Georgia eyes me. “You and your sisters really committed to castle-related pretend play, huh?”
“It eventually expanded to nobility and the peerage as we got older,” I admit.
She hums. “I like Reginald and Victoria. Okay, Reggie. Here’s our backstory. You ready?”
Skateboarders and delivery mopeds and e-bikes eventually make way for strollers and wagons as we cross into Brooklyn Heights. “Go for it.”
“We come from generations of old money, and our wealth originates from shipping empires and railroad monopolies.”
“We met at a debutante ball in the Hamptons, where I was already known as ‘The Earl of Newport’…” I pause, rusty and out of practice, needing to think. “I was the… disciplined CEO of Kensington Industries, the family’s multibillion-dollar enterprise… spanning shipping, textiles, and banking?—”
“—and I was the family rebel who rejected the suffocating expectations of my pedigree, and I upheld a reputation and reckless lifestyle abroad,” Georgia adds on without hesitation, “gambling away small fortunes in Monte Carlo and frequenting Parisian cabarets.”
I smile. “I was drawn to your spirit. Your family demanded you return home to straighten out and forced you to come work for Kensington Industries. But our romance had to remain hidden. A CEO dating an employee, especially one with your notorious reputation, would have been a scandal that neither the family nor the company could withstand.” I forgot how involved our pretend play got when we were growing up, how my sisters and I would do this for hours.
We wait at a light for a long moment.
“But I hated being a secret,” Georgia says pointedly.
“It was necessary for our happily ever after,” I remind her.
“But it wasn’t fair that it wasmylife andmyreputation that would be tarnished because I’m a woman and you were my boss. And a man,” she says, quite forcefully.
I look at her. “Are we still talking about Reggie and Vic?”
She ignores this, her expression slowly darkening. “Anyway, we eventually said ‘fuck you’ to everyone and got married, anyway. And then you became an influential patron of the arts, and then I took over the family business as CEO and was in control of all our finances.” I can sense how tense she is, how stiff her body has gotten.
I raise an eyebrow. “What just happened? Who hurt you?”
She huffs, then falls silent for a bit. “My ex,” she says after a while, after we walk another block.
“He made you become an influential patron of the arts?”
“He controlled my life and all of my finances and lost a shit ton ofmy money.”
My heart breaks for this woman. “But Reggie never tried to control you,” I offer. “He loves you and just wants to protect you.”
We walk in silence for another half a block.
“Let’s just stick to the basics,” she says eventually.
“Reginald and Victoria Kensington,” I agree, because it’s safer that way, and I can’t dive into why or how her ex sucked and why or how I would do a better job. Or Reggie, actually. Reggie would do a better job.
She’s quiet.
“I’m sorry about the whole ‘secret’ thing,” I can’t help but say, but I’m not sure what I’m referring to anymore. It could be a number of things. “And I’m sorry about your ex.”
She pulls us to a stop in front of another gorgeous brownstone, this one somehow looking even nicer and more expensive than the one we saw in Fort Greene.
We walk up the steps and assume our roles, Reginald and Victoria Kensington. Automatically, her arm snakes around my waist, and it feels almost natural to wrap my arm around her. I refuse, however, to perseverate on her mouth, and I settle my hand safely onto her shoulder.
“It’s okay,” she says quietly, before we walk through the elaborately carved front door. “This is different. This is better,” she finishes, and I’m not sure what she’s referring to either.
TWENTY
Georgia
Max comes backto school the next week. I observe him from afar for a few hours, letting him settle back into the routines of the classroom. He seems… off. This normally energetic (and that’s describing him positively, diplomatically… Oliver would be proud) is pretty reserved. He’s keeping to himself, moving slowly.
