“I’m sorry, love,” I whispered, my chest tightening.
Lifting her into my arms, I placed her on my bed and pulled the covers over her. With just a finger, I wiped her tear-soaked cheeks. She still didn’t stir. Her breathing evened out, and her whimpers stopped. Dragging both hands down my face, I rolled my head from side to side to ease the tightness and used the bathroom.
Returning, I glanced out the window at the downpour, wondering what brought her to my room. Thunder boomed across the sky, rattling the windows, answering me. Like an infant learning the impact of loud and soft noise, I knew this girl would need time to acclimate to sounds foreign to ears that soundproofing had protected for God knew how long.
Two seconds after I settled in next to her, she rolled, bringing her body tight against mine, and her hand moved to lie over my chest. She uttered a soft moan, a dire contrast to her cries from a moment ago.
I tried to fight the smile her contentment brought me, I failed. Adjusting my position, I moved her into the crook of my arm.
As if my deed was naughty in some way and she caught me red-handed, “Xavier,” fell from her lips in a soft sigh, deepening my smile.
“Sweet dreams, love.” I kissed her brow.
Staring up at the ceiling, every emotion known to the human mind played havoc with my thoughts, and by the time my eyes closed, I had no idea what I felt for her. A beautiful stranger who ran into my life on an unexpected whim, left her shoe behind like some plea for help that I chose to accept. Regardless, I planned to show a girl who believed in fairytales that even though Cinderella’s heart was crushed, stomped on, and shattered into a million pieces, the dexterous touch upon a hurting heart would heal a broken soul.
Chapter 22 – Xavier
When I woke a few hourslater, the girl was no longer in my bed.
I stared at the indention her head had left on the pillow and sighed. My wife was the last person to share my bed. I lost Rowena to a brain tumor eleven years ago. While I might’ve been unable to love, her loss hit me hard, especially her last words before she closed her eyes.
“I’m sorry I cursed you never to fall in love when we met, Xavier,” she whispers. I’d recounted the tale of our family curse the evening after she arrived at my home, fascinated with the castle. Still, she’d always apologized for that error.
My laugh is low, my vision blurring with tears for a woman who’d been my anchor since she came into my life unexpectedly. Our meeting wasn’t conventional, yet we adapted, and our children completed us. “You’ve loved me enough for the both of us.” I brush a hand over her brow.
“One day, you won’t find the love you need.” She takes that hand and gives it a light squeeze. “You’ve been such a good man all your life, you’ll find a woman worthy of your love.”
Her words force a watery smile. “I’m no saint, darling.” I share a look with Saint before flicking to Michael hugging my youngest, Patrick.
“Even a sinner deserves to taste the kiss of true love.” Rowena brings my attention back to her. “Remember, Xavier, a woman’s silence speaks the loudest. Her lack of words, however, isn’t a testimony to arrogance or impotence rather the shadows of a heart too broken for words. Heed her reticence well, my darling...”
Pinching my eyes shut with my thumb and forefinger, I couldn’t help wondering if, like everyone that interacted with my family history, steeped in myths men my age laughed over, Rowena possessed some foresight into my future. I stared at the empty bedside again. Had she foreseen this girl coming into my life? Had fate decided to mock me once more?
Unlike anyone I’d met, this girl’s silence conveyed much more than words probably would. It was a wonder she still managed to stand upright and breathe.
Fifteen minutes later, after I’d showered, I donned a white dress shirt and gray trousers, buttoned up a matching waistcoat, and crossed the landing to the girl’s room. Pausing at the open door, I watched her for a bit. Unaware of my presence, she stood at the window, staring out.
