Page 37 of Crowned In Blood
"I'm sorry if I offended you," she said softly.
"You didn't. But should I not get you flowers in the future?"
She paused, then her shoulders slumped slightly, and she sighed. "No, thank you for getting them. They’re beautiful."
Relief washed over me, but I needed to know more. I needed to push and find out how to avoid this in the future. But I couldn't ask her directly.
"Do you have a favorite flower?"
She shook her head, walking back to the table. "I've never actually received flowers before."
She sat down, and I joined her, but she wouldn't look at me. Then she bit her lip and continued, "Whenever we had flowers at home, it meant my father was going to demand something from me. I would need to play a part for him, and if I didn't, I would be…punished."
Her face darkened at the word, and my heart broke. I wanted to kill him, to dismember him. Take everything he treasured away from him.
He should have offered my Catalina the world. Instead, he was her worst nightmare.
Clasping her hands in her lap, she squeezed them tightly, then finally peered up at me. "When you gave me the flowers, it took me back there. I know you want something from me and I don't trust you… but you didn't deserve the way I treated you just now. I shouldn't have reacted so strongly. I'm sorry."
I wanted to reach across the table and hold her, to tell her it was all okay. That I'd never hold her past against her. That she was safe with me. But I couldn't say any of that yet.
That was the hardest thing about all of this. The yearning, desperate craving inside of me to be near her, to protect her, and knowing she wouldn't allow me to. If I pushed too hard, she'd only pull away.
Instead, I did what I always did when I was around her like this. I smiled at her. "There's nothing to be sorry about. Although I am happy that for once you acknowledge you misjudged me."
"Don't get used to it." A hint of a smile tugged at the side of her lips as she dipped her head before browsing the different cups of coffee. She stopped at one, and the smile fully blossomed before she took a sip.
"Is that your favorite?" I nodded to the cup in her hand.
"I like the others too and get this one sparingly because of all the sugar, but yes, it's my favorite. And since I snapped at you earlier, I'll act like it isn't incredibly suspicious that you somehow have all the different types of coffee I've ever ordered from Jordan's Cafe."
I grinned.
Mocha Frappuccino, but sparingly because of the sugar. Remember to write it down in her preferences document.
"Can I get it for you again?"
She tilted her head to the side. "Something tells me you don't just mean the drink."
I chuckled. "It excites me how quickly you're getting to know me."
She rolled her eyes.
I relaxed back into the couch with my own cup of black coffee. "What's it going to be, Catalina?"
She took another sip and side-eyed me. "Does it really matter what I say, when you're going to do whatever you want?"
"Humor me."
"I won't turn down free coffee." She gave me a small smile and my heart skipped a beat.
We spent the rest of the meal mostly in silence. I paid attention to the things she picked up, like the triple cheddar truffle chips, and noticed that when we were cleaning up, she put the mixed berry tea on her desk.
I handed her the paper files and a USB copy of the intel I'd collected.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. I also have several searches going on regarding each family, port access, if there's anyone on the US Coast Guard that could have been paid off, or within one of the Italian famiglias. When I find something, I'll be sure to let you know."
