“Drake,” I whisper his name before I slide my finger over the screen to answer the call.
“Hey,” I say quietly.
“Em,” he pauses. “Fuck, Em. I’m sorry.”
Tears don’t come because I’m not sad. I’m feeling something that borders on relief combined with acceptance.
Drake is just a man. He’s not the superhero I’ve always made him out to be in my mind.
“I know,” I reassure him.
“You don’t know,” he counters. “I feel like shit. I should have discussed it with you. I should have gone to Case and explained that the idea for Letter Leap didn’t belong to me.”
“Case is handling it,” I say it with conviction. “I’m handling it.”
“I’ll make this up to you.”
How?He made a mistake. He’s apologized and since I’ll be working in the educational division at Cabbott, I’ll be in control of what I bring to the table. I’ll take ownership of that.
The blind trust I had in him may be fractured, but time can rebuild it to a place that’s more balanced.
“We found a house,” he blurts out before I can say anything.
I shut my eyes, trying to grasp what he just said. “What?”
“It was the first one we saw.” His voice climbs to a chirpy tone. It’s suddenly more cheerful. “We’ll put an offer in tomorrow morning.”
“Don’t you want to see a few others before you commit?”
“When you find something that’s perfect for you, why bother looking for anything else?”
I glance up when I hear the apartment door open.
Case’s smile is the first thing I see.
“You’re right,” I say to my brother. “Why keep looking once you’ve found perfection?”
“Did you give him hell?”Case asks as I place my phone on the table after ending my call with Drake.
I didn’t tell him I love him. Drake didn’t offer the words to me either, but the sentiment is there even if it’s buried under other emotions.
“Did you?” I counter.
“That and more.” He slides his suit jacket off. “I’m hiring someone to oversee him in London. Drake will be second in command there.”
It’s a demotion. It’s likely temporary but warranted all the same.
I sense that if anyone else in Cabbott’s organization tried to get away with what Drake did, they’d be fired.
“Is the London office an option for me?”
A slow smile spreads over his lips. “You’re not ready to take on the role of being your brother’s keeper, Emma.”
I laugh that off. “That’s not what I meant.”
He works to unbutton his shirt. “I know.”
He doesn’t expand on that, so I press for more. “Is New York going to be my home base?”
