Page 98 of Just My Ex

“Much better.”

Sleeping in his arms, just sleeping—we’re committed to taking this slow—was freeing. It was like holding onto an anchor in a storm that threatens to lift you up and away with it.

Henry’s my anchor in the storm. Or in a barn. Or anywhere.

“It’s stopped raining,” he says.

“And it almost looks sunny. My ears still feel fuzzy from that loud pelting on the roof all night.” I remember last night, how things got deep between us. “How are you?”

He stands and joins me near the edge of the loft, wrapping me in his arms. “I’m better than I have been in a long time. Maybe ever.”

“Ever? That’s pretty darn good.”

“It is. I am. Reading that letter made me sleep better, I think.”

“Being in each other’s arms didn’t hurt.” I poke him in the ribs with my elbow.

“It did not hurt,” Henry agrees. “It most certainly helped. And it was my favorite part. Are you hungry? We have a couple more protein bars in there.”

The barn door scrapes open, and Henry grabs me and shoves me behind him. He stands in the way, blocking my view.

“It’s just us,” Alec calls out.

I press past Henry and look down to see Sebastian, Alec, Gabriel, and Oliver filing in.

I scramble down the ladder, and Henry follows after me.

“Good morning,” Henry says. Before I can ask, he beats me to it. “How is Navie?”

“She’s having fun with Stella. We stopped by her place on our way back from Denver last night.”

Denver.

The brothers share a wide-eyed look, like they can’t believe they have a half-brother they knew nothing about.

Alec steps forward and wraps Henry in a hug. It takes a second for Henry to get over his shock, but then he relaxes. They slap each other’s backs, but the hug is longer than I expect. I might detect a couple of muffled “Sorrys.” They pull apart and Alec clenches his jaw.

Oliver speaks up. “Dad told us what he asked you to do, and how you were there at the wedding the whole time.”

“I couldn’t pay much attention because I was surveilling, but yeah, I was there.”

Oliver hugs him next, followed by Gabriel, and then Sebastian takes a turn, too.

“So we have another brother now, huh?” Alec offers and the rest of them sigh and shake their heads.

“Did you get to meet him?” I ask.

“Not yet,” Oliver says. “In a couple of days. Milo’s getting flight arrangements taken care of so we can all meet him together.”

“Except, you’ve already met him.” Gabriel’s look is stern. “What’s he like?”

Henry shrugs. “He’s definitely got the Tate genes. He seems like a decent person.”

Everyone just stands around for a moment. There are no words that come to my mind. What do you even say?

Finally, Sebastian brings us back to reality.

“You guys okay? You’re lucky she didn’t find you up here. She had a small handgun on her when the police picked her up.”

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