“Henry hasn’t been wasting his time at all. I don’t know how else to say this, Connell, but your son is every bit as worthy of your praise and respect as I am. Maybe he’s not constantly trying to be at the top of his class just to have a stupid valedictorian title, but he’s more than successful. He’s a natural at what he does. He’s thoughtful, determined, and a wonderful leader and friend. He makes people actually want to follow him, inspiring both respect and trust in everyone who knows him, and people obey him because he’s proven himself time and time again to be worthy of that trust. He might be an asshole,” I didn’t even bother apologizing for cursing, I was so heated up. “But everyone loves him anyway. So, I’ll be very blunt, but you should give him a break and open your eyes to realize the wonderful son that you have, because everyone would be lucky to have him in their life, and it’s you who’s wasting your time by trying to make him be something that he isn’t. He’s not someone who’s just appealing on paper because of good grades—”

  I didn’t think it was exaggerating when I said that everyone was a bit appalled at my outburst. I was losing heat and my chest was tightening because God, this sounded like a love confession already, and so it was right then that Henry had to decide to go on a rampage of his own.

  “You’re not just appealing on paper because of good grades,” he said, glaring at me before looking at everyone else. “Antony is always giving himself a hard time because he’s good, hard-working, and possibly the most stubborn person other than me in this fucking room, but you all should stop enabling him and making things worse by only asking him about his grades and his career and instead let him breathe. He doesn’t need anyone’s help to achieve anything in life because he’ll do wonderfully on his own, and not only would anyone be lucky to have him as an employee, but also as a friend, and I, as stupid and hard-headed as I can sometimes be, know from experience.”

  Fuck.

  I didn’t know why the fact that Henry was actually admitting to us being friends, at least at some point, hit me harder than anything else. I felt almost numb with shock and fearful hope, and no one else in the room existed for one long blissful moment.

  But of course it couldn’t last forever.

  Someone cleared their throat.

  “I, uh…I think we should perhaps move to the living room? Give these two some time to talk?”

  That was definitely my mother, who sounded so absolutely delighted that I just knew we would have words after this.

  Henry pushed away from the table, chair sliding over the tiles. “We’ll go to my room.”

  Connell choked, his wife handing him his glass of wine and drawing circles on his back with her hand as she too, smiled to herself.

  I followed Henry upstairs because I just couldn’t not.

  This was it.

  I was going to tell him.

  Chapter 36

  Henry

  Don’t get too excited.

  Stop getting ahead of yourself.

  Maybe Antony’s words didn’t mean what I thought they meant. Maybe they were only said as a way to honor our past friendship, a last goodbye before he told me it was better if we went our separate ways.

  No.

  I prayed to any god who would listen to please not let it be the case.

  I prayed I hadn’t misread the emotion behind his green, green eyes.

  Antony closed the door to my bedroom behind himself, leaning back against it.

  None of us said anything.

  Steeling myself, I said, “I think I owe you an apology.”

  “You?” His dark brows furrowed. “Why would you owe me anything?”

  “Because of how I reacted?” I asked, emotion building inside me. “Because I never let you explain yourself? Because I was an asshole and I wanted to be blind to the situation and then smashed it with a hammer when I got scared? The list goes on.”

  A small, trembling smile appeared on his face. “I might let you continue listing your faults. Many would agree the Heartbreaker needs some humbling.”

  His light tone made my chest feel light, hopeful again. “I’ll humble myself all you want. Just—let me say something first.”

  Walking up to him, I stopped a few inches away, close enough that I could easily reach out to him and touch, but I didn’t. Not yet.

  “I wanted to tell you I’m sorry for stopping our friendship so abruptly. For running away instead of talking to you. And I’m sorry for…” I had to take in a deep ragged breath before continuing. “I’m sorry for not having been brave enough to tell you that I’ve been pining for you for three years. That I’m in love with you and I hurt you because I was afraid of you hurting me and rejecting me forever.”

  Antony’s eyes were shining with unshed tears, and he took hold of the front of my shirt, bunching it between his fingers. “You’re in love with me?”

  “I am.” Putting my hand on top of his and squeezing it, I said. “I’m in love, I’m obsessed and I have been ever since we were introduced. Ever since you ruined my every plan to hate you and humble you, the perfect guy who represented everything I should have been but would never be, and instead you became the most important person to me. The only one who saw me for me, never demanding anything in return. You were never just my friend, Antony, you were everything.”

  Antony’s breathing hitched when I said that, his lower lip trembling, and because I couldn’t take it, I just reached out to him and hugged him. His hands were immediately around me, crashing me against his chest, fitting his head on the crook of my neck, and squeezing me like he thought I was going to disappear.

  “I love you, too and I’ve been sick with wanting you for years. I didn’t even know what to call it when you kissed me, but I knew I’d never felt like this about anyone before.”

  The words I never knew I needed to hear were like angel music to my ears. I felt a tear start to fall down my cheek, and I held Antony even tighter against me. “I stopped talking to you Antony, but I felt like you’d broken my heart. People call me a Heartbreaker, but the truth is I’ve always been the heartbroken one, trying to move on from you and never being able to.”

  Antony had the gall to chuckle at my confession before he said, “Good.”

  “Good?” I leaned back, watching his red-tinted cheeks and teary eyes. “Getting cocky again, now, are we? You like knowing I was pining for you?”

  “I do.” His hand grabbed onto my hair, fingers sliding and scratching my scalp lovingly. “Because I was like that, too. So at least we were two idiots, and not just one.”

  Forehead to forehead, we breathed in each other’s air. “Do you forgive me?”

  He laughed. “It’s all forgiven, I could never resent you, but…” The smile faded, his expression becoming more serious. “I want to say I’m sorry, too. I kept this thing with your father away from you, and even if I thought there really was no other way to help you…I’m sorry I went behind your back, Henry. I’m really, truly sorry.”

  The genuine tone of his words hit something deep inside me. I didn’t resent him for it, not a bit, but the fact that I could see he cared about my feelings? That he really, truly cared?

  I’d never felt more loved by anyone in my life. And my love for him threatened to burst out of my chest.

  “I forgive you,” I said, staring deeply into his eyes, a smile peeking from my lips. “Thank you for saying it.”

  Antony swallowed roughly. “You’re not breaking up with me, then?”

  “I didn’t break up with you.”

  “So does that mean that we’re still together?” he asked, a sardonic smile coming back to his lips.

  My hand made its way to Antony’s neck, caressing it, fingers on his rapid pulse, coming from his wonderful heart. “What I mean is that I want you to be mine. Mine for good, and for everyone to know.”

  God, it felt good to say it. To ask him. To be honest and vulnerable and raw in front of the guy that meant the world to me.

  Our noses brushed. “Only if you’re mine, too.”

  The perfect answer. The healing balm I’ve always needed.

  “My broken heart has always been yours,” I told him, because it was true. It was the truest thing I’d ever said.

  Our lips were already brushing, magnetized. “Then I guess I should get started mending it.”

  Finally joined, finally exactly where we should be, our kiss sealed our fate. Our promise.

  Because never again was I letting go of Antony Andino. Never again would I run from him, because he owned me, every inch of me, and through stubbornness, hard-headedness, and love we would make it.

  No more broken hearts.

  Only dry humor and laughter in our futures.

  Only love.

  Epilogue

  Antony

  Life with a Heartbreaker boyfriend wasn’t always easy, but not for the reasons you may think. Being in a relationship with Henry was almost as easy as breathing, especially now that I had his heart in my hands. I held it hostage and wasn’t giving it up anytime soon, and he seemed pretty pleased with the fact, especially when he had mine clutched to him like a pirate would its treasure.

  No, being with Henry wasn’t hard.

  What was hard was having to stand his Hellhound.

  “Look. I get that you’re feeling all happy and lovey-dovey now that you got back together. I get it,” Maddox said, looking especially surly. “But do you have to make me watch this scene every morning?”

  ‘This scene’ was me, in the frat’s kitchen, trying my best to move around and make breakfast while Henry clung to me, pressed to my back, trailing small soft morning kisses down my neck.

  Who would have known that the infamous Heartbreaker could be so clingy? Not me, that was for sure, but now that I knew, I couldn’t help the delight that kept my lips in a perpetual grin. My cheeks hurt at this point.

  If I had to use twice as much time to make breakfast just so Henry could keep on holding me like I was his plushie, then so be it, I’d suffer it willingly. No hardship at all.

  And if I got to annoy Maddox in the process, then all the better for it.

  “First of all, this isn’t every morning,” Henry started, holding on tighter to me but turning his head towards the intruder.

  Which was true. Usually, we left our morning cuddling to the bed, where more often than not, it became a very sweaty, very hot, very enthusiastic sort of cuddling.

  Today was different, though. Today, Henry had his first interview for an internship he was very excited about, and since it was something he actually cared about, he was feeling uncharacteristically nervous.

  Thankfully, Henry wasn’t even half the worrywart I was, though, and I was pretty sure that after some more clinging and some breakfast, all his courage and arrogance would be back with a vengeance.

  “And second of all,” Henry followed as I shifted and tried to move around with the spider monkey on my back. “You’re the one who pushed me to confess my feelings and get myself together. So you’ll now have to deal with the consequences.”

  Maddox stared at us as I tried to finish cooking. His face looked halfway between pained and horrified. I had to say that, as much as he might look all tough and emotionless sometimes, after hearing about the pep talk he’d given Henry before he came to get me, the way he’d let Henry cry on his shoulder, I didn’t fall for it anymore. I was utterly convinced he had a soft-as-melting-butter center, which was unfortunate, since I kind of liked hating him a little bit.

  With a dry tone, the Hellhound said, “I’m regretting my life decisions right about now.”

  “Are you?” I asked. The coffee maker beeped and I gathered our mugs. “Because I think you’d be sad without my waffles.”

  “Did someone say waffles?” Adam asked, popping his head into the kitchen and coming up to the counter, where I offered him some of the extra mixture I’d made.

  This was becoming a new tradition of sorts. Not too long ago, I found out that these guys had a poor waffle maker gathering dust in their kitchen, so I’d taken it upon myself to remedy it. I’d started making waffles almost every time I stayed over, which obviously made everyone very eager for me to be here, and no one more so than Maddox.

  He’d never said so explicitly of course, but he was always the first to peek into the kitchen. Not to mention he always ended up with a waiting plate right by my side, glaring at me so I wouldn’t make him ask for them.

  I wouldn’t let him get away with it today, though. I was feeling a little evil.

  And he obviously saw that on my face, given the icy blue glare that was trying to bore holes into my skull.

  Holding a plate up toward him, I said, “Will you sing my praises today, Hellhound? Or should I give these to the poor souls waiting outside?”

  No one was really waiting, not yet. But soon, there would be a swarm of hungry frat bros coming into this kitchen, and the waffle mixture would disappear in a matter of minutes.

  Maddox’s hard jaw ticked. “What do you want?”

  “A compliment would be nice.”

  The torture that it would be for him to admit it would be its own reward, too.

  Henry and Adam both cackled like hyenas at the show. My boyfriend let go of me and sat opposite Adam at the kitchen table, so it was just me and Maddox tied in a battle of wills.

  “Are you looking for validation? I would think Henry railing you into the mattress would be indication enough of your good looks.”

  My cheeks tried to heat, but I fought away my embarrassment by instead focusing on the indirect compliment he’d given me.

  “Try harder.”

  Not everything was truly horrible about him. I had to admit that in different circumstances, I might have liked him as a friend quite a bit. I definitely thought that joining him and Eliot in the same room would be quite an explosive combination.

  But that wasn’t here nor there.

  The Hellhound eyed the waffles I was currently holding. They already had all the syrupy goodness dripping off them, along with some butter and berries, which I knew he liked.

  “You’re…not a terrible cook?”

  “Was that a question, Maddie?” Adam’s eyes were twinkling in Maddox’s direction. There was a fondness there that I definitely hadn’t missed.

  I kept quiet, my stare unfaltering.

  “I don’t always want to throw you out a window anymore,” he tried again.

  Why, thank you.

  With a shrug, I started moving toward the kitchen door and got ready to call someone out but Maddox quickly came to cover my mouth with his hand and called out, “You’re presence doesn’t actually annoy me, okay? And that’s all you’re going to get. So can I please get my waffles?”

  “No manhandling my boyfriend, or you’re not going to like what hole I shove those waffles through, Mad.”

  In the hopes of not starting a bigger fight and because Maddox had actually said please, I gave them to him.

  He quickly sat down next to Adam and started wolfing them down.

  This whole thing still felt a little surreal, to be honest. It felt so domestic, so natural, that sometimes I wanted to pinch myself just to check I wasn’t dreaming. My life still wasn’t perfect by any means—I still had grades I couldn’t help but worry about, a future I kept trying to plan down to the smallest detail, and troubled feelings about my own self-worth, but the latter had been getting a lot better as of late. Allowing myself not to stress about internships this year had been an incredible weight off my shoulders, and trying this thing called living had been a pretty enjoyable experiment.

  And Henry? Now that he’d decided to pursue something that he actually liked, he looked a lot happier. Sometimes, we just lay in his bed, similar to how we used to lie down in the grass side by side, and he told me all about the things he was looking into. The possibilities for his future that excited him. The hopes and wishes he was allowing himself to have. And not only about his future—our future. Our life. Our happiness.

  And that, more than anything, made me feel like I was the luckiest guy in the world.

  Sitting right next to Henry with my own plate, I said, “At this rate, you’ll be declaring your undying love for me in approximately two hundred years.”

  Maddox scoffed, puncturing the poor waffles with his fork. “Unlikely. Love and I don’t like to share a room.”

  That statement made Adam’s brows furrow, but the moment was quickly gone as Henry eyed his best friend. “Where are you going this early?”

  Unlike the rest of us, he wasn’t wearing the clothes he’d slept in, not to mention his inky black hair was already perfectly styled.

  “Got somewhere to be.”

  “A date?” I asked and was responded with a swift glare.

  “Not a date.”

  “Can I come?” Adam asked all of a sudden.

  Both Henry and I stopped eating at that. In fact, my boyfriend almost choked on his waffle, so I quickly handed him his coffee, making circular motions with my hand on his back as we eagerly waited for the Hellhound’s answer.

  Eyes narrowed, he said, “You don’t even know where I’m going.”

  Adam shrugged. “It’s probably in town, right? Just, you know. If you want to give me a ride.”

  His apparent nonchalance was almost ruined by how he seemed to be hanging on to every word that came out of Maddox’s mouth.

  My boyfriend eyed him closely. “Aren’t you going to go see your girlfriend this morning?”

  That seemed to catch Adam off-guard. “I, uh…No. I’m not seeing her today.”

  Hmm.

  The discomfort was clear in the line of his shoulders, but he maintained eye contact with Maddox as the latter scrutinized him.

  After several quiet beats, he said, “Be ready in ten minutes, or I’m leaving without you.”

  Adam’s dimpled smile suddenly illuminated his face like someone had told him it was Christmas, nonchalance be damned.

  Waffles gone, he got up. “I was born ready,” he said.

  Then he winked.

  He. Winked.

  He was out of the kitchen in less than a minute, and not long after that, Maddox finished scarfing down his breakfast, leaving Henry and me alone.

 

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