He nods. “Beck told me.”
“What?”
“Yeah, I, uh…When I wasn’t working on the show or putting out fires at work, I was duking it out with the network execs over ‘wifey.’ God, is that just the worst word of all time or what?”
“Moist,” I say. “But after that, yes,wifey. But you wanted to choose me? Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“I didn’t want to promise you anything I couldn’t deliver on,” he says. “Contracts had been signed. They wanted me to propose. To Sara Claire? Can you imagine? I barely even know her. I said yes at first, because, yeah, I liked you, but I went on the show to save LuMac. They promised me things that…well, things that could have saved the business overnight. Featuring LuMac in all their programming and productions. Runway sponsorship. Prime-time commercial spots. But, uh, I pretty much ruined all that.”
“What now?” I ask. “What happens to LuMac?”
“The show gave us a boost. That’s for sure,” he says. “It’s not the big splashy deal the network offered. But we’re out of the SOS zone, and we’ve bought ourselves enough time to figure out how to move LuMac into the future. And we get to do it without selling out to Hollywood, which makes Mom happy.”
“You and Jay are a force,” I tell him.
He runs a hand through his disheveled hair, long overdue for a cut. His jeans are worn, and his white T-shirt is likely nothing more than an undershirt. I wonder if all the suits were Irina at work, and if this is the real Henry. Threadbare jeans, T-shirts, and Converse. This is much closer to the version of Henry I met on the plane. “Well, I thought my peace offering was splashy, but I guess you one-upped me.” He motions to my open sketch pad, where my Henry-inspired design is on full display.
My cheeks flush with mild embarrassment at the thought of him seeing my work and the fact that it’s so heavily inspired by him. I reach past him for the prototype, and a vein in his neck jumps as my waist grazes the side of his arm. “This isn’t even a sample,” I say. “Just something I’ve been fooling around with, but, Henry, meet…the Henry.”
He takes the shoe in his hand, running his thumb along the material so that he can feel both the rough and smooth sides of the suede. “Do you mind?” he asks, looking down at his own feet. “They look to be about the right size. And then I could say I’d tried on a Cindy original.”
“I’d be honored,” I tell him as I take the shoe from him and drop to one knee. Carefully, I untie the laces of his well-loved all-white Converse. Looking up to him, with my shoe in hand, I ask, “Ready?”
He nods as he slides his foot in, his heel popping perfectly into place.
“It fits,” he says, a lilt in his voice.
“It looks perfect on you,” I say, trying not to sound as sad as I feel. “Henry?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there. I just…I didn’t think you would pick me, and I couldn’t risk missing out”—I motion around to this beautiful space—“on all of this.”
“Don’t you be sorry,” he says with force, pulling me to my feet so that we’re only a breath apart. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I was trying to save LuMac and play my cards just right when I should have just been up front with you all along. Cindy, it was always you. It was you from the moment we met outside of our gate at JFK.”
“But—but then why did you agree to choose Sara Claire to begin with?”
He shakes his head. “I didn’t think it could be that simple. Surely, I wouldn’t just meet the girl of my dreams on a flight and then that would be it. I just…wanted to be the son who saved the day. But I can’t be that for them. For some twisted reason, I thought that if I couldn’t save LuMac for my mom, then I didn’t deserve you. But if I’m going to save LuMac, it has to be because of my own vision. Not my mother’s.” He reaches up and pushes a loose hair back behind my ear. “I just didn’t see you coming. I didn’t know someone like you could exist. Cindy, being with you makes me feel like I can come up for air.”
“Are you sure you’re not in love with Addison?” I ask.
He scoffs and rolls his eyes.
“Well, you didn’t kick her off when you had the chance.”
“Oh,” he says, “I swear the network—your stepmother included—was about to behead me if I didn’t keep her. Then Anna fessed up, and I figured, what the hell? I’ll give them this one thing to make them happy.”
He gathers my hands in his, and I look up to meet his gaze and lose myself in his deep brown eyes.
“But the real question is, are you sure you can get romantically involved with your competitor? That won’t be a conflict of interest?” I ask.
He leans into me, nipping at my bottom lip. “I think I can handle the pressure, but I can always check with HR real quick.” He holds his phone up to his ear, not moving an inch from me. “Hello? HR? This is your boss. I’ve got a hot new girlfriend, and she works for a competing brand. Oh? What’s that? You don’t care. Okay, good.”
“I’m less concerned about HR and more concerned about your mother,” I tell him.
“She and I have had some time over the last few weeks to talk through a lot. She’s a bigger fan of yours than you think,” he says, and parts my lips against his as his arms coil around me. “Are you really leaving?” he asks into my mouth. “Right now?”
I nod. “I’m running late, actually.”
