Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25371 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
I kept laughing.
He winked and turned his attention back to the stove. He gestured over his shoulder. “There’s fresh coffee.”
I poured myself a cup in my favorite mug and took a seat at my kitchen table. I silently watched Henry cook me eggs. He looked absolutely ridiculous in my apron, but I had a feeling that was the point. I smiled. Henry was a keeper. He was the type of man a girl could spend the rest of her life with. He wasn’t like Hyde who would only bring tears, worry, and fear. Nope. Henry was husband material.
He grabbed a plate from my clean dish rack and loaded it up with scrambled eggs just as the toaster popped up with two pieces of wheat toast. He spread both slices liberally with butter and placed the plate in front of me.
I wrinkled my nose. “This was really sweet, but I’m not sure I’m hungry. I usually just have coffee in the morning.”
He leaned over and kissed the top of my head. “Nonsense. You need to eat. Just try at least a bite.”
With a sigh, I lifted my fork and scooped up a bite of eggs just to make him happy. The moment the eggs hit my tongue I closed my eyes and groaned with satisfaction. They were warm, buttery perfection. Before I knew it, I had eaten the entire plate and half the toast. I lifted up the second piece and spread it with some lingonberry preserves before finally looking up at Henry who sat across from me sipping his coffee, a finished plate of eggs pushed to the side.
I smiled again. “This is nice.”
Henry smiled back. “Yes, I could get used to this.”
So could I. It felt comfortable and domestic in a good way.
It seemed silly to be sharing this intimate moment after all the taboo things I had done with his brother just upstairs only a few hours earlier.
Guilt twisted my stomach. “Henry, listen…”
He set his coffee mug down and stared at me. “Before you say anything, there is something I need to tell you.”
CHAPTER 15
CATHERINE
“What do you mean, you’re Hyde?”
No. No. No.
This isn’t happening.
Henry looked stricken. “I can explain.”
“What you better explain is your bad joke.”
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “It’s not a joke. I’m Edward Hyde.”
I stood and stormed out of the kitchen. Henry caught up with me in the living room. He snatched at my upper arm, turning me around.
I pulled my arm back. “Don’t you dare touch me.”
“Please, Catherine. I can explain.”
Tears filled my eyes. I lifted my glasses and wiped under my lids. “So, was this all just some kind of joke or dare for your buddies? See if you can get the stupid assistant to sleep with you? Extra points if she’s dumb enough to believe you’re your own brother?”
“No! Absolutely not. It was nothing like that, I swear.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t believe you.”
Henry paced from one end of my small living room to the other. “It’s complicated.”
I threw my arms up in the air. “So you’re calling me stupid again! Get out! Just get out!”
Henry grabbed my upper arms. I tried to shrug him off, but he held firm.
“No. I’m not walking away from this. From you. You may not believe me, Catherine, but you mean something to me, and it is tearing me up inside that I’ve hurt you. Just please, please give me a chance to explain. That’s all I ask.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Well, I’m waiting.”
“I can’t do it here.”
I shook my head. “Nope. Wrong answer. Get out.”
“Just come to the lab. One more time. After that you never have to see my face again. I’ll go to the university and make sure they get you a great job in another lab, no questions asked. I’ll even leave the university, so you never have to lay eyes on me again. Please, baby. Just come to the lab and hear me out. That’s all I’m asking.”
I finally shrugged him off. “Fine. But don’t call me baby. I’m not your baby.”
He raised his palms up in a supplicating gesture. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Please, just come back to the lab with me.”
I shoved my feet into my Doc Martens and grabbed a jacket and my purse. “This doesn’t mean that I forgive you.”
Henry bobbed his head. “I understand.”
Henry flagged down a black cab and we rode to the lab in silence. It was a Saturday, so the university lab building was mostly deserted. We headed into the building and down the two flights of stairs to his basement lab.
Henry crossed to his desk and picked up the leather-bound journal I recognized as his personal research notes. Usually, the formal notes were typed into a program so the university could keep track of funding, progress, and budgets but it wasn’t unusual for a research scientist to keep their own more informal notes.