Healing the Wounds (7 page)

Was he
what
? Did this woman think Henry would sever all ties with the club? Had he? He could’ve met with the board while she and Jay were at work. Fuck. She never should’ve picked up his phone.

“Should he be?” She tried to keep her voice cool.

“Please tell him—no, I’m sorry, Alice. I’ve called to apologize, not only to him, but to you and Jay as well.”

“You’re worried about him.” And felt guilty, somehow.

“About the three of you, yes.”

Emma had approached them as a friend in the hall. Warm. Laying her hand on Henry’s shoulder and kissing his cheek. Complimenting him. About
her
.

“But you’d rather see him in person.” Meeting her, Emma hadn’t seemed jealous or threatened. She’d seemed happy for Henry. Like a good friend. “To make sure he’s okay.”

“You’re a perceptive and forthright young woman, Alice. I expect it’s part of why Henry…enjoys you so.”

Loves, she mentally corrected. Henry loved her so. And this woman knew it. If she was his confidante, he’d appreciate her support and advice.

“Yes, I’d rather see all three of you in person, but I suppose that would be out of the question.”

“We aren’t going back there.” She rushed out the answer. “Not anytime soon.”

Henry had promised. Though the promise seemed as much for him as for them. He’d punish himself for his perceived betrayal of their trust in little ways until he felt he’d atoned. He wouldn’t let Jay get away with it, but himself he’d punish for no reason at all.

“…didn’t think you would.”

“But you could come here.” It was a fabulous idea. Henry needed to talk to someone who’d help him stop punishing himself, and he considered this Emma woman a peer.

“I couldn’t possibly.”

“You should come for dinner.” For Henry, she could keep her jealousy under control. He wasn’t in love with this woman. He loved her and Jay. “We eat at seven.”

Emma laughed, her voice thin and fading. “Do you? Victor’s influence, I suppose. Henry often joined us at suppertime when he—” She clucked. “And now I’m talking out of turn.”

“Come to dinner,” Alice urged. “I won’t ask about your history with him.”

“Which I won’t be divulging to you in any case, you realize.”

“You wouldn’t be a very good friend to Henry if you did.”

“You’re not going to try to push me for information? You were blazing with curiosity when I saw you last.”

“Henry gave me the answers I needed. And if I needed more reassurance, I’d ask, and he’d give it.” The truth radiated warmth in her chest. She didn’t have to feel guilty about asking for what she needed. Henry wanted her to need him.

“Hmm. He would, wouldn’t he?” Emma sighed. “But I cannot accept your dinner invitation, Alice, not without his approval. I understand you aren’t in the same—that you don’t answer to him in every area of your lives, but I won’t drop in and surprise him in his home.”

The shower had stopped. Jay stood in the bathroom doorway naked and smiling as he rubbed a towel over his hair.

“Just a minute, please.” She muted the phone, waved to get Jay’s attention, and called down the hall. “Get Henry.”

“Demanding little thing, aren’t you?” Jay smirked at her. “Where’s my breakfast?”

Oh, shit. Breakfast.

“Jay, catch.”

He dropped the towel and grabbed the phone in midair.

“Tell Henry Emma’s coming to dinner and he needs to tell her it’s okay with him.”

Thank God the smoke rising from the pan on the stove hadn’t set off an alarm. At least she hadn’t dropped bread on the griddle. As it was, she only had to turn down the heat and fish soggy bread pieces from the egg mixture to trash them.

Potentially burning the place down probably wasn’t a reasonable way to demonstrate her prowess at breakfast duties.
Make a note, Allie-girl.

* * * *

A stack of French toast waited, warming beneath a foil tent, when Jay sauntered into the kitchen. Fully dressed, sadly. She was rather fond of the look he’d sported right out of the shower. He sidled up to her as she turned off the stove.

Aluminum foil rustled.

“Hey.” She blocked him with the spatula. “Breakfast at the table, goof, and not until Henry’s ready, too.”

Jay walked his fingers up the spatula. “But if I don’t taste them first, how do you know they’ll be good enough for Henry?” Wide, innocent eyes gazed at her with puppy pleading. “I’m doing this for you, Alice. From the bottom of my heart.”

She snorted. “From the bottom of your stomach, more like. Can you carry the plate to the table without sampling?”

He heaved an exaggerated sigh. “If I must, my cruel-but-beloved chef.” He kissed her cheek and danced away with the plate.

Following with the syrup and cut fruit, she surveyed the table, mentally checking things off.

Henry caught her as she turned, trapping her against his chest. Freshly showered and scented, his chest warm and broad. Mmm. Good morning.

“I forgot the juice.”

“Jay will fetch it.”

She tipped her head back. “So serious. I can—”

“Jay, will you fetch the juice and glasses, please?”

“On it.” He raised his eyebrows when he passed her.

Henry prowled her back with his fingertips. He still hadn’t smiled.

A prickle of not-lust crawled up her spine. Concern.

“Now, my dear girl, shall we discuss what orders
I
am to carry out?”

“Orders?”

“Mmm. I believe Jay informed me I was to tell Emma to join us for dinner because it was
okay
with me.”

Oh. Fuck. Yeah, she’d pretty much said it like an order. Jay would never have done what she’d done. He might’ve brought Henry the phone, but arbitrarily invited someone to dinner? When hell froze over.

“Imagine my surprise to be handed my phone as I stepped from the shower, a caller already waiting on the other end.”

Shifting from foot to foot, she squirmed in his embrace. “I shouldn’t have answered your phone, Henry.” She’d known she was in the wrong as soon as she’d picked up the phone. “It was rude.” No point trying to hide. “I know that, and I’m sorry.”

He studied her with narrowed eyes. “I note your contrition only extends so far. What of your spur-of-the-moment invitation?”

A trickier question. If this was going to be her home, too, she had to be able to invite people to meals without being intimidated. With more courtesy next time. Especially when she was rarely the one responsible for providing those meals. “I should’ve told her one of us would call her back instead of assuming.” Even if her intent had been to help repair Henry and Emma’s friendship, she’d acted like a kid walking in the door with a friend after school and expecting Mom to stretch dinner without notice. “But I’m not sorry I invited her.”

One corner of Henry’s mouth twitched.

Her suspicion rested on that microscopic evidence. “And you’re not mad at me, either.”

“Oh? Aren’t I?” Deceptively neutral, but he was neither an angry man nor a violent one.

“No.” She had nothing to fear, though his low tone raised the hair at the nape of her neck. “You like it. You like that I invited her, and you like that I’m not backing down now.”

“Wrong, Alice.” Eyes dark, voice harsh, he gripped her tighter. His cock ground against her stomach. “
Like
is not at all the proper word.”

Shivering heat swept through her. Another pair of panties for the laundry pile. Was it wrong to dream of him taking her to bed morning, noon, and night? Last night, he’d said three climaxes a day. Could she get that in writing?

“Love, on the other hand—” He growled in her ear. “Yes, that I feel in abundance, even when you so aptly display your distaste for being ruled by others.”

“Not all of the time,” she murmured, despite the expanded contract terms with which she’d granted him such power. “Just—”

“Some of the time, yes,” he finished with her. He nipped at her neck. “Such a delightful challenge and a constant temptation. But one I’ll wait to indulge.”

Her whimper, so much like Jay’s frequent refrain, surprised her. No wonder the poor boy made it so often. No other sound so thoroughly encapsulated the frustration of desire denied.

“Only for you,” she mumbled. She took a deep breath to clear her head.

He let her go, mostly, clasping her hands as he stepped back.

“But I still think dinner is a good idea.”

“And why is that, my dear?”

“She sounded like she needed it. And she wanted to apologize in person.”

“Well.” Henry frowned. “One thing at a time. I suppose you know you’ll be giving up your free time this afternoon to go grocery shopping with me.”

“So you told her it’s okay? She’s coming to dinner?”

“She is.” He pumped her hands in a shared heartbeat, one-two, one-two. “I expect it won’t be what she’s expecting. Nor, perhaps, what you are.”

Her Sunday best behavior might not get tons of use, but she’d mastered politeness, for God’s sake. “I wasn’t going to interrogate her.”

“No, my dear, I know.” He sighed, a fleeting breath. “I believe we’ve a lovely breakfast growing cold at the moment.”

She allowed him the abrupt change of subject. “Yeah, I made—”

The foil covered a much shorter stack of French toast. A mass of bread and syrup rested in front of Jay, a heaping forkful headed toward his mouth.

“Well, I did have a big breakfast of French toast ready.”

Henry ushered her to her regular seat, kissed the top of her head, and seated himself.

“You guys seemed like you’d be a while.” Jay speared another piece on his plate. “But I’m happy to report the food’s super-good and totally safe to eat. Job security, you know.”

Henry snorted over her laughter. “Thank you for your extremely useful assessment, my boy. Now I needn’t worry that Alice is attempting a poisoning. I do hope you left some for the rest of us.”

Jay grinned. “There’s lots of fruit left.”

Henry sent Jay to the door. The soup didn’t need tending, the salads had been plated, and the main course wouldn’t go into the oven until the salads had been served. He’d opened the wine bottle a few minutes ago. He could’ve gone to greet Emma himself.

But he stood in the kitchen with his arm around Alice and his hand splayed on her back. Resting his forehead against her temple, he breathed warmth in her ear.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Let it out slow.

Jay’s voice anchored a distant murmur of polite hello and may-I-take-your-coat chatter. On his best behavior for their guest. Having another woman in the house wasn’t a threat to him. Ugh. It shouldn’t be a threat to her, either, not with Henry’s reassuring attention. Though Emma’s presence served as a reminder to them both of last week’s disaster. The memory might be all that had her on edge.

“No, thank you, Jay.” A light, feminine voice. “That’s a gift for the chef.”

Henry kissed her, leaving behind a whisper. “I love you, sweet girl.” He straightened, though his hand stayed on her back.

Opening her eyes, she nodded once. No problem. She could handle this. She’d been the one to make the invitation. Impulsively. Out of equal parts compassion and curiosity. Which everyone knew only killed cats.

Emma turned the corner with her escort, her hand resting on Jay’s forearm.

Yeah, no. Definitely more than nerves over seeing a woman who’d been at the club. Irrational fear seized her chest.

Emma was the sort of woman who screamed perfection. Well, not screamed, because ladies didn’t do that. She dressed impeccably without Henry’s guidance. Alice nurtured a polite smile as she studied their guest. Outside the club, she wasn’t distracted by other concerns.

Mahogany hair, a deep brown glinting red in the light, twisted up in some elegantly simple design. Not a strand out of place. A knee-length sheath dress not unlike the one Henry had chosen for Alice to wear tonight. Emma’s was a smoky blue-gray. Not flashy and designed to draw eyes from across a room, but tasteful. Understated.

Bet she didn’t own a pair of jeans. A woman who’d never run to pick up takeout in a T-shirt, pajama pants, and sandals. With this expert woman right in front of him, Henry had to be wondering what the hell he’d seen in the beginner model.

“Emma.” Henry extended his hand. “It’s lovely to see you. I trust Jay was the consummate butler.”

Emma patted Jay’s arm as she let go. “He was indeed. He’s grown into quite the proper valet.” She stepped forward and laid her fingertips over Henry’s cupped hand as if it were a dance they performed. One ending with a half embrace and a kiss on Henry’s cheek before Henry released her hand and Emma stepped away.

Her smile at Alice raised tiny lines around her eyes. The eyes matched the dress, a shadowed, winter blue. A choker of platinum and pearls circled her neck above the slight vee of her dress. She clasped a book to her chest with her left hand, upon which rested two rings. Antique sapphire engagement ring. Platinum wedding band with intricate scrollwork.

Relief fizzed like a fresh can of soda. Emma might be widowed, but she wasn’t in the market for new love.

Henry petted her back in slow circles. “As we have the opportunity for a proper introduction this evening, Alice, this is Emma, a dear friend.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Emma.” Alice added a wry twist to her smile as they shook hands. “I hope you’ll excuse me for not saying hello at our first meeting.”

Emma laughed quietly. “Entirely understandable. I’ve been in the same situation many times myself.”

Manners. Kindness. Two more to add to the list of Things Emma Excels At. Alice growled at her jealousy in silence until it settled down.

“My boy, would you pour the wine, please?” He’d set out a dry white for the evening, a Verdelho that paired well with every course. She’d gotten the full rundown while they’d prepared the veggies and Jay set the table.

Jay went to work, and Emma held out her slender book to Henry. “I know, I know, wine or dessert for the host is traditional, but I wouldn’t dream of usurping your prerogative in your own kitchen. I hope this will suffice in their place.”

Henry accepted the book with both hands, leaving her back cold and empty. He opened the cover. Flowing script inside ended in the words
With love, Em
. Alice forced herself not to read the lines above.