Brothers of Paradise Series

“It looks great,” I murmur, pressing another kiss to her neck. “Very artsy.”

Lily smiles. “Excellent feedback.”

It’s been a week since I properly took her to bed, and since then, we’ve spent nearly every evening together. Cooking dinner, walking on the beach… and me, getting reacquainted with every nook and cranny of her body.

I rest my head atop hers and focus on her designs. She’s drawn faint mosaic floors and spotlights from the ceilings. It’s an art studio, sure, but it’s not without character.

“Is that a pottery wheel?”

“Yes. Too crazy? Maybe. It might not be for right away. But I like the idea of being able to have classes with that, too. Maybe hire an expert, or just let people express themselves with clay.”

“It’s not crazy. And if you ever want to reenact that scene from the movie, you know, with the guy who comes back as a ghost? I’ll volunteer.”

Lily laughs, leaning back more snugly against me. “This place is going to take a lot of work. And there’s absolutely no guarantee that it will pay off.”

“That’s the case with everything in life. As for the work, you know I’ll pitch in as much as I can. I can’t lay tiles, but I sure as hell know how to paint and plaster.”

“Thank you,” she murmurs, and there’s a faint trace of shyness in her voice. It’s unexpected. “I was thinking about something.”

“Tell me.”

“What are we, really? I mean, I feel like I know, but I was wondering in regard to our friends and family. I haven’t told anyone that you and I are… well. But we’re going to have to tell them eventually.”

My reaction is immediate.

Lily feels the tension in my body and tries to twist, to see my face, but I can’t let her. I’m too scared she’ll see the panic that’s written there.

I know I have to face her brothers and father eventually. Face the disapproval and the requests to leave. Her father already demanded it of me once, and when he does again, I’ll refuse. But it will hurt her.

I could lose everything again if I don’t do this right.

“What are we?” I force myself to relax, to stroke up her bare arms. “We’re us. We always have been.”

She finally turns. Reaching up, she puts a hand on my cheek, her thumb smoothing over my cheekbone.

“And you’re here indefinitely,” she murmurs.

“Yes.”

I’m not fooling her. It’s clear in her gaze, in the way she frowns slightly. It’s always been impossible for me to hide anything from her.

“But you don’t want our friends and family to know?”

I close my eyes, knowing it’s easier for me to hide my emotions that way. “Let’s just be you and me, for a little while longer.”

When I open my eyes again, Lily gives me a small nod. I can tell that she doesn’t understand. But she’ll give me the time I need.

Guilt unfurls in my stomach, familiar and acidic. I know I don’t deserve her, and this is just more proof. It’ll be confirmed when her family learns of it.

Lily rises up on her tiptoes and kisses me softly before rocking back on her heels. “So, what’s the first thing I need to do with this place?”

“To turn it into your sketch?”

“Yes.”

“Well, for one, you should get an electrician in here right away, at the same time as your builders. If you want spotlights, planning that before you start scrubbing the ceiling and tearing down walls would be good.”

“All right.” She scribbles something down in her notebook. “We have a contractor at work. I’m going to ask her if she has space in her calendar for this, too. I’ll obviously pay.”

I nod. “But don’t get them to do the small stuff. I’ll paint these walls for you, Lils. Hell, Gary would probably love to be involved.”

“I’m not going to exploit you for free labor just because I’m sleeping with you,” she says with a small grin. It’s clear that she wants to move on from the awkwardness just minutes earlier. “If you help out here I want you to bill me.”

“Absolutely not.” I force a wry smile, trying to match her tone. “Consider it down payment for the painting I’m going to commission from you.”

“Really? Of what?”

“I want you to paint me like a gentleman of old. Something stately to hang above my mantlepiece.”Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

Lily laughs. “A hunting rifle slung over your shoulder?”

“Yes. And there has to be at least two hounds at my feet.”

“Let’s make it three, for good measure.”

“Good thinking. I knew you were the artist I needed.”

She shakes her head at me, still smiling, and returns to her sketch. Tendrils of hair have come loose from her bun, and she has ink stains on her fingers, and she has never been more beautiful to me.

“Have you told your parents about this place yet?”

“No. I want to get my things in order before I do.” She looks at me, a small smile on her face. I know she’s not only thinking about the gallery when she responds. “It’ll be our secret for now.”

I smile back.

Our conversation stays with me the rest of the evening, even as we get take-out and eat it back at hers. It rings in my mind as I drive home to let her get some well-needed sleep.

I know I can’t put off the reveal to her family forever. Eventually, what we are is going to come out, because I’m not planning on letting her go again. Not ever.

I just need to figure out what I’m going to do when that happens.

And despite myself, I don’t want her brothers to kick my ass for it. I know I can handle my own, and I think Lily will stand by me. But they’re the closest thing I’ve ever had to brothers.

Paradise Shores is dark and quiet when I park on my driveway late that evening. The house still doesn’t quite feel like home, even if the town does.

My phone rings and my uncle’s name flashes across the screen. He rarely calls at all, and never this late.

“Hayden… I don’t know how to say this,” he begins, sending ice-cold dread through me. “But it’s your dad. He passed away a few days ago.”