Page 25 of Shattered Vows

The other three men at the table groan.

“Her name is Maude, and we met when I stopped to help her with a flat tire.”

I lean my cheek on my hand. “How chivalrous.”

He carries on, telling me about how she’s perfect for him and explaining what her vision for the wedding is. It sounds as though it’s going to be an enormous affair.

“It all sounds so exciting,” I say when he’s finished.

“What about you, Rapsody? Would you want the party of the year like Nero’s bride, or would you be satisfied with something more subdued?” Sid asks me with a glint in his eye. His gaze flickers past me to Kol but swing back my way as if I wouldn’t notice.

“Me?” My eyebrows raise. “Oh no, I’d be happy with a wedding at city hall as long as it meant we were married.” The words slip from my mouth before I can stop them.

Kol stills at my side, fork half raised to his mouth.

My breathing becomes loud in my head, and every creak of the wood as people shift in their chairs is magnified.

Heat floods my cheeks. “I’m sorry, I?—”

“It’s fine.” Kol places a hand on my forearm.

Beyond when he was rubbing my back when I had my panic attack, it’s the first comforting gesture he’s allowed himself to give me. My uneasiness evaporates as I let the heat of his palm sink in.

But his touch is gone too soon. He whips his hand away as if my skin is as hot as boiling oil. I watch his fingers coil into a fist, resting at the side of his plate.

“I’m the same as you, Rapsody. Asher and I had a very small ceremony here on the manor grounds.” Once again, Anabelle comes to my rescue.

I take the lifeline she’s thrown me and try to hoist myself from the stormy sea. “Oh, whereabouts? I’ll bet there are hundreds of beautiful spots to choose from.”

“In the center of the hedge maze actually. It’s sort of a special spot for Asher and me.” She looks adoringly at her husband.

I feel Kol go as still as death next to me, and it feels as though the shadows in the corners of the room creep in closer. When I turn my head in Kol’s direction, he pushes back from the table, tossing his napkin beside his half-finished plate.

“You done?” he asks me.

“Uh, sure. Yeah.” I push back my chair and stand, looking around the table. “It was nice to meet you all.”

“We should have a girls’ night sometime soon,” Anabelle says with a smile, glancing in Kol’s direction.

“That would be great.” And I mean it. I’ve never had a girls’ night before.

Kol makes his way toward the exit of the dining room without waiting for me, and I hurry to catch up.

I don’t know why what Anabelle said was so upsetting to him, but against my better judgment, I want to be the one to make him feel better. Old habits die hard.

Chapter

Twelve

RAPSODY

Ifollow Kol as he storms through the house, shoulders taut, strides long. I don’t dare say a word as we weave through the manor, past the antique furniture and oversized paintings. Each room feels dimmer, shadows lurking in the corners.

Eventually, Kol reaches a set of garden doors and pushes them open with both his hands, bolting outside and sucking in a deep breath as though the air inside the house was suffocating him. He doesn’t look to see if I’m still behind him.

I’m not sure if he even wants my company, but he’s obviously in pain for some reason, and I can’t walk away, leaving him in this state. Regardless of what he did, a huge part of my heart belongs to him, even if he’s not the man I thought he was when we first met. I can’t… I can’t just walk away. Last night proved that when I had the chance to escape but stayed instead.

Closing the doors behind me, I face him and find that we’re standing under a portico on a stone patio. Beyond that is a large swimming pool, but there’s no sun glistening off the water. The morning is overcast, and a thin layer of mist hangs low to the ground, making the temperature feel cooler than it should this close to summer.

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