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The warmth that flooded Axel’s face when I said those words was hard to ignore. Just like the swell of my heart that followed it.
Because here we were, staring at the impossible. A complicated, uncertain, treacherous thing. A doorway to the future.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
AXEL
Certain moments are sewn together from dreams.
That’s how it felt, at least, to see Cora drifting through my penthouse.
I’d never once even imagined this could be my reality.
Not just her presence, but the whole complicated and painful package.
I ran my hand along the edge of the kitchen island. Firmly marble. Not at all gauzy dream stuff. This had to be reality.
“So what do you think?” I asked, tapping my knuckles along the edge of the island. She’d walked over to the wall of windows in the dining room and stood looking out over the city. We had a spectacular view up here, one that both grounded me at the same time it made me dizzy from sheer complexity.
“I remember when this place went on the market,” she murmured, her gaze lost in the city. “I wanted to scoop it up for myself, actually.”
“Sorry, not sorry.”
She smiled back at me. “It’s an incredible place. But far too big for you alone.”
“All three of us share it,” I told her. “And Zero. It’s our Manhattan place. It keeps us brotherly, you know? We each have our own houses outside the city too. And back in Kentucky.”
She nodded. “That sounds about right. Where’s your getaway house?”
“The Hamptons.”
She smiled, but it looked sad. The Hamptons had always been our place when we dated. I’d taken her there, an overzealous, broke college student, promising her the world when I could barely afford a cross-town cab ride. In my mind, using the Hamptons as our special place was a way of reinforcing my imminent wealth. I thought that if I faked it, I’d make it.
I’d been right. But the reality I envisioned wasn’t quite the one I’d received. In those days, I’d imagined building my empire with Cora at my side.
My phone vibrated, and I pulled it out to see if my brothers were responding to the message I’d left in our group chat.
DAMIAN: So are we talking a new roomie in the Manhattan place?
I’d given them the heads up that I’d pulled Cora out of a sticky situation. But even I didn’t entirely know what this meant. For her. For me. For us.
For any of it.
AXEL: Let’s call her a temporary house guest. She’ll stay in the guest room in my wing. Cool?
TRACE: Are YOU cool with it?
AXEL: I can feel your eyebrows.
I pocketed my phone. They’d be back to the penthouse soon enough. We could hash out details then. “Let’s continue the tour.”
“I’d love that.” Cora turned from the window, following me out of the enormous dining room. I took her into the two-story great room with the black brick fireplace that cut through the middle. Low, boxy furniture complemented the room in shades of slate and black. From there, we visited the gym and peeked into Damian’s wing, and then Trace’s.
By the time we made it back to my end of the penthouse, Damian had just entered the kitchen. He loosened his tie before setting his briefcase on the kitchen island.
“Hey there,” Damian said, nodding toward Cora. She offered him a shy smile.
“Hi, Damian. I take it Axel has told you…?”
