Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 70115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
“You sick of Thor’s swinging parties?”
Hugo grinned, but he couldn’t meet his brother’s knowing gaze. “All the orgies between his thriving business and those endless college courses? Yeah, they’re really interrupting my sleep. And don’t get me started on the neighbors.”
“Hugo, look at me.”
He glanced over to find Emerson pushing up his black frames in preparation. “Uh-oh. What did I do?”
“This is my house. And like I tell my boys, my house is like church.”
“Like church?” Hugo’s lips twitched. “This might be why you’re never invited to Austen’s parties.”
“I’ll laugh in a minute.” Emerson eyed him in a way that reminded him of their grandfather. “We don’t lie in church. We’re polite, we don’t break things, and we don’t hide from the truth.”
“I’m not hiding from anything.” That was a big lie.
He made a disappointed sound and shook his head. “You think I haven’t noticed your sudden desire to spend all this extra time with me? I’ve appreciated it, enjoyed it even, but I know it’s not about me or my real estate issues. So why don’t you tell me what it is about? What’s changed? What’s bothering you?”
Our sister married a random Finn.
He couldn’t mention that, not even if it would work to distract Emerson from Hugo’s actual problem. The problem that was becoming more apparent by the day. By the hour. Every minute that passed without admitting it out loud.
“I made a mistake.”
Emerson nodded, as if it was nothing more than he’d expected. “A big one?”
“The biggest.”
“This about Chief Finn?”
“Yeah.” Hugo bit his cheek hard enough to hurt before he turned away from Emerson and forced himself to admit the truth to the wall. “He’s the guy. The real thing. I waited for him to get his head out of his ass for years, and then when I finally had him I kept pushing him away. I blamed him, his issues with his job, his father, but it was me. I was scared of being hurt and I broke things off for the second time. I don’t think he’ll give me another chance. I’m not even sure I deserve it.”
Silence echoed through the empty house until Hugo couldn’t stand it anymore. He turned to face his brother’s judgment. “What do you—what are you looking at?”
Emerson was staring at his phone. “Did you see that speech he gave a few weeks ago?”
“What speech? No. No, I’ve been avoiding anything that might mention his name because, as I just confessed while you were playing on your smartphone, I’m a screw up.”
Emerson turned his phone toward Hugo, showing an image of Solomon walking awkwardly toward a microphone. “Watch all of it.”
He listened to the speech in silence, his heart aching with pride and pain as Solomon revealed his family’s secret shame for the best of reasons.
After hugging his brother, the reporters started asking him questions. One of them mentioned his relationship with a man from work. Hugo leaned closer to the phone.
“This is where it gets good,” Emerson told him quietly.
“I’d also say that even though things might not have worked out, he deserves to know that I love him. He’s the only one I’ve ever been in love with, and despite the circumstances, I don’t see that changing in this lifetime.”
“Sweet Jesus.”
Emerson pointed at him sternly. “Church.”
But Hugo couldn’t get over the shock. “He told a reporter that he loves me. In front of a crowd. On camera.”
“I could have told you that at your birthday dinner. I don’t think its news to anybody.”
“Speak for yourself.” He clasped his hands behind his head, trying to slow his heart down. “I kicked him out. I said things… How the hell can he still love me?”
“Maybe he likes pain. What do they call people like that?”
Hugo spared him a quick glare. “I can’t tell you. We’re in church.”
Emerson finally laughed. “Is that enough proof for you? Has he jumped through enough hoops to earn some trust in return?”
“I didn’t mean to test him. I was scared of it. What’s between us… it’s intense. It makes you wonder if something like that can last.”
Emerson squeezed his shoulder. “How long have you known he was the one?”
“When did I graduate from the police academy?” When he looked back, something inside him had known the first time he’d looked into Solomon’s eyes.
It had just taken fourteen years or so to break the ice.
He pulled his hands down over his face. “Oh my God. I’m so…”
His brother whistled through his teeth. “That long? Yeah, I think you’re safe.”
No, he wasn’t. Not unless he could figure out a way to prove to Solomon that he was worth one more chance. A way that was worthy of his announcement in front of half the city.
His family had something in common with the Finns. The Waynes didn’t do anything small.