With my hand wrapped around the one of hers that I’d put the ring on, I rested my head on her bed and dozed off until her fingers squeezed mine. My gaze snapped up to meet her golden eyes, relief flooding me.
“Kai,” she whimpered. “You came for us.”
I squeezed her hand before leaning over to kiss her forehead, murmuring, “Of course I came.”
Tears welled up in her eyes, hard sobs racking through her. “I’m s-s-soo so-sorry,” she blubbered. My heart ached, each sob ripping through my soul. “F-For everything. For lying and all my secrets and my stupid control. I’m sorry.”
I grasped her chin, holding her gaze until her sobbing quieted. “All is forgiven. Besides, I messed up too. I never should have left you like I did.” I kissed her, just once on her perfect lips that I’d missed the hell out of. “But if you’d please tell me what that circus was, I’d appreciate it.”
“I’ll tell you everything.” Her head bobbed. Then she leaned forward to rub her lips against mine before kissing me again with a loud groan. “It’s a very long one.”
“We have time, toots. They aren’t releasing you until tomorrow. Oh, and the doctor knows you—Dr. Francis.”
The blood drained from her face, making me unsure of whether I should hear that part of her story. With a shake of her head, she cleared her throat. “My family owned most of the realty in Mandeville and the surrounding towns. My dad came from old money, inheriting most of it, and then my mom came along and helped him grow that. Together they wanted to rule their small empire by dictating its rulers and businesses. It wasn’t until they were in their thirties that they planned having a child, who they knew would help with that mission.
“They put me in gymnastics, dance, music lesson—anything that would give me an edge in the pageants that my mother started me in at the ripe age of one. When I turned twelve, I begged my parents to let me go to public school. They allowed that small grace, since I was winning the pageants. I met Delia at the private school my parents chose.” A small smile stretched across her pale lips, her eyes sparkling for a moment before they darkened again. I trailed little circles on her hand.
“After two years at the private school, they brought me back in with a tutor when I lost my first pageant. They forbade me to see Delia ever again. I started sneaking off the property in retaliation.” That gave me the urge to fist-pump, but I continued to listen. “It was difficult for the first year, figuring out how to get out of there without breaking a limb or coming home with mud on my shoes. By the time Delia had scraped together enough money for a car, I’d perfected my methods. She would pick me up and drive us out to the bayou outside of New Orleans. We would smoke and drink until the sun was about to come up.”
“Ha!” I belted. “I knew you smoked at some point.”
Lips quirked, she shrugged. “When I moved to Tennessee, I quit. It was such a gross habit, and I hated the way the smell clung to me. Besides, I’d rebelled in the ultimate way, so I didn’t need to keep the habit up.”
“Keep going,” I urged her, wanting the rest of her tale.
Rolling her lips between her teeth, she tilted her head this way and that. “Well, some nights when I’d sneak out, Delia would take me to her house, where we would eat gumbo with her family. There was always such racket there—she has a huge family. Her gran would tell the best stories and worked all kinds of voodoo. But they took care of me. Loved me when I didn’t even know what that looked like. They were the best.”
“I want to meet Delia,” I told her, earning a dazzling smile that crinkled her eyes.
“That would probably make my life.”
If I could find a way to give that to her, I would. “Is there more?” I couldn’t keep from asking. Part of me didn’t want to know, but another part told me she needed to get it out. I would be there for her, no matter how difficult it was.
Eyes scrunched shut, she took a deep breath. I squeezed her fingers again, and she went on. “My parents presented me as a debutante at a men’s club after I turned seventeen and had graduated from high school.” She paused again, biting her lip. My stomach knotted at the thought of her being presented in front of a bunch of men like a piece of property. But I could sense the worst of the story was yet to come. “I was introduced to Jared in passing. I thought he was handsome but didn’t realize then what he was supposed to be to me. From that moment on, I was to focus wholly on my pageants and prepare to win Miss Louisiana by the time I turned eighteen.
“When I lost—” She broke off, her throat bobbing. I was on the verge of telling her to stop, but she shook her head and went on. “When I lost, I was severely punished. Which only drove me to sneak out more, smoke more, rebel as much as possible. But the next pageant was more promising. After rigorous training, they were convinced I would win and likely go on to be Miss USA. I was miserable, but I’d worked so hard, and I wanted to please them simply so they would let me be.” She paused, playing with her IV tube.
“They formally introduced me to Jared. He knew how to flirt, he treated me decent, and he was one of the few people I was approved to socialize with outside of my mother’s country
