Beautifully Broken (The Broken Series Book 2) (26 page)

We
stood silently staring at one another through the leaves. With each second that
he held my eyes and hands, my heart beat faster. The smile slid from my face.

Michael’s
eyes darkened with desire. He pushed through the leaves and forced me backwards
until I was pressed against the trunk of the tree. The only thing I could hear
was my heart pounding mercilessly against my chest. I could see nothing beyond
Michael and the cascading leaves. We were entirely concealed by the tree.

Michael’s
eyes threatened to drive me to my knees. He lowered his lips to mine. His
tongue seduced mine, languidly at first. The kiss grew more demanding, then reckless
and raw.

I
was gasping for air by the time he pulled away. I grabbed the tree behind me
for support. My legs felt too weak to stand. My pulse quickened. I looked at
Michael, then lunged for more.

Michael’s
breath caught as I threw myself against him. He slammed me back against the
tree. He stole my cry with a kiss that left me burning to feel him inside of me.
My back arched as his hands raked over my breasts. I groaned in frustration
when he stepped back again. Suddenly, he was pacing in front of me. I watched
him with growing alarm. “Michael, what’s wrong?”

“This!
I didn’t anticipate this,” Michael growled angrily.

I
sank back against the tree. “What? Michael, what’s wrong?”

His
voice rose. “I’m practically mauling you. That… that wasn’t part of the plan! I’m
screwing everything up.”

“Michael,
you’re not screwing anything up. This… us… this day… this place, it couldn’t be
more perfect!”

Michael
resumed pacing as he silently sorted through his problem. I watched him walk
back and forth in front of me, both of us still hidden by the leaves. He
stopped abruptly. He stared at me for what felt like an eternity, then gently grasped
my shoulders. “
Ma chérie
, I know I said I would give you six months to
decide…”  

My
heart stalled. I quickly counted the months. It had only been four.

“…but
I cannot bear to wait a minute longer. I love you…
desperately.
A piece
of me dies every time we part. The thought of you leaving…
is unbearable
.
I want you… I want you to stay… to
choose
to stay... because you love me...
not because you think you might be pregnant, not because you think it would be best
for a
bébé,
but
because you want to
spend the rest of your life with me.” Michael’s eyes grew pleading. He took a
deep breath and continued. “So I don’t want to wait another day. I don’t want
to ask after you determine you are pregnant. I want to ask you now, while we
still don’t know.”

Michael
grasped my hands as he fell to his knees. Tears streamed down his face as he
looked pleadingly up at me. “Please, Kristine. I have loved you from the first
moment I saw you. With each passing day, I love you more. I need you more than
the air I breathe. I can’t live without you. I want to spend the rest of my
life with you, to have children with you, to grow old with you, and then die in
your arms. Please, Kristine. Please,
choose
me…
love
me…
marry
me.
”

I
looked down at Michael through a veil of tears. Images of Kadyn shimmered
before me. Kadyn… leaning against his motorcycle… singing to me… drying my
tears… standing at the end of Lexie’s hospital bed… telling me he loved me on
New Year’s Eve… kneeling before me in the snow. The ground tilted, and images
of Michael flooded my mind. Michael… whispering seductively at the Musée Rodin…
kissing me on the piano… his tear stained face when he said he would let me go…
holding me as the doctor examined me in Saint-Tropez… picking me up from the
bathroom floor… kneeling before me broken-hearted the first time he proposed. I
fell to my knees as my heart ripped forcefully in two.

Michael
reached for my face. He immediately began brushing my tears away. “It’s okay,
mon
amour
, if you need more time…”

I
choked back a sob. “Michael it’s you
…
I choose
you…
I love
you... I want to marry you.
”

Michael’s
eyes widened in surprise. “
Veux-tu
m’épouser
?
”
 

I
nodded as tears streamed down my face. “
Oui,
Michael
.
I will marry you.”

Michael
peppered my face with kisses, whispering hoarsely in between each one. “
Kristine…
tu es
mon cœur… mon amour… ma vie.
You are my heart… my
love… my life.” His lips met mine in a reverent kiss that tasted of tears. And
there, behind a soft flowing wall of sun kissed leaves, he truly claimed me.

Kadyn
allowed himself two days to sulk while he ignored a flood of phone calls from
his friends. Then he returned to his old apartment to mend things with Mason. He
found him sitting on the couch. He pocketed his keys as he stood in the entryway.
“Look, Mason, I’m sorry I hit you. I don’t know what came over me, but I’m
sorry man.”

Mason
set his laptop down and rose from the couch. His jaw clenched, then relaxed as
his eyes met Kadyn’s. “I’m the one who should apologize. I shouldn’t have said
those things to you.”

Kadyn
nodded once. “Are we good then?”

“Yeah,
man, we’re good.” Mason waved to the chair next to the couch. “Do you have a
few minutes?”

Guilt
flickered over Kadyn’s face when he saw the bruise darkening Mason’s jaw. He sank
into the chair.

Mason
closed his laptop. “I know you love Kri… probably more than I can comprehend.”
He dropped back onto the couch. “Cenia and Gabi have helped me see there are a
lot of reasons why Kri would cooperate with Garcia and why she wouldn’t
necessarily try to get help. Kadyn, we’re friends… good friends… and I’m
sticking by you no matter what. I want to help you find her. I’ll do whatever
you need.”

Kadyn
sighed. “Thanks, Mason. I appreciate it, and I want you to know that I value
your friendship. You’re like the annoying little brother I never had.”

Mason
grinned. “I’m older than you.”

Kadyn
smiled for the first time in months. “That’s irrelevant. You’re still my
little
brother.”

 “So
what do you think we should do next… to find Kri?” Mason asked.

Kadyn
braced his elbows against his knees. He looked at Mason, then slowly shook his
head. “I sure wish I knew.”

*
* * * * *

Kadyn
stood in the center of Kri’s closet. His eyes and hands ran over her clothes.
He inhaled deeply, then sighed. He couldn’t smell her perfume… couldn’t see or feel
her here in this place anymore.

He
spoke anyway. “Where are you, Kri? Do you still want to come home?”

Kadyn’s
hand froze when he found the dress Kri wore to Senator Rockefeller’s Christmas
party. “Do you still love me… or has Michael stolen your heart?”

I
couldn’t tear my eyes from the braided gold and diamond engagement ring now
glittering from my ring finger. The princess cut diamond was framed on all four
sides with a single row of smaller diamonds. As beautiful as that centerpiece
was, it paled in comparison to the intricate design that formed the sides of
the ring. I smiled at the diamond that was secreted underneath the center
stone. It was so unexpected, much like my relationship with Michael.

I
pushed up from the chair. Michael was working, which was a bit of a relief. I
needed some time alone to process his proposal and the implications for our
future. If I was being entirely honest with myself, I was a bit shocked that I
had so readily agreed to marry Michael. I didn’t doubt that I loved him. I just
couldn’t see a way to reconcile my past with my future.

If
Michael and I were going to be married, I wanted my family to be there. We
couldn’t go on letting them think I was being held against my will. Guilt ate
at me as I considered how they must be feeling,
the fear they must be
feeling
. I hadn’t spoken with Lexie in months. I needed to call my family, to
let them know I was still alive and unharmed.
Then what?
I tried to play
the conversation out in my head…
“Mom, I’m alive. No, he hasn’t hurt me.
We’re getting married. Will you come?”
I groaned.

I
wasn’t getting anywhere pacing across the bedroom, so I decided a much longer
walk was in order. I cracked the bedroom door open and smiled at Rafael. “
Bonjour
.”

He
smiled tightly. “
Bonjour
.”

I
pulled the door open the rest of the way. “Are you okay?”

His
eyes widened with surprise. “Yes. Why?”

I
shrugged. “You seem a little down.”

He
shook his head. “You are entirely too observant.”

I
smiled. “Would you mind escorting me to the garden?”

This
time the smile made it to his eyes. “I’d be more than happy to escort you to
the garden.”

I
grew quiet as we walked down the hall. I was hoping Rafael would view it as an opportunity
to share what was weighing so heavily on his mind. I finally had to ask. “Do
you want to talk about it?”

He
glanced at me distractedly. “About what?”

I
turned toward him as we made our way down the stairs. “About whatever it is
that has you feeling so down.”

He
laughed. It wasn’t his normal, hearty laugh. Instead, it held a bitter note.
“That would be a very bad idea.”

My
cheeks heated. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. I… I just wanted to see if I
could help.”

Rafael
looked crestfallen. He reached for my hand and squeezed it gently. “Thanks,
Kristine.”

I
froze. I couldn’t believe he’d actually spoken my first name.

He
glanced toward Michael’s office, then nudged me forward. “I imagine you have
enough things to work through. I’ll be fine.” He offered an encouraging smile,
which was not at all convincing.

I
nodded as my mind circled back around to my own problems.

Once
we got outside, Rafael fell back and trailed a few feet behind me. I glanced
back at him a few times. He seemed to be as lost with his thoughts as I was
with mine.

Eventually,
I found myself sitting on one of the benches overlooking the fountain. I tucked
my knees under my ankle-length skirt and pulled them against my chest as I pondered
just how difficult it would be to reach out to my family. If I called them and
told them where I was, no amount of reassuring them about my well being would
prevent them from turning Michael over to the authorities. If I told them I was
happily engaged to the man, they would question my sanity or assume I was being
coerced to make that statement. And, even though I had no intention of pressing
charges against Michael for kidnapping me, what about Mickey? Surely there were
charges pending against Michael for what he’d done to her. The whole thing was
a mess… a mess that was not easily untangled. I sighed miserably.

“
Ma
chérie
, what’s wrong?”

I
looked up, surprised to find Michael standing in front of me. I glanced at
Rafael.

He
gave me an apologetic shrug.

My
eyes returned to Michael. “Rafael texted you?”

“
Oui.
What’s wrong? You look upset.” He sat next to me on the bench. “Please tell me,
mon coeur
. Maybe there is something I can do to ease your mind.” Michael
nodded to Rafael, effectively dismissing him.

I
reached for his hand. “I want to marry you, Michael. I truly do; but I want a
future with you that includes my family. How do we fix what happened without
getting you in trouble?”

Michael
sighed. “I’ve been wondering the same thing. I have made a royal mess of
everything, and I need to find a way to make it right before we get married. But,
that’s not all I need to make right with you. I haven’t been entirely honest
with you,
mon amour
. There are some things I should have told you a long
time ago.”

My
heart tripped. How many more challenges could Michael throw my way? “Go on,” I
encouraged warily.

Michael
took a deep breath as he turned to face me on the bench. “First, you should
know that I am not associated with any terrorists. I led you to believe that I
was the day I showed up at your apartment…”

My
eyes narrowed. “But, Michael…”

He
pressed his fingers to my lips. “Please,
mon coeur
. I need to get this
all out. I want you to know the whole story. You can be angry with me when I am
done.”

I
removed his hand as I tried to batten down the anger that was already brewing.

“I
am sorry for deceiving you,
ma chérie
, but I didn’t see any other way. I
was completely devastated when you refused to marry me. I wanted to work things
out with you, to convince you to give me another chance, but I’m afraid my
emotions got the best of me. Then you had that restraining order issued against
me. I wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near you. I couldn’t stay away from you in
Montana. So I came back here, to Paris, for a few months. I had already purchased
this house for you. I signed the papers the same day I introduced you to my
colleagues… the day you got angry with me for introducing you as my fiancé. Do
you remember that day?”