Page 93 of Forbidden Forget-Me-Not

Goran turned back to the cupboard and grabbed two bowls. I bit my lip as he pulled out vanilla ice cream and made us sundaes, complete with bananas and whipped cream.

“Alright. Now we’re ready.”

He closed the sitting room door, and we watched an entire movie, making fun of the bad special effects and terrible acting. By the time it ended, I had forgotten all about Steve.

We were halfway through the second movie when my eyes started to get heavy.

“Thanks, Goran. You didn’t have to keep me company,” I said, yawning.

Then I fell asleep.

God, I still remembered the next morning when I woke up in my bed, wondering how I had gotten there and if the whole thing had been a dream. But when I’d opened my bedroom door, I froze.

Goran had been sitting in a chair across from my room, arms crossed, legs stretched out as he slept. He hadn’t been waiting for sex. He hadn’t kept watch because it was his job. Instead of hooking up with one of the girls from the pool party, he had chosen to sit outside my door and keep me safe.

It was then that I knew I loved him.

I turned and looked at my mother.

“I’m in love,” I said, finally daring to trust someone with the secret I’d been keeping for years.

Her eyes widened. I walked back to her and sat down.

She cupped my cheek. “Oh, Kaylani.”

“I know, Mom. I know what you’re going to say, I just…” I closed my eyes and leaned into her touch.

“Tell me. Does he feel the same way?”

Staring down at the pillow in my arms, I nodded.

“Yeah. He does.”

“And I assume the reason you haven’t mentioned this to your father is that he won’t approve?”

“Mom, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to fix this. I thought I did, but…” I met her eyes. “I feel so lost.”

“Your father believes he is protecting you from yourself. The problem is that he only knows how to protect with force.”

She pulled me into a hug, and I held on tight. I hadn’t cried on my mother’s shoulder since I was a little girl, but I did now.

“I can’t marry someone else…I just can’t.”

Goran was the man I loved with my whole being. Atlas wasn’t just my dream. He was my heart and my partner in ways that those who didn’t ride would never understand.

Give up my dream…or the man of my dreams.

I didn’t know how to live without either.

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

GORAN

Ivan was waiting for me in the foyer when I walked out of Dimitri’s office. I had only one question on my mind.

“Where’s Kaylani?”