Henry (The Beck Brothers) (11 page)

Two small hands cupped
his cheeks. "Wake up, Henwee,
”
Ethan whispered.

Henry could hear
Claire stifling a laugh by the end of the bed. Henry cracked open his eyes and
was met by the cutest little boy he'd ever seen. His mop of blonde curls and
big blue eyes were enough to melt even the hardest of hearts.

"Hi,
”
Ethan chirped when he saw that
Henry was awake.

"Hi buddy,
”
Henry murmured sleepily and
ruffled Ethan's hair.

Ethan clamored off
Henry to let him stretch and sit up. Ethan bounced on his knees next to Henry,
who rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He looked up to Claire; she was as gorgeous
as ever. She stood at the end of his bed, bright smile on her beautiful face,
her arms crossed over her chest.

"Henwee, I make
dis for you,
”
Ethan said,
holding up a piece of red construction paper.

Henry took it and
looked at it. Claire had written
“
Get
Well Henry
”
at the top of
the page, while Ethan scribbled in different colors underneath. Henry glanced
at Claire, who was watching with complete adoration on her face. Then he looked
over at Ethan, who was just beaming.

"This is the best
gift anyone has ever given me.
 
Thank you Ethan, it makes me feel so much better,
”
Henry said sincerely, giving Ethan a soft smile.

Ethan flung his arms
around Henry's neck. Henry wrapped his arms around the little boy who just made
his whole year. How could he have ever thought he didn't want kids? The love he
felt for this little boy was unimaginable. Especially since he'd only seen him
once before. But there seemed to be some kind of connection between them. Just
like he and Claire seemed to have some kind of special connection.

He'd always felt
different about her. He'd never treated her the same as his other assistants.
From the first moment he laid eyes on her, he knew she was different. She was
kind and caring and beautiful and sexy, and she'd grown to actually mean
something to him; especially after this week. But what could he do about it?
Nothing if he wanted her to remain his assistant.

Ethan let go of Henry
’
s neck and sat on his lap,
facing him. "Henwee, you come park wit me?
”
Ethan asked, his big blue eyes hopeful.

"Ethan, I told
you, Henry might not feel well enough to come out yet,
”
Claire said gently, moving forward to his side of
the bed.

Henry brushed Ethan's
hair off his forehead.
“
I
think we can go to the park,
”
he smiled.

Ethan bounced.
"Yay!
”
he exclaimed,
clapping his hands.

Claire sat down on the
bed next to Henry's hip, facing him. She placed her hand on his thigh.
"Are you sure you're feeling up to it?
”
she asked quietly.

Henry patted her hand.
“
I
’
m feeling pretty good; I think I can go out."

Claire nodded.
“
Okay."

Henry turned back to
Ethan. "Let me take a shower and get something to eat, and then we can go,
okay?"

Ethan nodded excitedly
and climbed off of Henry's lap. Claire gave his thigh a squeeze, drawing his
attention.

“
Are you sure?
”
She asked quietly.

Henry nodded.
“
I
’
m
good,
”
he murmured,
slipping his hand over hers.

Claire's hand was soft
and warm under his. Henry met her blue gaze. They searched each other's eyes
for a moment. Something passed between them. Something Henry couldn't think
about right now. There were too many complications that he didn't want to deal
with.

                                                 
~~~~~

Claire took Ethan
downstairs to the kitchen to wait for Henry to shower and get ready. She sat
Ethan down at the table where he played with the toy car he brought. Claire
then went about making breakfast for Henry and Sebastian, who was sure to show
with the smell of bacon.

It didn't take long
for Sebastian to shuffle into the kitchen in a pair of sweatpants. He yawned,
stretched, and scratched his bare chest. His blonde hair was a mess and his
face was covered in stubble. Sebastian was a fine looking man, almost as
gorgeous as Henry.

Sebastian gave her a
tired smile and a kiss on the cheek. "Morning lovely,
”
he murmured.

Claire gave him a soft
but confused smile at his affection. He didn't seem to notice since he saw
Ethan sitting at the table. Sebastian started towards him.
“
And who is this little guy?
”
he asked with a smirk.

"My son, Ethan;
Ethan this is Henry's brother, Sebastian. Can you say hi?
”
Claire prompted.

"Hi Bastian,
”
Ethan said, ducking his head
shyly.

Sebastian swung his
head around to look at Claire.
“
You
have a kid?
”
 
he asked, shocked.

Claire nodded.
Sebastian stared at her for a moment before turning back to Ethan. "Uh,
hey little man, what's up?
”
Sebastian said and sat down next to him.

"Nothin
’
.
”
Ethan shrugged, running his car over the table before glancing over at
Sebastian to study him. "You wook wike Henwee,
”
Ethan said to Sebastian, who smiled.

“
That
’
s because we're brothers,
”
Sebastian replied.

Claire smiled as the
two chatted about cars. She had just finished cooking a big pan of scrambled
eggs when Henry walked into the kitchen dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Claire
couldn't help but stare. His hair was still damp and his face was clean shaven.
And he looked fantastic in his worn jeans and vintage t-shirt. Henry came up
behind her and looked at the food over her shoulder. She could feel the heat
from his body, he was that close.

“
Smells good and I'm actually
hungry, which I take as a good sign,
”
Henry murmured close to her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

“
Yeah, that's a good thing,
”
Claire managed to get out in a
normal tone.

Henry moved towards
her right and opened the cabinet to grab plates. He also grabbed silverware and
glasses. Then he went to the fridge and took out the orange juice. He put that
on the table before going to the coffee maker and getting it started. It all
seemed so normal. It was unrehearsed, yet they moved around the kitchen
together like it was something they did every day. Claire found herself longing
for this to be an everyday thing with Henry. Dammit.

At the park, Claire
pretty much just sat on the bench while Henry and Ethan played. Again Claire
was baffled by this whole other side of Henry. He laughed, ran, chased, and
just had an all out good time with Ethan. He pushed Ethan on the swing for a
little while. Then they played on the jungle gym. He even slid down the slide
with Ethan. Claire just sat, watched, smiled, and laughed along with them.
She'd never seen Ethan so happy. And it took everything she had not to tear up.

After about two hours
of playing, Henry walked over to Claire with Ethan in his arms. Ethan was
laying his head on Henry's shoulder. The kid had to be pooped. And it was
getting close to his nap time.

Claire stood.
“
Ready to go?
”
she asked with a soft smile.

“
Yeah, I think he's done,
”
Henry smiled back, gazing at
her with something close to love in his eyes, making Claire's heart pound.

Claire nodded and they
headed back to Henry's car, which Claire had put Ethan's car seat in. Claire
didn't have a car, but she had a car seat for whenever she needed it. Ethan had
wanted to bring Henry his picture, so Claire put the car seat in Henry's car
this morning. She was glad she did.

Henry put Ethan in the
car seat but let Claire strap him in since he didn't know how to use it. Henry
did watch over her shoulder though. Almost as soon as they pulled out of the
parking lot, Ethan was out. Claire smiled and shook her head. She couldn't
remember the last time Ethan had gotten so worn out that he passed out like
that.

“
So, am I taking you home?
”
Henry asked quietly.

“
Yeah, that way he can finish his
nap in his bed,
”
Claire
replied.

Henry nodded, looking
a little disappointed.

“
Did you have fun?
”
Claire asked him, a knowing
smirk on her face.

Henry smiled brightly,
those elusive dimples making an appearance.
“
Yeah,
I did."

“
Good,
”
Claire said warmly.

“
Ethan
’
s a great kid,
”
Henry murmured, watching the road as he shifted gears.

"Thank you,
”
Claire said, having to clear
the emotion from her throat. "He really has become quite fond of you. He
’
s constantly talking about you,
he even named his sock monkey Mr. Henry Monkey,
”
she giggled.

Henry laughed and
shook his head before glancing in the rear view to check on Ethan, as he had
done about twenty times already.
“
I
haven't been around a lot of kids, so I'm kinda surprised that we get along so
well."

“
Sometimes you can't help who you
become friends with,
”
Claire said, biting back a smile as she watched Henry.

Henry glanced at her,
eyebrow raised.
“
Oh, so
Ethan and I are friends?
”
he asked curiously, amusement glinting in his green eyes.

“
According to him, you're his new
best friend,
”
Claire
confirmed with a nod.

Henry smiled softly.
“
Yeah okay, he's got me
there."

Claire chuckled. The
rest of the ride was silent, but a comfortable silence. Henry's smile seemed permanent.
Claire had never seen him smile so much in one day, let alone have a smile stay
on his face for extended periods of time. Claire had a feeling that a little
someone just stole Henry's heart right out from under her. Claire couldn't help
but smile at the thought. Henry was a good role model, and Claire would make
sure that he remained in Ethan's life, no matter what.

Chapter 7

“
Honey, do you remember my buddy
Jack Landon's son Zack?
”
Claire's father, Frank, asked her.

Claire glanced over
her shoulder at him. She was in her kitchen cooking them dinner.
“
Uh, yeah, I think so, why?
”
she asked, playing dumb. Of
course she remembered Zack. She could never forget a man that gorgeous. She
hadn't seen him in ten years, but there was no way he could have gotten ugly,
it just wasn't possible.

“
Well I just saw Zack yesterday
for the first time in years; he's doing really well for himself. He's a doctor
now. And he asked about you,
”
Frank said, watching her.

Claire spun around.
“
He asked about me?
”
she gulped.

Her dad smiled.
“
Yeah, he wanted to know how you
were doing. I told him about Ethan."

“
Oh,
”
Claire muttered, knowing that was probably the end
of that conversation. He wouldn't be interested in her now.

“
Zack is a pediatrician and loves
kids. He asked me to give you his number. He wants to take you out,
”
Frank said with a pleased
smile.

Claire blushed.
“
Really?
”
she smiled.

Her dad nodded.
“
Here, why don't you call him
now?
”
he said, walking over
to her, handing her a piece of paper with Zack's number on it.

Claire stared at it.
Her thoughts jumped to Henry and what he would think. She shook that away. It
was none of Henry's business. He was her boss and semi-friend. He didn't have
anything to do with her love life. Maybe if she went out with someone else she
could get over the stupid crush she had on him. It'd been three and a half
months since she started working for him. She needed to stop thinking about
him; they were never going to be together.