“Well I’m still here, aren’t I?”
I wind my arms around him and smile up at him. “Yes.”
“No one is going to take me from you, Annabelle. Certainly not these lowlifes.”
“Kalin?”
“Yes. What is it?” His eyes are warm with concern.
“What about Madison? Why did the reporter say it was Madison?”
Kalin turns from me and runs his hand over his neck.
“Madison didn’t have anything to do with this.”
“How do you know?” I ask.
“Because I know Madison. They gave the paper her name to cover for themselves.”
“What if she’s still in love with you?”
“Whether she is or not, she would never do that. I know her too well. The board, on the other hand, may use our relationship against her. Madison knew I was vulnerable, and she was there for me. And I will always be there for her. But I’m not in love with her. I’m in love with you, Annabelle.”
The words wash over me like sunlight after a rainstorm, and any remaining resistance that I feel evaporates. I turn to Kalin and rush into his arms. Kalin laughs, and picks me up by my behind, probing my eyes with his. “If that is all it took, I would have said that a long time ago,” he says with a husky whisper.
“You did. I just wasn’t listening,” I whisper back. His lips claim me with the familiar strength and fiery possession that I have come to know, and I can no longer resist what I have been feeling. I close my eyes and tip my head back, letting him have all of me this time. Kalin sets me down and threads his fingers through my hair, tilting his head and searching my eyes. He presses his lips to the curve of my neck, and I sigh and let my head fall back to expose my skin to his wandering mouth. Every lick, nibble, and kiss from his hungry mouth sends a wave of heat over me. Kalin licks my bottom lip like he’s tasting me for the first time. He presses his mouth over mine, and his tongue moves inside of my mouth to send another wave of heat that bathes my body in the warm wetness of his kiss.
Kalin pulls back from me and shakes his head. “I should know better by now that I cannot just kiss you once without wanting more of you.”
His expression turns somber and his hands move to my waist. “We have to be there for her, Annabelle. They are trying to set her up.”
My eyes meet his and I feel my face tighten. “Madison?”
“Yes. They’re going to try and use what we had against her. We can’t let them do it. We have to stay together on this.”
“How would they use it against her?”
Kalin curls his lips. “They’ll make it appear that she was hurt, or jilted. The fact is, we shared something special and moved on. I need you to know in case they try and pit us against each other.”
“Okay.”
“Really?” he asks with raised brows.
“Yes. I wouldn’t want Madison to get hurt. I just had to be sure.”
Kalin plants a kiss on my forehead and pulls me to him. “We have to look out for each other now until these guys are in jail. You will have to trust me now.”
“I do.” I smile up at him, and his mouth claims mine with another delicious kiss.
Feeling like the cloud of uncertainty has cleared, Kalin and I get back to preparing lunch for the cruise. We prepare a mix of sandwiches with honey rolls and French baguettes with brie cheese, sweet onion confit, tomatoes, lettuce, and a sprinkle of walnuts. We place them into a cooler bag and check on Peter and Lauren, who are enjoying the lush landscape, songbirds, and scenery.
“All aboard. New Beginnings sails in five minutes,” Kalin shouts from the kitchen.
We gather the lunch and head out with Peter and Lauren to the yacht docked in the bay. Kalin uses a remote to extend the hydraulic boarding stairs from the rear deck to the dock. He proceeds to gives Peter and Lauren their first tour of the yacht that he purchased shortly after the house, after he returned from Europe.
“She’s sixty meters, with modern features including a visual entertainment center, WiFi, and even a gym. Anything we can do in an office, we can do in here,” he says with a pleased smile.
Kalin leads us to the deck, draws the anchor in and begins to course the yacht through the bay. “She is built with a steel hull and aluminum superstructure complete with an ultra-modern stabilization system that reduces motion. It is perfect if you get seasick.” He glances at his mom and smiles.
“I don’t feel a thing,” Lauren acknowledges.
“The place was ransacked several weeks ago before the accident,” I blurt out.
Lauren and Peter glance at each other. “Do these assholes ever stop?” Peter scowls.