Chapter Fifty-Three

Hunter

My breath catches when she walks into the bar wearing the black dress from masquerade night with her black pumps and a gold lace wrap.

I sit at the bar, dressed in my Phantom garb and holding a bouquet of red roses.

I know the moment she sees me. Her gaze meets mine, and a fire ignites in my groin.

“My angel…” I say when she approaches.

“Hunter.”

I hold out my hand, and she takes it. Then I fold her into my arms.

“I’m so sorry, Frankie,” I whisper. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

She pulls back a little. I knew it would take more than a simple “I’m sorry” to fix what happened between us. More than twenty-four long-stemmed roses. Even more than the ring I have hidden beneath my cape.

I look into her silvery blue eyes—the eyes that first mesmerized me only months ago but are seared permanently into my soul.

“Listen to me.” I cup her silky cheek. “I understand now. In a way, I think I always did, but it took a good friend to help me see the truth. We’re in this together, Frankie. We’re growing together. We’ll both make mistakes along the way. It’s normal.”

“I did what I did for—”

“Shh.” I place two fingers over her beautiful lips. “It’s okay. You were protecting me, and I would have done the same for you.”

“But I—”

“Wait. Please. Let me finish.” I trail my fingers over her lower lip. “You mean more to me than anything, Frankie. More than my job. More than the club. More than my book. More than anything.”

“More than your privacy?” She gives a nervous smile.

“Yes. More than my privacy. More than anything, Frankie.”

“I—”

“Frankie—”

This time she places her fingers over my lips, making them tingle.

“Please, just let me talk now, Hunter.”

“All right.”

“I’m sorry too. So sorry. It was a terrible mistake, and I promise it will never happen again.”

I gaze into her eyes. “I know. I should have called you before today. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but”—I rise from my stool and drop to my knees in front of her with the roses—“but I humbly ask for it anyway, baby. I ask for it because I love you and I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”

She takes the flowers and then my hands.

“I’ll forgive you if you forgive me.”

“It’s already done.” I rise as she places the flowers on the bar.

“I hope that little maggot intern gets what’s coming to him,” she says.

“Yeah. He’ll get a free ride through life on Daddy’s money. But I’m letting it go, Frankie. It doesn’t matter anymore. You’re everything to me. I’ve been miserable without you.”

“Me too.” She sniffles.

“I’m so happy about your article, baby.”

“It hasn’t won yet.”

“It will.” I gesture to the two martinis sitting on the bar. “Have a drink. I have a few things to tell you.”

“What?” She grabs the stem of her glass and takes a sip.

“I’m leaving Mellville.”

“But Hunter—”

“It’s my choice. Logan got a position at NYU, and they want me to fill another one.”

“That’s great! I think. I mean, you love Mellville.”

I roll my eyes. “Not anymore.”

“Yeah.” She sighs. “I feel the same way.”

“There’s something else I should have told you.”

She bites her lip.

“It’s nothing bad. It’s just…” I chuckle. “You always made such a big deal about your ex being a trust-fund baby, so I didn’t want to… Oh, hell. I have a trust fund, Frankie.”

Her eyes nearly pop out of her head. “You do?”

“Yeah. It’s from my great-grandfather. I only use it occasionally. To buy my lifetime membership at the club, for example. And when I want to impress a lady by ordering an excellent wine.”

“The Jordan cab,” she says. “From The Glass House.”

“Right.”

“It was delicious.”

“It was. And you are worth every penny. Anyway, the money’s there if I need it, but I like working. I like teaching. But I’m thinking you and I can use it to build a house. Maybe on Long Island.”

Her cheeks redden as she fingers the collar around her neck. “I never took it off,” she says.

“And you never will.” I lean over, kiss her cheek, and then nip at her earlobe, whispering, “Now, my angel, I’d like to take you underground. There’s a spider gag calling your name.”