Pride & Precedents (The Park Brothers #2)

15. Henry

Chapter fifteen

Henry

" P ay up, bro! I told you he'd slip up!"

Noah's face looks especially punchable as Cory begrudgingly hands him a $20 over the mac and cheese. Mom's outdone herself with this week's family dinner, opting for a soul food theme complete with mac and cheese, cornbread, green beans, fried catfish, and oxtails. Adam and his fiancée, Maya, are here, and, since she's African-American, Mom decided not to include fried chicken. I personally don't think there's anything inherently racist about fried chicken—anyone who pretends not to love it is lying through their teeth and hopefully Maya doesn't think she's marrying into a family of bigots—but Mom's always been thoughtful to a fault. Besides, making someone more comfortable is definitely worth missing out on one of my favorite foods.

"Boys, did you seriously bet on whether your brother would start dating his paralegal?"

Mom levels a stern look directly at Noah, who has the grace to hang his head.

"'Dating' wasn't exactly the word," Cory mumbles under his breath, and I elbow him hard enough to cause a coughing fit. Maya's eyes are twinkling at the exchange and she's wearing a small smile, but she says nothing. Cory is shameless as usual.

"I assumed Henry was too uptight to ever bend the rules. He's probably got starch in his boxers right now."

He rolls his eyes at my glare.

"And I—" Noah interrupts, "told Cory that if he'd seen Henry, Jr. and Camila together, he'd know that was a sucker's bet."

Mom continues to look horrified that her sons would make such an ungentlemanly bet and turns to Adam.

"What about you? Were you in on this ridiculous wager?"

Adam holds up his hands in surrender.

"Of course not, Mom. I respect women too much to make them the subject of such tawdry conversation."

"Womp womp," Cory mocks, throwing a small piece of his cornbread at Adam. Adam picks it up and eats it smugly.

"That's enough!" Dad roars, looking angrier than when he caught all of us out past curfew covered in glitter from the gentlemen's club. Everyone, even Maya, goes silent.

"Did I raise the kind of boys who would reduce a woman to a trivial bet?"

"No, sir," Noah and Cory answer, too ashamed to make eye contact.

"And you!" Dad points at me with his fork. "Didn't your mother and I make it clear that getting involved with your employee was a terrible idea?"

Mom interrupts before I can answer.

"Now Henry," Mom chides gently, "let's not assume the worst. Sure, some people take advantage of their positions of power, but do you really think Henry, Jr. would?"

Dad grumbles quietly but says nothing.

"And," Mom continues, "don't we know quite a few lawyers who have gotten involved with either their paralegals, or assistants, or other lawyers in the firm?" Mom's getting the mother of all Mother's Day gifts this year—pun intended. "John and Deborah just got married last year."

She wiggles her eyebrows at me, and I almost choke on my wine.

"Thank you, Mom," I cut in, "though we're a long way off from wedding bells. For now, we're just seeing where things go."

Mom frowns, and I know I've lost her support.

"'Seeing where things go'? Henry, Jr., I would've assumed you were serious about this woman if she was enough to make you cross the line."

I shift uncomfortably in my seat and Cory's face splits in a shit-eating grin.

"Uh oh. Sounds like the golden boy is finally in trouble."

Dad gives Cory a look that wipes that smile right off his face and Maya's lip quirks. I think there might be some bad blood between those two.

" Anyway ," Adam says in a tone meant to change the subject, "it's T-minus 90 days until Maya and I tie the knot."

Noah is smiling again.

"I can't wait for the bachelor party, bro," Noah says, smiling like the Cheshire cat. "You will not regret making me your Head Best Man."

Adam rolls his eyes good-naturedly.

"Head Best Man, huh?" With four brothers, Adam decided against a best man to avoid any hurt feelings, but that hasn't stopped Noah from declaring himself king of the groomsmen. Considering how slammed things are at work, I'm happy to let him take the lead.

"You're damn—" Noah stops with Mom's warning look. "I mean darn right! There's going to be dancing, drinks, and, of course, loads of ladies."

Maya's expression turns unreadable and Adam puts his arm around her.

"Don't worry, baby. I won't let these knuckleheads get me into anything too crazy. I've already got the best girl at home."

Maya's shoulders relax, and she gives Adam a sweet kiss on the cheek.

"I trust you, babe. Besides," her smile turns wicked, "your bachelor party won't be half as wild as what Denise and Tiffany have planned for my bachelorette."

Something sounding suspiciously like a snort comes from Mom's side of the table.

"We're going somewhere called…" Maya taps her chin, thinking. "Hunk-O-Mania, I think? Tiffany got us seats right up front and Denise said she's bringing at least $500 in ones."

Next to me, Adam looks almost green, and Maya finally breaks into a fit of giggles.

"I'm just kidding, baby," she teases. She shakes him gently on the shoulders until he cracks a rueful grin. "You know strippers aren't my style. We're actually spending the day at the spa and then the girls have arranged a group baking class."

Adam's sigh of relief is audible and Mom hides a laugh behind her napkin.

"Once again, Maya proves she's the coolest soon-to-be sister-in-law," Noah says, raising his glass to start a toast. "To Adam and Maya!"

We all raise our glasses.

"To Adam and Maya!"

On the way back to Westchester, I think about what Mom said. The attraction between Camila and I is off the charts, but what do I really know about her? For Christ's sake, I just found out she's in law school last week. There's a chance this whole thing could end in tears and flames. I scowl at the unpleasant thought. It might be ill-advised, but there must be something about Camila that made me take the risk. When I'm with her, I'm not Sub Zero , I'm just Henry . I think that's worth exploring.

One thing I can't get behind, though, is Mom's marriage mania. A healthy skepticism of all things marriage comes with the territory when you're a divorce attorney. I haven't been in anything resembling a relationship since…was it Naomi? Was she really the last woman I let myself get close to? And now she's hoping for something more as my client…

I sigh in frustration. I've had reason to be gun shy about getting serious. Naomi stomped on my heart and since that day, I've only seen more evidence that marriage leads to misery. Mom and Dad, as always, are the exception that proves the rule. I won't say anything to ruin Adam's big day—he clearly loves Maya—but I'm glad Camila and I are just keeping things casual.