“Wow,” Asher drawled. “What happened to brotherhood and friendship and all that bullshit you were spouting a moment ago?”

“Brotherhood is one thing,” Hunter said. “But now you’re making my woman unhappy, and I can’t have that.”

“I can handle Greer,” Asher said, getting to his feet. “Don’t you fucking worry about her.” He looked over at Magnus, then at Hunter. “You’re not going to lecture him?”

Hunter lifted one scarred eyebrow and eyed Magnus. “Do I need to?”

“Nope,” Magnus said.

“All right, then.”

Asher threw his hands up and stormed out of the room.

“How is it everyone’s fucking a bridesmaid but me?” Levi asked.

“I’m not,” Cooper said.

“That was all I had,” Hunter said, rifling through a few papers on his desk. “Thank you for coming today, men. Oh, and please send your tuxedo measurements to Gretchen’s wedding assistant.”

The remaining men stood.

“A word with you, Magnus,” Hunter said as they turned to leave. Levi gave Magnus a questioning look, but Magnus waved his brother on. After a few moments, he was alone in the room with Hunter and sat back down in his chair. Hunter pulled out a few papers and offered them to Magnus. “I’ve sent an email of listings to your personal inbox. These two just came open and are going to come off the market fast. There’s also a pop artist looking at these particular places, but I wanted to give you first dibs if you have time this afternoon.”

Magnus looked at the apartment listings and grinned at his friend. “When can we go?”

“First,” Hunter said. “Do we need to talk about Edie? The dicks-out-of-bridesmaids warning wasn’t for you per se, but now that you mention it, I should warn you that if you break Edie’s heart, Gretchen is going to come after you with a carving knife. She’s very protective of her friends, Edie especially.”

“I don’t plan on hurting Edie,” Magnus said, a little offended at the conversation. No wonder the others had stormed out. This felt a bit like being chided by his father, and Hunter was a friend and peer, not his dad. “She’s an adult, and I’m an adult, and we’re going to handle whatever happens like adults.”

“Fair enough,” Hunter said. “Shall we take your car?”

***

Two days later, Magnus had signed the preliminary paperwork for a lovely little apartment in a Park Slope townhouse. The entire first floor of the townhouse had been redone as a private apartment, and with sixteen-hundred square feet, large rooms, and a spacious bathroom to call her own, he suspected Edie would love it. There were lots of nooks and crannies and several windows that would be perfect for cat perches. He paid a cash retainer on the place to ensure he could move in right away, and once he had the keys in hand, he texted Edie.

Magnus: When can I see you again? I have a surprise for you.

Oh boy, she sent back almost immediately. I have two more client visits today and Bianca won’t get off my ass lately. What if I meet you tomorrow around lunch? Can you send your driver to come get me? I’ll need to be back in time for medication and feedings.

Magnus: Whatever’s most convenient for you, he told her. But don’t delay too much. I need you in my bed.

Edie: Is this a booty call, Magnus Sullivan? Because your technique needs work.

Magnus: You weren’t saying that when you were whimpering like a puppy last weekend.

Edie: Okay, okay. Fine. You win. Tomorrow.

Wear something easy to tear off, he told her.

Edie: One Velcro dress coming up!

***

She didn’t wear Velcro, of course, but Edie was wearing a dress when he saw her. She smiled at him in greeting, the long skirt blowing around her legs, a dark sweater thrown over her shoulders. Her hair was in her two little braids and she beamed at the sight of him.

Magnus pulled her into his arms and gave her a long, intense kiss. He’d missed her during the last few days.

“Let’s go up and see your cats,” she said, smiling. “I’ve missed them.”

“Not me?”

She just laughed. “I always miss you.”

He tugged her toward the car instead. “Actually, I want to give you your present first.”

“Or we can do that,” she agreed. “Is it breathing? Because while I love cats, I really can’t squeeze another into the place, and a dog would upset the delicate ecosystem in my townhouse.”

“Better than a cat,” he told her, getting into the back seat of the car with her. He passed the driver the address and settled into his seat, then pulled Edie’s slim body against him so he could touch her again. Touching Edie was quickly becoming an addiction for him.

She turned to him with excited eyes. “How is your game coming?”

“Incredible,” he told her, and for the next few minutes, he bored her with detail after detail of the game that was unfolding into something spectacular at every level. It was like now that he was past the one thing blocking him, all the other chips were falling into place. He could practically see scenarios in his head and couldn’t work out his plans fast enough.

Best of all? He didn’t even need Levi.

Which was good, because after the meeting at Hunter’s house? The brothers had a blowout fight. Levi had told him to back off of Edie because he was taking things too far. Magnus, already furious at his brother’s laziness, fired him from The World project and told him to go fuck himself. Now, they weren’t speaking and things at the art house were more than a bit tense.

And Magnus found that he . . . didn’t care. Levi would get over it, and he could choose to work with Magnus, or he could go spend his money. Either way, Magnus was fine with it. He was tired of being held back because Levi didn’t feel like working, or Levi was fascinated by a girl. This time, Magnus was flying solo . . . and he was enjoying the hell out of it.

When they pulled up in front of the townhouse, Edie gave him a curious look. “What’s here?”

“I’ll show you,” he said, feeling a burst of excitement. He wanted to do this for Edie, wanted to see the awe on her face when she saw the apartment he’d gotten just for her. He’d deliberately held back on buying a place that was a little more ridiculous (and more his wavelength) out of respect for her feelings. In the future, when they officially moved in together, it’d be something entirely different, he told himself. Maybe that wouldn’t be so far off. Then they could just install Bianca in the Park Slope house . . . and he’d make sure they got an upscale place all the way across the city. Then Bianca could be Levi’s problem.

Edie’s brow crinkled as they walked up the four steps and Magnus produced a key for the door. He pushed it open, and then gestured. “After you.”

She tilted her head at him, curious, then walked inside. He flipped on a light switch as she did, and waited for her reaction.

The apartment was cleaned from floor to ceiling, and the walls had been recently painted. The windows leading out to the tiny back patio were open, letting sunlight stream in. One wall was an empty bookshelf, and a small nook in the back led to the kitchen and the bedroom. Edie stepped farther inside, studied the place, and looked at him.

“Are you moving?”

“Not exactly,” Magnus said, grinning. “I bought this place for you.”

Her eyes went wide. “You . . . what?”

“I want you to be closer to me. I know you can’t move in with me because the place is all wrong for you and your knee. And with Levi there, things would just be really awkward for all three of us. And I know you can’t leave your cats, but you want someplace away from Bianca. I thought this would be the perfect solution.” He gestured. “It’s one floor, central to all public transportation, has lots of cat-friendly spaces, and room for your boyfriend, who has entirely too much money to spend and doesn’t want to have to go back and forth four hours when he wants to hold you.”