Beautiful Surrender (Forever 3)

“I didn’t feel comfortable talking about it. And I didn’t know if I could trust you before.”

“Trust me?” I threw my hands up. “I told you secrets about myself I hadn’t told anyone and you were holding back on me. What better time were you going to get to tell me than that night in your apartment when I spilled to you about Marty? But no, you didn’t trust me, even after I took such a risk by trusting you, Vincent. How is that supposed to make me feel?”

“I was focused on your problem, Kristen. I wanted to keep it about you.”

“Showing me you understood would have been about me, Vincent. Holding out on me while you made plans about my privacy is about you.”

“You’re right, Kristen. It was selfish. I’m sorry I didn’t see it that way before. I was trying to do what I thought was best. Hopefully you see that, even if you disagree with my actions.” He gently rested his hand on my shoulder.

Despite enjoying the sensation, I shrugged it off. “I don’t trust you now though. You lied to me. You f**ked Ariel Diamond. You cheated on me. At least Marty never did that.” I tried shoving him away but he was like a wall. Instead it was me that fell backward. He grabbed me before I could fall on my ass.

“Hang on, Kristen. Listen to me,” he growled, raising the hairs on the back of my neck. “That is all a mistake. The text you saw from Ariel wasn’t what it looked like.”

“How gullible do you think I am? What else could it mean? It was pretty clear: she liked riding your cock,” I spat. The words tasted like battery acid coming off my tongue. I regained my footing and pushed out of his arms. He stepped forward and pulled my waist to him demonstrating his persistence. I knew I wouldn’t win a battle of wills with him so I let it pass.

“She meant my surfboard. The new product my company launched—which is why I went to Brazil. It’s called the Shuttlecock.” He articulated his words carefully but assertively.

What. The. Fuck.

The room spun. “You’re lying,” I said uncertainly.

“No.” His voice softened and his eyes carried the tenderness they had earlier. “I’m not lying. I’m sorry you saw that, but Ariel was just being flippant in that text like she usually is. It’s her personality. You saw how she was when you met her. I’m sure she had no idea you’d be seeing that message. Even she’s not that much of a trouble-maker.”

A wave of embarrassment washed over me. I’d run out of the restaurant upset over a misunderstanding. Realization that my actions must’ve seemed absolutely childish to him made me pissed off. At him.

“‘Shuttlecock?’ You have to be kidding me. That’s the stupidest name I’ve ever heard.”

He allowed himself a smile. “You thought ‘Pier Pleasure’ was pretty clever.”

“That at least makes sense. Shuttlecock makes no sense.”

He took a deep breath and sighed. “You’re right, it’s dumb. But it’s edgy and it’s selling well. As you can see, people love making c**k jokes.”

I took a step back and folded my arms across my chest. I eyed him sternly. “So you didn’t have sex with Ariel?”

“No. God no. I haven’t even seen her since the time we ran into her on St. Lucia. I told you we’re just friends and have been for years. I’d never cheat on you Kristen. Now that would be stupid. Unbelievably stupid.”

My arms tightened. “I don’t know if I can believe you.”

“It’s true. There’s not much I can do to prove it so you’re just going to have to trust me.”

“I’ve trusted you all this time. But now with the whole security team thing, you going psycho, Giselle, and everything else, I don’t know what to think. What else are you hiding from me?”

“Ask me anything. I’ll tell you.”

I clenched my jaw. “But I don’t even know what to ask, Vincent. You can’t do that—put the blame on me for not asking the right questions.”

“No, Kitten. That’s not how I meant it.”

After lying to me, he was still calling me Kitten? Give me a break. “Don’t call me that. You’ve lost that privilege.”

He exhaled heavily and gestured to the living room. “Okay, let’s sit down on the couch, cool off, and talk.”

Because my feet were getting tired, I begrudgingly obeyed. Once we were seated, I ran through in my mind what I had just learned, deciding what to ask. There were so many pieces missing that needed filling in. I decided to start with the first question on my mind. “So what happened with Giselle?”

He shifted in his seat beside me. “She was in a relationship with someone she met in college for two years. Jim. No one knew she was suffering. There were small signs like arguing but it seemed normal—couples usually have fights every now and then. It wasn’t until I saw her bruises that . . . that I decided I needed to intervene. I made sure he got the message.” He sighed.

“I’m sorry about what happened to your sister, but in this case you took it too far. Way too far. You didn’t have to break Marty’s face. He wasn’t going to hurt me.”

“What did he want?”

“He said he just wanted to talk.”

Vincent’s eyes narrowed as he ground his teeth. “I wouldn’t believe him. That’s a classic trick they use. He hurt you before. That’s enough to establish that he’s dangerous.”

“He said he was sorry and brought me flowers. He just wanted to apologize.”

“You don’t know that Kristen. Kurt and Bernie were watching. If they made a move, it meant they thought you were in danger.”

“You don’t know either. He was just extending his hand to say sorry. Last time I checked that wasn’t a felony.”

He looked at me probingly. “Why are you defending him?”

“Jesus, Vincent. Can you be any more insensitive? I’m not defending him.” My eyes began tearing again. “Don’t treat me like I’m a helpless victim. I can’t stand it.”

“My team will make sure you won’t be.”

“Why aren’t you listening to me?” I screamed. “Get rid of them! I hate the idea of being watched and monitored.”

He kept his gaze firmly on me as I broke down. “Kristen, he might come back. You have to take this seriously.”

“You nearly killed him for bringing me flowers, Vincent! I doubt he’d be coming back. I think he ‘got the message’.”