Broken Wings (The Broken Series Book 3) (11 page)

I
shook my head. “I seriously doubt Kadyn wants to date me again. Not after all
this. But, if he did? I don’t know. I love Kadyn deeply, but I also care about
Rafael. He’s been a good friend. I don’t doubt that Rafael loves me, and I
think I might love him too. I’m just not sure to what extent. My feelings for
him don’t compare to Kadyn. Not in any way.”

Shae
nodded. “Well, that’s something you should consider. Kadyn might come back
around, and if he does, you’re going to have a very difficult decision to
make.”

I
sighed miserably. “I know. I don’t want to hurt anyone, and I have no idea how
to choose between the two of them. I know this sounds really messed up and
selfish, but they’re both really amazing men. I know I’d be heartbroken if I
lost either one of them.” I reached for my wine glass as I finished eating the
slice of pizza. “Hey, can I show you something?”

Shae’s
head tilted curiously. “Sure.”

I
took a couple sips of wine. “It’s not here. It’s next door at Rafael’s house.” Shae
opened her mouth to say something, but I promptly interrupted. “Don’t worry.
He’s not home. He’s working until tomorrow morning.”

Her
eyes widened. “You already have a key to his place?”

I
nodded as we both slid out of our stools. “Take your wine. You’re going to need
it.”

Shae
followed me out the front door. “Things seem to be moving pretty fast between
you and Rafael.”

I
shrugged. “Yes and no. We’ve known each other for nearly a year now, and we
spent a lot of time together in Paris.”

I
unlocked the door to Rafael’s house and disengaged the alarm. Shae stood gaping
in the foyer. “Wow.”

I
smiled. “I know. It fits him though, don’t you think?”

She
nodded as we made our way upstairs. “Yeah. There’s an awful lot of testosterone
in this house. You should buy a fluffy pink throw pillow and toss it in the
middle of that couch before he comes back home, just to see how he reacts.”

I
laughed. “He’d probably revoke my gym privileges if I did that.”

Shae
looked confused.

I
paused at the top of the stairs. “Rafael gave me the key so I could work out in
his gym, which is just down the hall. He’s going to teach me self-defense.”

Shae
nodded her approval. “That’s a great idea, especially considering your
history.”

I
tore my eyes from Shae as we approached the photograph. “This is what I wanted
you to see.” I nodded toward the picture.

Shae
eyed the photograph. “It’s really pretty… very romantic… kind of surprising to
find in this house, though.”

I
stared at the photograph. The lyrics to the song the man sang wove gently
through my mind. “Make you feel my love” was still one of my favorite songs.

“Kri?”
Shae asked. “Is that you?”

*
* * * * *

The
dark fog that had been hovering over me lifted by the time I woke Saturday
morning. I stretched out in bed. Every part of my body seemed to know that
Rafael was sleeping next door. I was really looking forward to seeing him. I flung
the covers off and hopped out of bed. I brushed my teeth and pulled my hair
back before heading downstairs.

I
programmed my iPod to play my entire collection of Adele songs while I ate a
power bar and brewed a pot of coffee. I retrieved my laptop from the library
and set it on the kitchen counter so I could review the recipes that I had found
for seafood lasagna. I was attempting to recreate a crab and lobster lasagna
that I had eaten in Paris. I couldn’t find a single recipe that replicated the
dish, so I was picking and choosing ingredients from three different recipes. I
wanted to surprise Rafael with dinner to thank him for the Russian and
self-defense lessons he was offering me.

Once
I cooked the noodles, I layered the noodles, crab, lobster, ricotta, and
Italian blend cheeses. I drizzled each layer with an Alfredo style sauce that I
spiked with cooking sherry and Worcestershire sauce. I left the lasagna to cool
on the counter while I cut vegetables and tossed a large salad, which I stuck
inside the refrigerator. I cleaned up my mess and took a shower before covering
the lasagna with aluminum foil. I tucked it inside the refrigerator alongside
the salad. With all the prep work out of the way, I’d only need an hour to bake
the lasagna before dinner.

I
settled into my office to get a handle on my homework. I couldn’t believe spring
semester was nearly over. At three o’clock, I took a break from my studies so I
could stretch out and do some yoga. I wasn’t sure what kind of workout Rafael
was planning, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to loosen up.

Rafael
sent me a text message at exactly four o’clock.
I’ve missed you. I thought
you’d be here by now.

I
laughed. I wasn’t even a full minute late! I pulled the lasagna out of the refrigerator
and set it inside the oven, so it would be room temperature by the time it was
supposed to bake. I programmed my oven on a time delay to start at five-thirty.
Then I threw my cross-trainers on and walked over to Rafael’s house.

My
jaw dropped when Rafael opened the door. His black sweat pants were hanging low
on his hips. His hair was wet, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt. “Holy crap,” I
breathed. “How am I going to concentrate on anything you say when you look like
that?”

Rafael
practically grunted as he yanked me inside the door. We collided as he pulled
me into a toe curling kiss.

I
was out of breath by the time he released me. I reached for the wall. “Mind.
Numb. Can’t. Think,” I breathed.

Rafael
laughed. He linked his hand in mine and pulled me upstairs. He paused in front
of his bedroom. “What do you think about warming up in here, first?”

I
shook my head. “If we go in there, I’ll never get my self-defense lesson… and I’m
quite certain I’d end up burning dinner.”

A
single eyebrow rose. “Dinner?”

I
laughed. “Yes. I made you dinner. It will be ready at six-thirty. Do you think
we’ll be done by then?”

He
smiled. “We can be done anytime you want.” He placed his hand on the small of
my back and steered me toward the gym. “I’m kind of digging the fact that you
made me dinner.”

I
froze in the middle of the hallway. “Wait. We need to talk about this.” I
nodded toward the photograph.

His
eyes lit with amusement. “I was wondering how long it would take you to
recognize that picture.”

I
leaned against the railing. “You took this?”

He
nodded.

My
eyes flitted toward his, then strayed back to the photograph. “You’re an
amazing photographer.”

He
smiled. “And…”

I
tried to pull my eyes from the photograph, but I couldn’t. “Did you ask that
man to sing to me?”

“Does
it matter?”

I
jerked my eyes from the photograph. “Of course it matters. That was an
incredibly sweet thing to do. If you did, then I want to thank you.”

He
smiled. “You’re welcome.”

I
stared at him. “So, you
did
ask him to sing to me.”

Again
he nodded. “He was singing in front of Union Station before you came outside.”

I
studied his face. “Did you choose the song?”

“Yes.”

“Why
that song?” I inquired breathlessly.

Rafael
looked mildly embarrassed. “Because it captured how I felt about you.”

I
took a step toward the photograph as I tried to put it all into perspective. “Why
did you take the picture?”

“Because
you looked beautiful in that moment… and because I wanted to remember how it
felt to make you smile.”

I
fell back against the railing. “Does Michael know about this photograph? Has he
seen it?”

Rafael
shook his head. “No. I have the only copy.”

The
air rushed from my lungs. “I know I should be creeped out by this… I mean, you
were
spying on me for Michael… but for some reason I can’t. When I look at this
photograph, I can see how much the photographer really cared about the
subject.”

“I
do,” he whispered. His fingers ran softly up and down my arm, leaving goose bumps
in their wake.

I
turned to face him. “And the fact that you asked that guy to sing for me, to
cheer me up when I was crying, also shows how much you cared. You only knew me
from a distance, and still you cared enough to dry my tears.”

Rafael
folded me in his arms. “I had to do something. I couldn’t stand to see you cry
like that. You looked so alone. It was the only thing I could think of to cheer
you up. Besides, if I hadn’t sent that man over there, I would have ended up
going over there myself. That would have blown my cover.”

I
looked up into his soft brown eyes. “But what if you had gone over there? This photograph
was taken before I met Kadyn, before Justin, and before Michael for the most
part.”

Rafael
rested his forehead against mine. “I’ve asked myself that question at least a
thousand times.” He kissed me on the top of the head. “We’re together now.
That’s all that really matters.”

I
blinked back tears. I rolled onto my tiptoes and kissed Rafael softly on the lips.
“It’s just… I can’t believe how long you’ve been there for me. Thank you,” I
breathed.

He
raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Do you still want to beat me up?”

My
eyes widened. “What? I never wanted…”

He
laughed as he nudged me toward the gym. “I didn’t mean over the picture. You
have to beat on somebody if you’re going to learn self-defense.”

I
stared at him in shock. “I’m not beating on you.”

He
nodded. “Oh, yes, you are. Maybe not today, but before you go to Ukraine, you’ll
beat the snot out of me.” He reached for a shopping bag, which was sitting on
the weight bench. He pulled a pair of women’s kick boxing gloves out of the bag
and tossed them at me. “I want to see how you hit.” He nodded toward the large
punching bag. “You can start with that.”

I
slipped the gloves on and planted my feet in front of the bag. I took a deep
breath and blew it out. Then I hit the bag as hard as I could with my right
hand.

“Stop.”

I
gaped at him. My left hand was still suspended in the air “What did I do
wrong?”

“Don’t
tuck your thumb in, unless of course you want to break it.”

“Okay…”

“You’re
right handed, so you should stand with your left foot forward.” Rafael paused
to position my body. “Keep your eyes on the opponent, but turn your body so your
chest opens to the right. This position helps protect your abdomen and chest,
and it will allow you to gain more momentum in your swing when you hit with the
right hand. There. Now, give it all you got.”

I
pulled my right hand back.

“Stop.”

I
groaned.

He
shook his head. “Don’t pull back. That gives away what you’re about to do. Bend
your knees, so you can draw power from your legs and hips. Keep your movements
small. Keep your left hand up in front of your face with your elbow covering
your chest and stomach. Keep your right wrist locked, fist should be parallel
with the ground.”

I
fell out of position. “Oh my God! How am I supposed to remember all of that?”

Rafael
laughed. “If you do it enough times, you won’t even have to think about it.
That’s why we’re doing this now.” He nodded toward the bag. “Let it rip. One
hit, then run.”

“Run?”
I asked incredulously.

Rafael’s
face grew serious. “Yes. Your goal isn’t to win the fight. Your goal is to get
away. Hit and run.”

I
silently reviewed the checklist. Then I hit the bag and took off toward the
door. I felt like an idiot running, so I pretty much just jogged. Backwards.

Rafael
just shook his head. He motioned me back over to the punching bag. “This time,
I want you to quickly follow that right punch with a left and then run. I’m
standing behind the bag, but I’m going to take off after you when you run. Your
goal is to get to the end of the hallway before I catch you.”

I
took a deep breath and blew it out. “Okay. I can do this.”

He
smiled as he pushed the bag. “You’ve got a moving target this time.”

My
eyes followed the bag as I got into position. I hit it with my right and left.
Then I ran as fast as I could.

Rafael
caught me just before I reached the door. He flipped me around as he pinned me
against the mirrored wall. “What are you going to do now, love?”

I
tried not to smile. “Scream?”

He
shrugged. His forearm was still braced under my neck. “You could. It wouldn’t
hurt. How are you going to get away?”

I
tried to raise my leg so I could knee him in the groin.

Rafael
laughed as he stepped on my foot. “Not a bad choice. What else could you do?”