AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As always, he remains noncommittal. “We all have our romantic disappointments here and there, don’t we?”
I scoff. “Oh, cut the crap. Don’t give me that. I’ve opened my heart to you. It’s only fair that you do the same.”
Dmitri shakes his head, a sad look lingering in his beautiful eyes. “I can’t. And trust me, it isn’t a story worth telling.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
He bites on the side of his cheek, seemingly deep in thought. As I start thinking he won’t give me an answer, he sighs again. Then, he mumbles, “I guess I could tell you some of it. There’s this girl.”
“No shit, Sherlock.”
He goes on as if I haven’t spoken, rolling his eyes. “She’s always been special to me, but it took me a while to realize the nature of my feelings for her. By the time I was able to admit to myself that I was in love with her, it was too late for us. I had lost her. And now, not a minute goes by without me wishing I could turn back the clock and do things differently. There’s absolutely nothing I won’t do to get her back.”
“What happened between you and her?”
“That’s a tale for another time. If we make it that far,” he says with a sad chuckle. “The moral of the story is that finding someone who makes life worth living is fucking hard. And rare. So don’t throw it away if it happens to you. Don’t take it for granted, or you might regret it for the rest of your miserable existence. I know this now. So does Nik. He knows what it’s like to lose someone you love forever.”
One way or the other, everything seems to go back to Maxim eventually.
“Nik has had little practice at loving or being loved, Kat,” Dmitri says quietly. “He hasn’t been that fortunate. But I know he’ll bend over backwards to give you anything you want or need if you ask him for it. And I think you know it, too.”
I sigh again. “Dmitri?—”
But whatever I meant to say is quickly forgotten when we hear the bedroom door open and shut quietly.
Immediately straightening, Dmitri raises an eyebrow at me before glancing at the newcomer over his shoulder. He turns back to me. “Just think about what I told you,” he whispers. “And try to be patient. Please.”
Without waiting for a response, Dmitri leaves.
I don’t need to sneak a peek to know who my visitor is. That’s why I turn my back to the doorway and resume sorting through the shopping bags.
Dmitri’s story and advice still echo in my mind when Nik stops by the closet’s entrance.
I have no intention of making his groveling any easier for him—and, frankly, I also have no clue what to say—so I remain silent, waiting for him to take the first step.
He watches me in silence for an impossibly long moment. Or maybe it just seems like that because I can’t stand this uncomfortable silence between us.
Just as I’m about to cave in and blurt out something outrageous, he sighs. “Kat, I’m sorry.”
His willingness to offer an olive branch promptly renews my resolve to remain silent. After all, if he’s ready to admit he can be a supercilious bastard when the mood strikes him, then I won’t to be the one to stop him.
“Kat, look at me. I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. I regretted it the moment the words left my mouth. I can’t tell you how sorry I am for upsetting you. I just hope I haven’t completely ruined things between us. If there’s anything I can do to make you forget I was a complete jackass, then you have to tell me. Whatever it is, I’ll do it. Just name it.”
I can’t remember ever hearing his voice sound so unsettled. There’s no point in denying it—his obvious discomposure at the prospect of having irrevocably damaged our relationship mollifies me a little. I glance at him over my shoulder. It’s a mistake, because one look at him and my steely resolve is gone. The troubled look in his eyes warms my heart. To make matters worse, he still looks as devastatingly handsome as he did this morning in his light blue jeans and gray sweater. The only noteworthy difference is the state of his hair. It’s now an invitingly glossy mess. My guess is that he’s been repeatedly running his fingers through it.
The pale colors of his outfit bring out his dark coloring in the most stunning way. His dark hair and deep brown eyes are strikingly alluring, and I bite back a titillated sigh.
“Did you send Dmitri to sweet-talk me into forgiving you?” I ask accusingly.
Nik wordlessly glares at me for a second before sighing. He shakes his head, looking slightly insulted. “I’m not ashamed to admit that I would happily stoop very low to get you to forgive me. Truth be told, there isn’t much I wouldn’t do to get back in your good graces. But honestly, Kat, at this point, if you seriously think even for a second that I’d ever send another man into a bedroom with you, then I don’t know what to tell you.”
I struggle to hide my captivated smile, completely charmed by his earnest disgust at the mere idea. Still, I compose my face into a dispassionate mask before speaking. “Be that as it may, your seemingly sincere apology doesn’t impress me much. To be perfectly candid with you, even the most heartfelt words can only go so far after a person shows you how they truly feel inside. Talk’s cheap, Nik.”
“I know,” he says with a grunt, approaching me. “That’s why I’m going to show you with my actions that the idiotic things I said earlier do not reflect how I truly feel about you. Not in any way, shape or form. I’m not afraid to grovel. Repeatedly and indefinitely, if that’s what it takes. It’s also why I come bearing gifts.”
Nik’s long fingers reach inside the front pocket of his jeans, pulling out a glittering bauble. He steps behind me wordlessly before brushing my hair aside, away from my nape. A moment later, the cold feel of metal against the skin of my throat makes me shiver. His competent fingers make quick work of the clasp before he softly asks, “Well? Do you like it?”
I move towards the closet’s full-body length mirror to glance at my reflection. Mesmerized, I turn my head left and right, my gaze fixated on the sparkling choker necklace around my neck. My discerning eyes lose count of how many cushion-cut diamonds make up the breathtaking piece. Over two inches wide, the necklace is striking and understated at the same time. The light-colored gems beautifully contrast against my tan skin and dark hair. It’s precisely what I’d have purchased for myself if I happened to be a multibillionaire, like the man standing behind me.
