She placed the cake in front of Brooklyn, the lights from the candle making her look even more luminous. Luka went to her side, and took her hand in his. As everyone sang “Happy Birthday,” my brother and his wife smiled at each other with such love that my heart almost burst. At the end, while everyone was applauding, they blew out the candles together.
The whole thing was extremely adorable, and it reminded me that even as I was stewing in my jealousy and loneliness, at least Ihada family. No matter what happened—with my marriage, with the mob, with the agency, with the baby’s perceived paternity—I knew that I had two brothers who were fiercely protective, and two sisters who were the kind of friends I’d only ever dreamed of while I was growing up.
Ford, on the other hand, didn’t have anything like that. He had no one to swap memories with. No one to share the good times with. No one who had his back no matter what. Except…me.
I wished that I could have saved Ford the way he had saved me all those times before. The way he had protected me and taken care of me.
Then I realized something. I could.
Ford
Chapter 27
Iwas sleeping when I heard the key turn in the lock. My suitcase was on the floor, packed and ready for my flight back to New York the next day. My first thought when I heard someone come through the door was that my parents—or Claudia—were up to more of the same old tricks.
But as I padded down the hall in my boxers, ready to kick out whoever had dared to sneak into my apartment, I saw a familiar silhouette standing in the entryway.
“Emzee?”
Thank God I hadn’t already gone back to New York yet to clean out my apartment in Williamsburg. My heart ached to see her, but I was also wary. We’d agreed that for all intents and purposes, we would be over. It was the only way to get my parents to cooperate and pay off the Zorics’ debt to the Russians. Emzee being at my place could put all of that in jeopardy.
“You can’t be here,” I told her softly.
She ignored me, and I followed her back to my room, where she unzipped her dress, letting it slide to the floor. I couldn’t help it, I was already hard for her. It had only been a day, but I wanted her desperately.
“We have to be over,” I protested weakly as she took off the rest of her clothes.
Then she climbed into bed, naked and waiting.
God, she was gorgeous. I wanted to touch her more than I wanted my next breath. It took all my willpower to hold myself back.
“Em, this is a bad idea,” I said.
“Where are the new divorce papers?” she asked.
I’d had a new set of them drawn up by my lawyers and had planned to send them to Emzee for signing once we were both back in New York.
“In my suitcase…” I gestured at the packed bag on the floor, but I was confused about what she was getting at. “Why?”
“Get them for me.”
I was in no rush to have her sign them now, but if that’s what she wanted, I knew I would have to do it. Feeling resigned, I went to my suitcase and dug out the papers that were tucked inside a manila envelope with her address already written on the front. Then I walked over to the bed and handed the papers to her, expecting her to grab the pen off of my bedside table and sign them right there.
Instead, she flipped through the pages one by one, sighing as she skimmed the legalese.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Do you need me to change something?”
Looking up at me, she smiled. “I don’t need you to change a damn thing.”
Then she held up the papers and ripped them in half. And in half again. Soon, the floor was covered in divorce document confetti.
I was shocked. It was the last thing I had expected her to do. “What was that for?”
“We don’t need it anymore.”
Sighing, I sat down on the bed beside her. “Em, I told you, I’m not letting you sell the agency.”
She shook her head.
