Cruel Legacy (Cruel 3)

“We’re not going to be late,” he said. “Just put on something comfortable.”

“You’re in that, and you want me in something comfortable. You do know that comfortable means lounging around the house in sweatpants, right?”

“Track pants,” he said, following me into my bedroom to watch me take my clothes off.

“Sure thing.” I reached into my closet and pulled out a pair of skinny designer jeans and an Elizabeth Cunningham top that she’d given me straight off a model last week when I went to see her about a dress for my event.

“I said, comfortable,” he said with a laugh.

“This is comfortable,” I assured him.

“But not really…you.” He peeked into my closet and half-forgotten mound of bohemian clothes that I’d pushed to the very back and not touched in months. “We said that we’d always be ourselves when we were in private.”

“But we’re not going to be in private,” I said as I tugged on the jeans.

“What if we were?” he mused.

I slipped the shirt over my head. “I don’t look okay?”

“You look great,” he told me evenly. “You always do. You’ve just been so stressed out about this party. I don’t want you to get so wrapped up in all of this that you aren’t writing and you forget who you are.”

“Oh, I love you,” I said, leaning into him and pressing a kiss to his lips. He wrapped his arms around me. “I know who I am. Clothes don’t change that.”

“No, I suppose not. I know how demanding this all is. I don’t want you to use it to cover up your frustrations with writing. That’s your real passion, and this is just a hiccup.”

I glanced up at him. “I had to turn down a seven-figure advance so that my ex-boyfriend couldn’t control me. I think I’m due a little moping about my career.”

“A little,” he conceded. “Just until this event is over. Then you have to get back on the horse.”

I winked at him. “Is that a euphemism?”

He nipped at my bottom lip. “It will be later.” He smacked my ass and gestured for me to lead the way out of my apartment.

I jumped at the contact, grabbed my purse, and then left my place. I locked up behind us. “Where’s Totle anyway? I thought I’d get attacked when I got home.”

“Rowe is puppy-sitting.”

“He’s obsessed with your dog.”

“He is. And Nicholas adores him.”

“Rowe or Totle?” I asked cheekily as we hit the street.

“Both.”

Penn hailed a cab, and we drove the dozen blocks north before I recognized the brick buildings that made up Columbia’s campus.

“We’re going to your work? Did you want another round on your desk?”

He lazily ran his thumb up and down my arm. “Are you offering?”

“I might be.”

“I will take that into consideration.” He gestured to the cab where to let us off. “This is good.” He passed the guy some cash and then helped me out of the car. Our fingers laced together as we stepped onto the brick-lined path that led into the heart of campus. “This way.”

My curiosity was piqued as I followed him away from the philosophy department. We passed the library, walked across the quad, and went up past the business school. The sun was sinking low on the horizon. Undergrads were hastening past us and into the library to prepare for finals. A group quizzed each other from a set of flash cards. A pair of Columbia runners passed us in short black shorts, sweat glistening on their chests. Everywhere all around us showed signs of the end of the semester and the coming of summer. The bright hope extended even to me. Because in a few short weeks, that would mean that I would have Penn all to myself.

We stopped in front of the physics building.

“Physics?” I asked.

“Come on. I’ll show you.”

I looked at him skeptically. I had a degree in English. I’d been a collegiate swimmer. I had never stepped foot in the physics department. I’d basically lived in the fine arts department and the pool in college.

He laughed when he saw my face. “Trust me.”

I tightened my hold on his hand. I did.

We took the elevator to the top floor and then another set of stairs to what appeared to be roof access. What the hell was on the top of the physics department?

Then we came out on the other side, and I gasped. An enormous telescope sat in the center of an observatory dome. Candles covered the floor of the dimly lit room, revealing a small picnic and a perfect view of the millions of stars overhead.

I blinked away tears as I drew my attention back to Penn. “This is…everything.”

He drew my hand to his lips and kissed it. “Anything for you.”

“Are we…allowed to use the telescope? I couldn’t imagine that they’d let you use this equipment,” I said, wide-eyed.