Page 104 of Brooke
“I am here to make that right,” he continued, his throat moving. “If she doesn’t want to speak to me today, I will leave. I know it’s an important day for all of you with Nanine’s reopening, and I am sorry for any blight this casts on such a moment. I’ll come back in a few days, hoping tempers are better. I understand the anger. I deserve it.”
He deserved it? Brooke was shaking. Whatever Madison had done had worked apparently. Axel seemed completely different than he had last night when there had been a wall of anger and misunderstanding between them.
“Please, Brooke,” he said, his voice urgent, his eyes pleading.
Kyle inclined his chin stiffly. “What do you want to do, Brooke?”
Brooke’s whole body ached at the sight of him, at the way he’d said her name in that hoarse, desperate tone. That he was here and not on his way out of town was significant. The planes of his face were rigid with deepening lines slashing across his broad forehead. Then something flashed in his glacier blue eyes, the warm light reserved for her. It was still there amidst a sea of hurt. She knew that look, and her heart pulsed thickly in response.
It was love, and seeing it there made her want to reach out for him.
She wasn’t sure if she could trust him after what had happened. Maybe he couldn’t fully understand her like she’d hoped. But she needed to hear him out. No, she wanted to hear him out.
And God, she needed to warn him that Giulia was spreading gossip about him too. That part had her fisting her hands at her sides. She owed him an apology for the part she’d played in this mess. Plus, they had the project. She didn’t walk away from her responsibilities, and despite what he’d said, she knew Axel didn’t either.
Summoning every ounce of courage she possessed, she nodded with a little jog of her chin. “We can talk in the garden.”
That way she could walk back into the house if she needed to. Axel immediately extended his hand to the door. Sending her wonderful protectors what she hoped was an assuring look, she walked outside with him.
The autumn air had a chill, and she wrapped her hands over her arms as they faced each other. The sound of traffic from the street was muted amidst the quiet rustling of trees and bushes around them. How did she start?
“I came the moment I heard what happened,” he began first, his voice deeper than usual. “Madison did not tell me everything, but she presented a dire picture of your career situation, which I seem to be partly responsible for.”
She felt the shock of that admission and lowered her hands to her sides as she studied him a few yards away. “Wait! You’re here because you think I’m some damsel in distress? Think again.”
“Let me finish,” he interrupted, his blue eyes entreating. “I don’t seem to be saying things right. God knows I went over everything I said last night and found myself at great fault. Let us back up.”
Blowing out one of her dragon breaths, she nodded. “Fine. I’ll try not to jump to conclusions.”
“Thank you,” he acknowledged. “I will do the same. Brooke, I have wronged you, and I am sorry, more sorry than I can communicate with words. If you will give me a moment…”
He strode off to their garden near the pathway to the street and retrieved a floral box from the ground. When he drew closer, she could see hues of purple, green, and red. “I seem to convey my feelings better sometimes with signs. The purple hyacinths symbolize my deep sorrow and regret for having hurt you and my wish to say I am sorry.”
Her eyes started to burn.
“This fern holds in its leaves my hope that you will find confidence and shelter in me and my love for you. Because Brooke, I love you with all my heart. The primrose here is to tell you I do not want to live without you.”
She could feel her anger starting to drain away. “Oh, Axel.”
He laid the box at her feet, his heart in his eyes as he stood, so tall and uncertain in the afternoon light. “Madison drove home in a very pointed way that I do not know the delicate balance you walk as a woman professionally. You will remember that my greatest shame was not being able to help a woman I loved in the past.”
The story came back to her, her rib cage tightening with tension.
“My greatest shame with you would be losing you,” he said softly, his throat moving when he paused. “I am here. To love you. To support you. To truly listen to you.Please.Will you let me?”
Her heart was throbbing in her chest, and she knew it was her love for him. She nodded because she couldn’t speak, and then she was running toward him. He caught her against his body, lifting her feet off the ground as she buried her face against his cheek, cradled in his pine scent. Her arms wrapped around him as his tightened, holding her to him as if he wanted to absorb her into his body.
“Min elskede,”he said in a guttural voice, pressing his face into her neck. “I thought I understood things, and that was my hubris. I am so sorry I did not truly listen to you. I promise you it will never happen again.”
She boosted herself up higher on his body, heart fluttering, pressure rising in her chest. “I’m sorry too! I messed up. I could have done things better. And I won’t keep our relationship secret anymore. I’m sorry it hurt you. I was trying to protect myself.”
“I know that now,” he said, lifting his head, his blue eyes shining brightly with love. “I apologize for not seeing it before. Madison is right. I was a stupid man when it came down to it. I was also wrong not to be open to you helping me like you did, but I really was trying to show you that I didn’t need you to do anything for me given how much we had spoken about you feeling like you had to be useful in order to be loved.”
She’d overreacted yet again. “I was trying to be your partner.”
He drew her against him tightly. “I know that now, and it makes all the difference. Brooke, I didn’t even thank you for trying to help me.”
She had to clear her throat as messy emotion swamped her. “Thank you for saying that, but you’re also right. I didcharge ahead without talking to you. That’s on me. God, maybe you’re right. I was trying to earn your love—the way I do with everyone.”
