We stayed up until the sun started to rise, making love, and satiating our desires, until there was nothing left but exhaustion. I felt whole, and with that came a sense of worry. I was concerned how we’d escape together, and more so how it would all play out once our secret was revealed.
Kat abruptly began crying, and it broke my heart. I knew she had a lot on her plate, but I longed for her to share in this happiness for as long as possible. I wanted to distract her so she didn’t have to be concerned, not yet.
I wiped away her tears on either side of her face. “Please don’t do that.”
“I can’t help it,” she sobbed. “It was a mistake. It was all a mistake.”
I quickly sat up and looked at her like she’d driven a dagger through my heart. “Us? This?”
“No. Branch. Being with him was a mistake and if I’d just admitted that a long time ago, I wouldn’t have to say goodbye to you.”
My eyes began to burn. She wasn’t going to let him go. “What are you saying, Kat? Are you still marrying my brother today?”
“No. I can’t marry Branch. I couldn’t live with myself and how I feel about you. He deserves to be with someone that isn’t hiding the fact that they’re in love with someone else. I know it doesn’t make what we did any better, but he should have known this would happen, eventually. I mean, did he really think this would never happen? Is this why he kept us apart? Did he do this to us, Brooks?”
I straightened my grimace and bit my tongue. In all honesty I wanted to explode with frustration. This wasn’t how I saw this all playing out. “I’m sorry, but all I heard from that was you saying we couldn’t be together.”
“You know it isn’t possible. What we did will destroy the family.”
“Last night was the best night of my life. I won’t regret it, and I won’t let you walk away from this. I’m tired of letting him have you. He doesn’t deserve you. I deserve you, Kat. You’ve always been mine and you know it. How could you lay there saying you can’t be with me?” The brutal truth was tearing me apart, piece by piece.
Kat shook her head and cried harder as if she knew what this was doing to me. “I’m sorry. I can’t look at your parents knowing what I’ve done. All these people are here to see me marry your brother and I’m in bed with you.”
“I don’t give a fuck who’s here.” Wasn’t it obvious?
“Brooks, please don’t get angry.”
It was entirely too late for that. I was livid, beyond being able to rationalize. I stood and started walking around the room, desperate to find a solution. “Do you know how long I’ve waited for this to happen? Kat, wake up! I want you. How people feel about it doesn’t matter to me. I don’t give a shit about anyone else. You’re all that matters.”
Just as she opened her mouth to respond we heard someone knocking on the door. I had a terrible feeling in the pit of stomach, but said nothing as I pulled on a pair of boxers and headed to answer it. I was prepared to face whoever was on the other side, so long as when they left, she’d still be in my bed, waiting for me to help her figure everything out.
Chapter 15
“Where is she?” It was Branch, and he wasn’t happy. Before I was able to prevent it, he came ambling into the room, discovering exactly what he was looking for.
I didn’t know how he’d react. I mean, I knew he was destroyed, and probably irrational, but I couldn’t predict how he’d treat her. “Branch, don’t hurt her. It was my idea. I made her do it,” I lied. I wanted Kat to be safe. I’d say or do anything for that reason.
While I stood behind him, Branch peered down at Kat. His eyes were glossed over, and it was obvious he was about to explode with animosity. She wouldn’t be able to rationalize with him because he was beyond the point of being able to accept the truth. “The night before our wedding, Katy? How could you do this to me?”
I refused to let her answer his question. “You did this, bro. You kept her from me for all these years. I told her everything. She knows you kept us apart to have her for yourself.”
Branch turned around and shoved me against the other bed. “Get the fuck out of my face, Brooks.”
I jumped up and got right up in his face, challenging him to push me a second time. Kat climbed off the bed and threw herself between us as if that would prevent a war.
Her naked body was like a beacon, and I could tell it only fueled his need to decapitate me. “Please don’t do this. We all need to talk this through,” she was pleading, while new tears trickled from her eyes.