Kidnapping His Bride

“What then?” he asked.

“Then our endless engagement is officially over. You can go your own way and I can go mine.” Her lips curved into a smile. She had him. No way could he admit he’d been faithful to her. She’d call him out on his lies because she knew it wasn’t true. The man hadn’t a faithful bone in his body, just like her cheating, no good father.

This was perfect. She’d been a wreck before speaking to him and somehow still figured out a way to talk herself out of this farce of a marriage.

Her new life would finally begin. Now.

His supposed bride-to-be was furious with him; he could see it written all over her pretty face, the passionate fire blazing in her hazel eyes, the tension stiffening her slender body. She’d caught him red-handed with her questions, set up a trap he had no choice but to fall into guiltily, and damn it, he wished he could lie to her and make it believable. Not that he was an outright liar—he just didn’t want to hurt her with the ugly truth.

But he couldn’t lie, and she knew it. She caught him. He had no choice but to admit his guilt.

“No,” Rafe finally said on a shuddering breath. “I haven’t been faithful to you since the start of our engagement.”

A ridiculous question for her to ask him, considering they’d been engaged since they were children and had rarely seen each other ever since. No one would expect him to be faithful to her. She was right. They hardly knew each other. He didn’t know her at all other than she was beautiful and seemingly kind. She had somehow stepped into a leading role at her family business, which he couldn’t help but admire, and the taste of her lips was sweeter than anything he’d ever experienced.

But none of that counted, not really. At least, according to her.

“Then our pending marriage is null and void.” The high wattage grin she flashed him sliced through his heart. Christ, she was beautiful. And unfortunately, according to her, she was no longer his. “It’s over.”

How could it be over when nothing had ever begun? He kept his question to himself, watching as she moved away from him, the smile still on her face. She was quite pleased with the results of their conversation. There was no denying it.

“You really want that? To end this?” he asked quietly, causing her head to jerk toward him. “Because I don’t.”

An exasperated sigh escaped her and she shook her head. She really was extraordinarily beautiful when she was angry. “You say things like that and the words mean nothing. You don’t know me, you just like the idea of me.”

“The idea of you?” What did she mean?

“The thought of me as your sweet, young wife waiting for you at home while you’re out doing whatever you want. Me, cleaning your house and warming your bed, making your meals and chasing your children, tied to this…lonely, unfulfilled life. And you’ll get everything you could ever want.” The bitterness in her voice was unmistakable. She didn’t want this sort of life or want him.

But he didn’t want that sort of life either. Yes, he’d spoken to Matteo of the submissive little woman waiting at home for him, but did he really mean it?

After spending just a few minutes with Catalina and seeing how she so desperately didn’t want a marriage like that, neither did he.

He couldn’t believe how quickly she could change his mind.

“You’re sorely mistaken if you think that’s all I want from you,” he started, but the withering stare she shot in his direction silenced him.

“Please. You’ll say all the right things now because you want me to believe you, but be honest with yourself. You don’t know me, don’t love me or feel absolutely anything for me. Why would that change when we’re married? It wouldn’t. It absolutely wouldn’t, and you know it. In fact, our relationship would probably take a turn for the worse because we’ll slowly start to resent each other. Resent our businesslike marriage and how we let it happen.” She paused, pressing her lips together. Had she revealed too much? He was thankful for her candor even though it hurt.

“You don’t want a relationship based on nothing,” he said, his voice flat.

“Who would?”

She had a valid point, one he couldn’t argue. Quite frankly, he’d grown weary of the argument for marriage in general. With Catalina, he got a sense that he couldn’t win. She would trump him every single time.

Rafe knew the right move would be to back down and walk away. He didn’t want to—it was the last thing he wanted to do, but he didn’t want to be trapped forever with a resentful wife either.

“You’re right,” he agreed, earning a shocked gasp in reply. “Our marriage would be based on nothing but an outlandish agreement made years ago between two men whose children didn’t know each other and never really would. I can’t ask you to marry me, Catalina. It wouldn’t be right.”

She was quiet for a moment, staring at him as if she couldn’t quite believe he just said that.

“It’s Cat,” she finally whispered, her voice trembling.

Frowning, he met her troubled gaze. “What did you say?”

“My friends and family, they call me Cat,” she explained, confusing him further. Certainly she didn’t think of him as a friend or a member of her family.