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"She felt betrayed and exposed I iine If her past with the senator’s son, or who that you know, and didn’t tell her you knew?" Dad shook his head "What were you thinking? And she should be told about the death of that other bloke--about the possibility of a threat toward her And that you love her And that you intend to still keep her safe A wo if you want her to trust you again"

"I did tell her" I blew out a huge sigh and leanedSoot stretched and rearranged himself in o from there She will either accept you or she won’t But you don’t have to give up either You can keep trying"

I took outat the painting and held it out for Dad He slasses A re of my irl, Ethan I hope we get the chance to ht in the eye and told me like it is No sympathy, just the brutal truth "You’ll have to follow your heart, son…nobody can do that for you"

I left my dad’s place later in the afternoon, went hoymuscles and sweaty stink The bubbly soak in h And the sood forBeing with Brynne had soothed h so I didn’t crave it aslike the serial killer we’d joked about in our very first conversation

I hung the Djarum offbaths She didn’t have a tub at her flat and told me she missed it I loved the idea of her naked inthat did ood to think about but yet I’d spentit And if I reasoned as the basis for everything that’d happened with us Her naked… That photograph Toht at the show Fromatic vieas just a picture of a beautiful naked body anyone would appreciate, inning, paired with that picture of her in all its vulnerability, allure, and stark beauty; the thought she could be in danger or that soo out to the street and get her safely into my car I just couldn’t walk away from her and keep my conscience intact And once we’d met my mind went mad with fantasies All I could see in my head while we talked was…her naked

My bath started losing its heat after an hour, and understandably, its appeal So I got out and dressed and went in search of the book Letters of John Keats to Fanny Brawne

So Dadthe great poets I knew Brynne loved Keats I’d found the book on the sofa where she’d obviously been reading and asked her about it Brynne had confessed her love for him and wanted to knohy I even had the book inme books that people left behind in his cab He hated to toss the theht my flat, he’d hauled over a few boxes of books to fill the shelves and it must have been in the lot I truthfully told her I’d never read any Keats

I was reading now

Keats had a ords I was discovering For a man who died at only twenty five, he sure packed soirlfriend when they were apart And I could feel his pain like it wasa pen and paper I found some nice cotton stationary in my office and took the book with me Simba flickered his fins fro a treat I a animals so I dropped in a frozen krill and watched him devour it

"She loves you, Si and off your feed she’ll co to fish no in the hell had I got to this lowly point? I ignored the urge for a cigarette, washed my hands and sat down to write

Brynne,

"I do not kno elastichere if the reh so upon me Ask yourself my love whether you are not very cruel to have so entrahts, hts have, I find not at all cured me of my love of Beauty, but made it so intense that I am miserable that you are not withof such love I have for you but Beauty" July 1819

I know you will recognize the words of Keats I started reading the book you like I can say I have an understanding nohat theto express to Miss Brawne about how she had captured his heart

Like you’ve captured hts of you never leave me, and if I can say it once uess there is some comfort in that I can only try toe of your past and how I ca because it’s the brutal truth I had no intentions of taking the job I planned to give your father the nah, as soon as I ht on the street that your father was trying to arrange protection but when I sa you looked at spiece of my puzzle? I don’t knohat it was, I just know it happened to ht we met I tried to keep a distance and let you slip away back into your life, but I couldn’t do it I was drawn to you from the first moment I saw your portrait I had to know you And then to be with you To have you look at me and really see me I kno that I fell in love I fell in love with a beautiful Airl You, Brynne

There were ht at the gallery I stoppedyou I could see how haunted you hen you woke up with the night to keep you fro you your dad hired security to protect you from powerful political enemies would scare the hell out of you It scares the hell out ofyou for harm, emotional or otherwise I know you said I was fired, but if anything happens or sohtens you, I want you to call me and I will come to you in a moment I am deadly serious about this Call me