Henry (The Beck Brothers) (21 page)

"Well, I'm not ready
to do that, so let
’
s just
drop it,
”
Sebastian
snapped.

Sebastian leaned back
in his chair while his brothers moved on to talk about something else. He
wasn't really listening. He scanned the crowd, looking for a chick he could
possibly take home or go home with tonight. There was a group of four women at
the bar; none of them were even remotely attractive. There were a bunch of
tables with couples, a few groups of guys, and one other table with a few girls
who were waaaay too young for him, although they kept glancing his way and
giggling.

The front door opened
not a minute later and Sebastian caught a flash of light blonde hair. He tilted
his chair back to get a better view. The woman walking in had light golden
blonde hair that was parted on one side and pulled back where it was tied at
the back of her neck and rolled into a bun. Normally, the severe hair would not
be attractive, but this woman's face was stunning, and the hair fit her
heart-shaped face.

Sebastian was all for
the blondes. Victoria had been a brunette, so right now, they totally turned
him off. This woman glanced back and forth, eyes scanning, as if looking for
someone before heading over to the bar. She had on minimal makeup, just enough
to accentuate her already beautiful features. Her eyes sharp, and even at the
distance he was at, he could see that they were light blue. She had a cute
little nose and sinful bow shaped lips, which were the most luscious shade of
pink.

She was wearing a
light gray fitted pant suit. Usually Sebastian would not find that at all sexy,
but damn could this chick rock it. She had on a white blouse underneath the
coat, which was unbuttoned at the neck, but not low enough to show off any
cleavage. She stood at the end of the bar, talking seriously to the
bartender.
 

Sebastian got up,
murmuring to his brothers that he'd be back, and headed over to the bar.
Sebastian sidled up next to the bombshell. He looked her up and down. She had
on black pumps that were probably about three to four inches high. Even with
the height of her heels, she only came up to his chin, so she was much shorter
then he was used to. Victoria had been five feet ten inches. Sebastian was six
feet four inches, so her height had fit him perfectly. But this chick was
something new. Even the other women he'd been with since Victoria had been
taller.

"Hey, sweetheart,
can I buy you a drink?
”
Sebastian asked, interrupting her conversation with the bartender. He leaned
his forearms on the bar to get closer to her eye level.

She turned to look at
him, her face serious, and her blue eyes hard and irritated. "You need to
get out of my face,
”
she
snapped.

Sebastian smirked and
he saw her eyes flare. "Oh feisty, I like it,
”
he purred, glancing at her chest before dipping
lower. That was when he caught sight of the badge clipped onto her belt.

"You're a cop,
huh?
”
he asked, raising an
eyebrow as he reached out to finger her badge.

In the blink of an
eye, she had his finger bent back so far that it almost touched his wrist.
Sebastian cried out in agony as he was forced to drop to one knee. His free
hand gripped the edge of the bar so that he didn't fall completely to the
floor.

"I'm a detective,
and if you ever touch me again, I will do more than bend your finger back. Now
get out of my face before I arrest you for obstruction of an investigation,
”
she hissed merely inches from
his face.

Sebastian yelped as
she abruptly let go. He clamored back to his feet and clutched his battered
hand to his chest. "Shit, you could have just said so instead of
practically breaking my finger,
”
Sebastian spat angrily.

She stared at him in
disbelief. "Are you still standing here?"

Sebastian bit back a
nasty retort. He was sure she would definitely arrest him if he had said
anything else. He glared at her for a moment before turning and heading back to
his table. His brothers were all standing, expressions of shock on their faces.
Shit, they saw the whole thing. Sebastian shoved his way through the tables.
Dammit, he was pissed and embarrassed.

"What the fuck
was that?
”
Henry asked as
Sebastian sat down next to him.

Sebastian rubbed his
aching middle finger and shook his head. "Nothing, don't worry about it,
”
he muttered.

"Sebastian, that
was not nothing,
”
Quinn
said.

"Just sit down
and shut up,
”
Sebastian bit
out.

His brothers sat.

"Dude, is she
some kind of cop or something?" Christian asked.

"A detective,
”
Sebastian answered.

A round of,
"Ah's," came from them, and they didn't ask any more questions. Thank
God. Sebastian really didn't need to be humiliated anymore then he already had
been. He glanced back at the detective to see that she was gone. Good. He hoped
he never saw that bitch again.

                                                 
~~~~~

Claire woke to the
sound of Ethan
’
s squealing
laughter, followed by Henry's deep masculine chuckle. She smiled. Henry had let
her sleep in. He never ceased to amaze her with his thoughtfulness. She
couldn't remember the last time she got to sleep past 7:00 am. She looked at
the clock and her eyes almost bugged out of her head, it was 10:00 am. Claire
couldn't believe it. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Claire then pulled the
covers off and got out of bed. She went to the bathroom before heading out into
the living room.

Henry was chasing
Ethan around the couch, pretending to be a monster. Claire smiled and crossed
her arms over her chest as she watched. Ethan was giggling while Henry roared.
Henry then tricked Ethan by changing direction. He scooped Ethan up and tickled
him. Ethan squealed and kicked and laughed.

This was exactly what
Claire had hoped for her life: A man who adored her son and loved her like
crazy. For the past three months, they'd been a family. Henry had been staying
with her and Ethan at the apartment. The only time he went home was for changes
of clothes, and to take care of his mail.

"Hey! Look Ethan,
mommy's awake!
”
Henry
called.

"Mommy!
”
Ethan cried excitedly.

Henry put him down and
he ran to her. Claire picked him up and hugged him. Claire carried Ethan as she
went to Henry for a kiss. "Morning,
”
she murmured.

"Good morning,
love.
”
Henry smiled down at
her.

"Thanks for
letting me sleep late,
”
Claire said.

"You are most
welcome,
”
he said and
kissed her again.

"Did Ethan eat
yet?
”
Claire asked.

"Yup, we had
oatmeal with apples and cinnamon,
”
Henry grinned proudly.

"Oooh, sounds
yummy,
”
Claire said, and
looked at Ethan. "Was it yummy?"

"YEAH!
”
he yelled, throwing his arms
up.

Henry and Claire
laughed.

Since it was a
Saturday, and such a beautiful day, Henry suggested they go to the park. So
after everyone was showered and ready, they left. Ethan had a great time. At
around 1:00 pm, they headed back to the apartment for Ethan's nap. Ethan wanted
Henry to put him in bed, and Henry was more than happy.

Claire was in the
kitchen getting a drink when Henry returned. He sat on a stool at the island
counter that separated the kitchen from the living room. He rested his chin on
his hand and watched her move around the kitchen.

"What?
”
Claire asked with a smirk.

Henry shook his head
and straightened up, "I want to talk to you about something,
”
he said seriously.

"Okay,
”
Claire said slowly as she
walked over to the counter and stood opposite of him.

"You know I love
you...
”
Henry started and
Claire cut him off.

"You better not
be breaking up with me,
”
Claire said, frowning.

Henry looked at her
like she was crazy. "Are you fucking insane?
”
he asked incredulously.

Claire laughed.
"Sorry, go ahead"

Henry huffed,
apparently not finding it funny at all. Apparently he had something serious to
say. Claire watched him, a bit warily as he continued. "Anyway, I love
you, and I love Ethan, and as much as I like your apartment, I think it would
be nicer for all of us at my house. Ethan could have a play room and a back
yard and a pool,
”
he said,
his green eyes meeting hers, his apprehension at what she would say was very
clear in his steady gaze.

"You want us to
move in with you?
”
Claire
asked softly. She had been waiting for him to bring up the subject for a couple
of weeks now.

"Yes,
”
he said firmly, his mind made
up. "I want you to get rid of this apartment and come live with me at my
house. I want you and Ethan in my life forever."

Claire studied him for
a moment, cocking her head slightly. "What would your mother think about
us living together without being married?
”
she asked.
 
They had yet to talk
about marriage, but Claire had hoped that's where their relationship was
headed.

"I don't give a
shit about what she thinks,
”
Henry grunted.

"Okay. Is
marriage going to be something you want eventually?
”
Claire asked quietly.

Henry's gaze softened
and he slid his hand across the counter to cover hers. "Baby, I am looking
forward to the day when I can call you my wife."

Claire's eyes stung
with the threat of tears. "Henry,
”
she whispered.

Henry laced his fingers
in her and pulled her until she had to round the counter. Henry tugged her so
that she stood between his spread knees. He cupped her face and kissed her
lovingly on the lips.

"I love you,
”
Henry murmured against her
lips.

"I love you, too.
”
Claire breathed, kissing him
again.

"So? Will you
move in with me?
”
Henry
asked, using his thumbs to stroke her cheeks.

Claire nodded.
"Yes."

Henry smiled brightly,
showing off those dimples that Claire thought were so cute. He then wrapped his
arms around her and crushed her to his chest. His mouth slanted over hers,
kissing her passionately. Claire's life couldn't get any better than it was at
this moment.

                                                 
~~~~~

Henry propped his
fists on his hips as he tried to catch his breath. Christian was bent over,
hands on his knees. They had just carried all of Claire's boxes of clothes up
to Henry's bedroom. There were five of them, and they were all filled to
capacity, which made them heavy. Where she kept all these clothes in that
little apartment boggled Henry's mind. Luckily, he had a huge walk-in closet
that had plenty of empty space. He wasn't a clothes whore like Christian.

"Thank God that
was the last one,
”
Christian panted as he straightened.

"Yeah,
”
Henry agreed.

They headed out of the
bedroom and down the hall where Henry had cleared out one of the guest bedrooms
and painted it green like Ethan wanted. When he walked into the room, Sebastian
was sitting on the floor putting a new shelving unit together for Ethan's toys.

"How's it going?
”
Henry asked.

Sebastian gave him a
thumbs-up without looking up from checking the directions. Henry smiled then
followed Christian downstairs. The front door was open and Quinn was carrying
in a box of toys. Ethan was sitting in the living room watching TV, and Claire
was in the kitchen making sandwiches for lunch.

Henry was in a
ridiculously good mood today, couldn't stop smiling. He and Christian went back
out to the rented U-Haul truck to grab some more boxes. Claire had gotten rid
of most of her furniture and kitchen stuff because she wasn't going to need any
of it. So it was pretty much all clothes, toys, pictures, sentimental stuff,
and decorations for the holidays.

After carrying in the
last of the boxes, they all headed into the kitchen for lunch. Claire had made
turkey sandwiches with lettuce and tomato. They all sat around the table. Henry
sat at the head with Ethan on a booster seat on his right, while Claire sat to
his left. Sebastian sat on the other side of Ethan, Quinn sat next to Claire, and
Christian was at the other end.

Ethan ate a hot dog,
which he finished before everyone else. He turned to Henry when he was done,
pushed his chair away from the table and said, "All done, I get down
Daddy?"