Page 45 of Broken King

He finally smiles again and walks over to his desk to lean against it. Dressed in gray suit pants, a blue dress shirt, and a dark gray tie, he looks every bit the CEO of a company. “No, nothing’s wrong. I was just wondering if you’re coming over here to visit with my wife or to see Ronan.”

I look down toward the hardwood floor that’s so polished I can almost see myself in it. Embarrassed because my true intentions must have been more obvious than I thought, I try to find a polite way to explain my behavior.

Finally, I look up and meet his gaze. “It’s not that I don’t like hanging out with Ava. We have a nice time talking, and those babies are just the cutest things ever. I never meant to make it seem like I was using her to get to see Ronan. I was just hoping that maybe he and I could…”

I can’t find the words to explain that part of my thinking, so I don’t bother. Better for me to just let things drift off to silence than to dig the hole deeper.

He surprises me by not appearing angry, though. “It’s okay. I know she likes talking to you, but she was hoping that by having you over that maybe you and Ronan would start talking again. My wife has a good heart and good intentions, but she was trying to play cupid. I hope you understand.”

I’m relieved he isn’t upset by my confession, but nothing he says makes me any happier. “It’s no use, I’m sorry to say. He barely acknowledges I’m here. If she wants to play cupid, I think I’d suggest the nanny instead of me. Ronan at least talks to her.”

“Sabrina? No, he doesn’t care about her. She helped him clean himself up, but I think he did that because he wanted to look good for you.”

What an emotional rollercoaster today has been. First, Ronan basically blows me off and chooses to chat up Sabrina, and then Marius shows up and picks up on his mocking me where he left off when I was nineteen.

And now it seems like Matthias is telling me that Ronan actually wants to spend time with me.

“Maybe I’m not the person he needs now. Marius was just teasing me about being so nice that, of course, I teach elementary school. Maybe nice isn’t what Ronan wants.”

Matthias doesn’t say anything for a long time. Finally, he sighs and says, “I’m breaking some code we brothers have by doing this, I think, but here goes. Ronan is having a hard time. He isn’t accepting his life the way the doctors and those of us who care about him had hoped he would by now. Nobody is saying we want you to fix him, but I know he’s liked seeing you these last couple times you were here. As for Marius, ignore him. He’s a ball buster from way back. He’s probably giving Ronan a hard time as we speak. Nobody escapes his teasing. It’s just who he is.”

For a moment, it seems like Matthias is overcome by emotion. He looks down toward his black dress shoes and clears his throat before lifting his head to meet my gaze again.

“I don’t know what might happen between you and Ronan. I don’t think he has any interest in Sabrina, but you might know better than I do. Ava tells me I don’t read women the way she does, so it’s possible I’m not seeing things right.”

My heart sinks at the thought that Ronan actually does like the nanny. But why wouldn’t he? She gorgeous with a great body, especially in that bikini. Even more, she’s found a way to get him to talk to her. Meanwhile, I’ve had very little luck at all getting any words out of him.

“What I do know is Ronan cares about you. He always has. Maybe things can’t be the way they used to be between you two, but if you can find it in your heart to give him a few more chances to talk to you when you come over, I hope you two can at least be friends. He needs people like you now, Kate.”

Touched by how much Matthias cares about Ronan, I nod my head and smile at his suggestions. “Okay. I do like coming here. I have such wonderful memories of my time here with him when we were together.”

With a big smile, Matthias walks over to the door and opens it for us to leave. “Excellent. Thank you, Kate. I guess I better go find out what Ava wants, or I’m going to be in the doghouse.”

As we walk down the hallway toward the living room, I see Ronan standing at the door looking out. My heart aches at the thought he can’t even go outside to spend time with his brother or his nephews.

Matthias gives me a knowing look at then walks out to the pool area, leaving me wondering if I should say something to Ronan. Maybe we can’t be together again because too much has changed, but I’d like it if we could at least be friends.

Swallowing hard, I try to find the right words to say, but nothing seems to be in my brain at the moment. A fine time to suddenly become empty-headed. What I wouldn’t give all those nights when I lie down to sleep and can’t stop thinking about all that happened during the day to have an empty mind.

“You used to like to swim,” I say, instantly wishing I had said something more interesting.

He turns around and nods. “I did.”

“I wish you would have been out there with us before.”

Ronan takes a few steps toward me and stops. “Why?”

He really doesn’t know, does he?

“Because I would have liked to spend some time with you.”

“Maybe next time,” he says quietly, as if he doesn’t want to announce it too loudly and be held to that like a promise.

“I’d like that.”

God, if only I was better at letting people know I like them. It’s just not my style to be that forward, though. If he could remember that, he’d realize how much I’m trying right now.

“Will you be coming back anytime soon?”

---