and drank cold beer while yelling at a Celtics game.

It was fun and silly and unlike most dates I had been on.

Nora seemed comfortable being with me. She was wearing jeans and winter boots, and her hair was back in a ponytail.

She laughed and ate and drank and held my hand while talking shit about the Nets.

It was one of the best dates I had ever been on.

“So, I have been making some calls about the zoning issue. We’ve got five members on the zoning board.

The good news is that I think we can easily sell three of them.

Mr. Browning might be a holdout, but he and his wife have dinner at my dad’s restaurant every Friday night.

I could cut off his bucatini supply in a minute.

” She snapped her fingers, and I couldn’t suppress my laugh.

She started to detail her plan, how the crisis center should structure the proposal, and what sorts of incentives we could build in for the town.

I was in awe. Nora knew everyone and everything about Havenport and was using her powers to help me and the crisis center. She made an impossible problem seem so easy to solve. I guess things were a lot easier when you had Nora on your team.

“It’s going to take a while. I think you need to work up the proposal with Astrid and an architect and then maybe apply next month. That should give me enough time to lay some groundwork and give us the summer to appeal if necessary.”

“That’s amazing. Erica is really excited, and I think this might be the best long-term solution.”

She squeezed my hand. “I hope so. And I think it’s really incredible you’re willing to donate your property. There is so much potential there.”

“It was your idea. And I don’t need it. I’m really happy in the brownstone.” I winked at her, and she flushed, probably thinking about how I had gone down on her on the staircase earlier this afternoon.

“So how,” I asked while topping off her beer from our pitcher, “do you go from fashion school to small town entrepreneur and girl boss?”

She popped an onion ring in her mouth and considered my question.

“I think it’s in my blood. My grandfather emigrated from Italy as a child and then went back in his twenties to train as a chef.

He met my Nonna, brought her back, and the two of them opened the restaurant and raised four kids.

They were the embodiment of the American dream.

“My father went to culinary school and took over the restaurant, and my mother ran the family. Growing up, we all worked in the restaurant, my brothers in the kitchen, but I was always smushed into a frilly party dress and parked at the host stand.”

“I can imagine you were an excellent hostess.”

“Of course I was. At seven years old I was running the front of the house and helping turn the tables over more quickly. It was there, at that host stand, that I met most of Havenport and I observed them. I chatted and batted my eyelashes and overheard lots of conversations and several deals in the making.”

“That explains how you know everything about everyone.”

She shrugged. “It was then that I realized what I wanted. To build my own business. Just like my grandparents had. And I wanted to do it here in Havenport.”

“You didn’t want to be a chef?”

She laughed. “I can cook, since I was raised by a pushy Italian mother. But in her world, men are chefs and women are cooks. I was taught to cook so I could feed my husband and family. That’s it.”

“That is some backward bullshit.”

“It’s fine. And trust me, it doesn’t end there. When I wanted to go to fashion school they almost lost their minds. In New York, of all places. My parents wanted me to stay close to home and do something boring. But I wanted the city and the adventure and something that made me feel alive.”

“New York is great for that.”

She smiled at me. “It’s where I found myself and who I was meant to be. It’s where I got my ass kicked daily and built up my thick skin.”

I savored the feeling of her small hand in mine. The casual contact between us felt so good. “Why didn’t you stay?”

“Chip dumped me, and I was totally devastated. And then my Papa died. I came home to attend his funeral and help with Nonna, and I realized how much I missed Havenport. I knew I wanted to start my own business, and I wasn’t progressing in my fashion career in New York.

So I said fuck it and came back. I inherited some money from my Papa and used it to open my store. I’ve been here almost seven years now.”

I admired how brave she was, striking out on her own. “Do you miss it?” I asked.

“Of course I do. But I’m happy here, and I don’t want to leave. I miss a lot of the little things about the city. The smells, the sights, all the art. I miss walking down the street at three a.m. and seeing people walking their dogs or at the laundromat.”

She pushed her hair behind her ears. “And I know it sounds silly, but that’s why I’m so excited about this meeting next week. Going to New York to pitch potential investors feels like fate. It feels like I’m coming full circle. And I want to crush it.”

I covered her hand with mine, intertwining our fingers. “I believe in you.”

Her eyes softened, and she looked at me with admiration. I puffed up my chest a little bit; championing Nora felt so much more exciting than any deal I had ever done. I wanted this for her, and I was so proud of how hard she was working to get it.

She leaned over and kissed me, fully on the lips, in view of the entire restaurant. It was the most beautiful feeling, loving her openly and publicly. I had never been so certain in my life. I wanted this woman forever.