Broken, page 24
“And don’t call me babe.”
“Trina,” Justin said as he stepped closer to her. “What’s going on?”
“She’s in love with Cade and won’t pull her head out of her ass and accept his daughter. I’m hungry, and it’s Chinese night. You’re doing the ordering, because Mommy has to show Bella her new home, doesn’t she?” Judith’s tone changed as she spoke to her new puppy.
“C’mere,” Justin said as he pulled his sister close for a big hug. Katrina rested her head on Justin’s shoulder, damning her overwhelmed emotions as the tears threatened again. “I know it’s difficult,” he said, his tone hushed for only her ears, “but I know you’ll do the right thing.”
“I don’t know what the right thing is,” Katrina admitted. “Is it walking away, or is it—”
“It’s putting your big girl panties on,” Judith interrupted her, letting her know she wasn’t speaking as softly as she’d thought.
Justin held her tighter. “Follow your heart, Trina. That’s the only advice I can give you right now. Just follow your heart. What does it say?”
“It says I don’t think I can deal with being hurt again.”
“You think he’s going to bail again? No way he will, Trina.”
But to her, in her heart, he already had.
***
Katrina arrived at Cade’s that Monday morning, still conflicted. She wasn’t sure which had gone through more hell, her head or her heart, or which one would win. She had the weekend’s receipts to deal with, though, and that should keep her busy even though Lorenzo was there.
“I can do this,” she said softly before exiting her car and getting her keys out. The door would be locked since it was closed. She knew Martin would be behind the counter doing inventory that he would report to her by noon.
She also knew that Lorenzo would wait to hear the outcome of her paperwork, asking questions so that he understood it better. She was certain he was doing this so that he could take over, take away her part of the dream they’d all come up with, give her no reason to see him unless he was there should she decide to come to the bar. It was 40 minutes out of her way, but this place had grown on her.
Her heels clicked on the hardwood floor as she walked in, but she paused at the sight she saw before her. Lorenzo was leaning against the bar facing a strikingly beautiful blonde who was laughing as she placed her hand on his arm.
And her stomach dove.
“Hey,” was all Lorenzo said to Katrina, and she waved her hello before quickly making her way down the hall to the office.
She couldn’t deal with watching another woman flirt with him.
And what was she doing here so early? He’d obviously invited her in.
Had she stayed the night with him?
“Stop it, Trina,” she whispered to herself and sat down at the desk to work, the woman’s lilting laughter carrying all the way down the hall.
It wasn’t her business if the woman had spent the night with him. Lorenzo had made his boundaries known, and Katrina couldn’t cross them.
But would this woman accept his daughter?
Would she be the one to braid Miranda’s hair?
Would she be the one lying next to Lorenzo every night, spending countless hours in his arms?
Could Katrina come here day in and day out knowing he was whispering his words of love to another woman?
Forty minutes had passed by. Katrina knew this because she’d kept her eye on the time, wanting to finish her work as quickly as possible so that she could give Lorenzo his space.
Or was it space she was needing for herself?
Either way, it was forty minutes from the time she walked in the door to when Lorenzo’s footsteps were heard in the hallway. “How’s it going?” he asked as he walked in, smiling.
“Fine,” Katrina managed to say, though she couldn’t bring herself to smile.
“Ouch. Need some more coffee?”
“Don’t I always?”
“C’mon, let’s go to the diner. My treat.”
She shouldn’t say yes. She shouldn’t put herself through the hell of believing his great mood was because of the woman she’d seen with him earlier.
“Sure,” she heard herself say, and she mentally cringed. She’d already run the myriad of possibilities and different scenarios of him with the beautiful blonde. Whatever he would say to her at the diner couldn’t be worse.
But she wasn’t expecting him to say, “That was my realtor,” to her as they got into his truck. “It’s great news, too. I’m getting a little two-bedroom house about 10 miles from here. I...could show it to you, if you’d like. We can do a drive-by since I don’t get the keys until next week.”
Katrina was finally able to smile. “That’s wonderful news.”
“Yeah, and my lawyer said it’s only a matter of time before I will have Miranda with me. The judge that’s hearing the case is huge on father’s rights. I have to adopt her to put my name on her birth certificate, though. How fucked up is that?” He continued talking as they drove towards the diner. “But at least she’ll have my last name. Her being with me is all that matters, Trina. Seriously.”
His grin was infectious, and Katrina felt herself smiling even wider as he finished. “I’m happy for you.”
“Are you?” he asked, then shook his head. “I’m sorry, that was wrong of me.”
“No, it’s okay. I get it. But yes, I am.”
He reached over and patted her leg twice.
Just like he used to.
And it held her heart in a vice grip.
“So,” she said as she sat a little straighter, “your realtor seems nice.”
“You didn’t meet her.”
“No, but she made you laugh. A real laugh.” One that Katrina had missed so much.
Lorenzo shrugged. “She’s kinda funny.”
Kinda funny.
He’d said that to her many years before, when she’d said something that had made his head tilt back in laughter.
“She’s just my realtor, Trina.”
“That’s...” Her voice trailed off before she finished, wondering if she should say ‘none of my business’ or ‘good.’
They rode the rest of the way in silence.
CHAPTER 39
Katrina’s hands fidgeted beneath the table as Lorenzo sat down across from her and she quickly ordered their coffee from the waitress, only realizing what she’d done after. “Sorry,” she said. “Habit.”
He shook his head slightly. “It’s okay.”
“Well, I figured since we came here for coffee, and...and have I told you what fresh hell Justin has RSVP’d us for? No, I know I haven’t. The reunion, the ten-year reunion. It’s being held at the club next month, and I told him it was presumptuous of him to do but figured I could be the one to tell you. You know, since we work together.”
Lorenzo frowned. “The reunion? The one that Emily’s putting together?”
Katrina’s eyebrows raised. He certainly had a way of knowing nearly everything. “The one and the same.”
“Not going.”
“I figured you’d say as much, and I told Justin that, but he and Judith are insisting on a united front. It is united, you know.”
Lorenzo was still frowning and remained silent.
“I mean, I’m standing by you still, no matter what.”
“You’ve told me that.” Not I believe you but you told me that.
Her stomach took a dive.
“I’m not going to be the one to tell Justin that you’re not going, that’s all on you. Thank you,” she added to the waitress who brought their coffees. She watched as Lorenzo’s eyes stayed on his coffee, as he blew on it so it wouldn’t be too hot, and how he sipped it through his perfect lips.
“A united front?” His eyes were narrowed, and she could see the concentration there.
“Yeah, you know...you, me, Justin, and Judith. She isn’t dealing with just you; if she wants to be a bitch, she answers to all of us.”
He seemed to relax more as he sat back in his chair and grinned at her. “So, you’re really going to go? To the reunion, I mean.”
“I don’t know...are you?”
“Is this a challenge?”
It was her turn to grin. “What if it is?”
“I might have to be dragged kicking and screaming, but if it’s a challenge, I’ll go.”
Her smile was genuine. “Good. I shall drag you kicking and screaming all the way.”
“I guess I technically graduated. I had the credits to. I had to leave, though.”
“I understand.”
“Do you?”
“Ren...” She reached over and placed her hand on his. “If I’d known what was going on, I would have moved heaven and earth to get you out of there.”
He pulled away from her, his eyes back on his coffee, and her heart constricted in her chest.
This hurt.
This hurt so much more than knowing about Miranda.
“Even if it meant leaving you?”
“Even then.”
“I don’t regret staying as long as I did,” he finally said, and her stomach took another dive as he lifted his dark eyes to hers. “Every second with you was worth the hell I was going through.”
“Every second?”
His eyes conveyed that he knew what she was asking—did he regret being with her in his apartment.
“Every second,” he replied.
It was Katrina’s turn to relax into her chair, to smile across the table at him, a smile he returned before he took another sip of his coffee.
She needed to stop staring at his lips.
“This is nice,” she commented. “Bittersweet, but nice.”
She watched as his eyes slid shut before they opened once more, still looking down at his coffee. “Bittersweet?”
“But I’ll take it,” she added, “as long as you promise that you’re here for good.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I am.”
And another weight was lifted off Katrina’s shoulders as she realized she’d needed to hear that, needed that reassurance that he wasn’t going to take off again. Of course, he had reasons to stay; he had the bar, the house, his daughter.
“You’re not very talkative for someone who asked me to have coffee with him.”
“I have a lot on my mind.” His grin was slight. “Sorry.”
“No worries. I’m sure I’m talking enough for the both of us. The numbers look great, by the way. It looks like your momentum is building.”
“Yeah?” His grin widened. “Good.”
Katrina took a sip of her coffee as Lorenzo pulled out his phone, and her heart sank. He wasn’t mentally there the way she needed him to be for what she had to say to him. His eyes widened, though, and he smiled up at her, a smile that sent her heart racing.
“The keys are in the lock box outside of the house,” he explained as he put away his phone. “The house is mine. Do you want to see it?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation.
Yes, she wanted to see where he was going to live.
Where he would be raising his daughter.
And this time, she noted with a sense of calm...this time, it didn’t hurt.
***
Katrina stood behind Lorenzo as he opened the lockbox and extracted the key. He grinned over his shoulder at her, and his excitement was infectious.
“Hurry!” she exclaimed. “I want to see this.”
“I’m trying,” he shot back, “give me a chance to open the door.”
The door opened to an entryway that led into the opened living room and kitchen area along with a section where a dining room table could sit. “You realize you’re going to need to buy furniture, right?” she teased.
“You’re a comedian today.” When he looked down at her, her pulse raced. “I like it.” He stepped away from her then, walking into the spacious kitchen, and Katrina followed. It was bright and had stainless steel appliances along with a kitchen island that he leaned against. “I’m actually going to have room to cook.”
“Oh, you cook?”
“You’d be surprised at the tricks I’ve learned.” His smile faltered. “It’s not big and fancy like Miranda’s used to, but I’m hoping she’ll like it.”
“She’ll be with you. That’s what’s important.”
He opened his mouth to say something, then grinned. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
They stood in that kitchen, their eyes locked for a moment, and Katrina could feel her face heating up under his scrutiny. She was going to say something, but words escaped her as his eyes held her captive.
“Wanna see the rest?” he finally asked.
“Of course.”
He led her by the hand.
She let him.
It felt...good.
It felt right.
It felt safe.
He wasn’t going to leave.
He led her down a short hallway where they first stopped at a room on the left.
“This will be Miranda’s room,” he said, opening the door. It wasn’t super large, but it was definitely a good size for a nine-year-old girl. Its walls were a light gray, and the floors were a hardwood laminate. On the ceiling was a fan, which rotated slowly.
“She’ll love it.”
“You think?” Lorenzo looked down at her, and she smiled.
“Yes.”
“Yeah, I hope so. On the right is the full bath...see?”
“Oh, a waterfall shower?”
“Another selling point. And back here,” he took her hand and led her to the end of the hallway, “is the master bedroom.”
The room was large with a door that led to a small deck outside as well as a sitting area. “This is beautiful.”
“It reminded me of you,” he admitted. “What you’d wanted. I know,” he added quickly, “I’m just saying.”
It was everything that Katrina had wanted, and he’d remembered.
But he was living this dream without her.
A sudden wave of sadness hit her, and she couldn’t hide her expression from him no matter how hard she tried.
“What’s wrong?”
Because he always knew.
She could change this. She had the power to. All she had to do was...
“Follow me,” she said to him, and she walked past him, back down the short hallway, into the kitchen area where the lighting was the best, hearing his footsteps behind her the whole way. When she turned back to him, worry was etched in his features.
“Trina, have I said something wrong?”
“I just want to show you something.”
“Okay?” He drew the word out and one corner of her mouth lifted in a smile.
She knew exactly what she had to do.
Slowly, deliberately, she lifted the side of her skirt, exposing her lacy thong she wore underneath. She watched his eyes widen and smiled as they stayed fixated on her skirt after she let it go.
“What—”
“Those are my big girl panties,” Katrina interrupted him. “I put them on this morning knowing what I had to do, what I had to say, to make this right.”
“What are you saying?”
His eyes finally met hers, and she saw the longing there.
The same she felt for him.
He took a step towards her, then another, and another until he was standing so close, they nearly touched. She looked up at him, taking in his alluring features, her eyes searching his before they fell to his lips.
And she kissed him.
Slowly, hesitantly, she felt him open to her as their mouths gently touched again and again. She felt a tremor in his hands that he placed on either side of her face and her own hands traveled up his chest, one settling where she felt his heart pounding.
And she realized it was in rhythm with hers.
It always had been.
He pulled back then, his hands still cupping her cheeks. “I’ve always loved you, Trina, but I can’t—”
“I’m all in.”
She watched his eyes soften as he held her gaze.
“I swear to you, Ren. I love you. I’m all in.”
He muttered a curse before he leaned forward, and when she kissed him back it was lush and full, lips and tongues, murmured words of love, of adoration as he lifted her up onto the island and pushed her skirt out of the way. She wrapped her legs around him, feeling how hard he was for her beneath his jeans.
“I swear to you, you won’t be sorry,” he whispered harshly in her ear, his kisses hot on her neck.
She reached between them and began helping him undo his jeans. “We have all the time in the world,” she breathed, “but right now, I need to feel you inside of me, please.”
His hands traveled up her legs while hers circled him, and he let out a shuddering moan.
“Fuck, Trina,” he moaned against her lips.
“Yes,” she whimpered in response, and the tear of her lace panties echoed throughout the empty house. She helped him move the ruined fabric out of the way, their movements hurried, the promise of love, of release surging a primal need through her veins.
She loved this man.
With every fiber of her being, she loved him.
She heard his gasp as their bodies met, as he filled her slowly, completely, inch by inch.
“I’m never going to leave you again,” he promised as he began to move.
“I’ll never let you leave.”
He pulled back, resting his forehead on hers as he continued to move, each stroke fanning the fire within her. “I promise you that all I have is yours. My heart, my soul. And I have that to give to you now, Trina. You bring it all out in me, you make me feel alive.”
“And I promise...” She gasped from pleasure, her hands fisting in his shirtfront. “I promise that all I have is yours. It always has been.”
“You swear?” he whispered against her lips.
“I swear.”
Their movements became frantic as he pushed them both closer to the edge. “Hold onto me, baby,” he murmured.
“Al...always. Don’t stop, Ren, please.”
He kissed her then, long and deep as their bodies found a new rhythm, one that had her clinging to him helplessly, had her cries echoing, his moan of ecstasy soon following as he came inside of her.
