Broken Wings (The Broken Series Book 3) (13 page)

My
hands shook as I poured the wine. I handed Shae and Rafael their glasses. “It’s
a crab and lobster lasagna. I tried to recreate the recipe from a dish I ate in
Paris. Go ahead guys, dish up.”

I
took the chair opposite Shae, so the guys were sitting between us. Everyone
served himself. I eyed them all cautiously before offering a toast. “
Budmo
.”

Rafael’s
eyebrows shot up in surprise. Kadyn’s eyes narrowed.

Shae
laughed. “It’s a Ukrainian toast,” she explained. Her sparkling brown eyes met
mine. “
Za vas
.”

I
leaned back in my chair and sipped the wine. I was trying to gather my thoughts
while everyone else dug in.

Shae
toyed with the salad before trying the lasagna. “Wow. This is really good, Kri.”

“Very
good,” Rafael agreed. “I didn’t realize you could cook like this.”

“I
did,” Kadyn responded. “She used to cook for me all the time.”

Rafael
froze with his fork halfway to his mouth. His eyes narrowed. “In case you
missed the memo, she was cooking this lasagna for
me
.”

Kadyn
glared from across the table. “It wasn’t
my
idea to join you.”

Shae
cleared her throat. “I can see I have my work cut out for me.”

Everyone
looked at her. “What?” I asked. “What work?”

She
leaned back in her chair and tapped her chin. “Now, let’s see if I’ve got this
straight. You used to date Kadyn. Michael came along and threw a wrench into
that. Kadyn decided he didn’t want to date anymore. Then you started dating
Rafael. Kadyn got mad when he heard you were dating Rafael. You had words. He
left. You didn’t think he’d ever speak to you again, and now he’s shown up with
flowers.”

My
jaw fell slack. “
Shae
…” I warned.

She
smiled. “So, let’s consider the parties’ interests.”

I
rolled my eyes. “You are
not
mediating this!”

Shae
laughed. “Well, given the tension around this table, it’s pretty obvious I’m
going to have to de-escalate the conflict before we can play Scrabble.”

I
set my wine glass on the table. “
What?
You want to clear the air so we
can play
Scrabble?
”

Shae
nodded. “So, back to the parties’ interests… That one’s easy. Both parties are
interested in dating Kri. Am I right?”

Rafael
and Kadyn exchanged looks, then slowly nodded.

Shae
smiled. “Okay. Now on to positions. You both believe Kri belongs with you and
only you. You don’t want her dating anyone else.”

I
buried my face in my hands. This wasn’t a train wreck. It was a nuclear
disaster. I looked pleadingly across the table. “Shae,
please
. Let’s not
do this.”

Shae
glanced from Rafael to Kadyn. “Am I right?”

Both
men mumbled, “Yes,” as they resumed eating.

I
shook my head before trying the lasagna. I glanced down at the pasta in
surprise. I had nailed the recipe.

Shae
looked thoughtful as she sipped on her wine. “Needs… Now that’s a bit more
difficult to define. Kadyn, what would you say your needs are?”

Kadyn
choked on his Sprite. “My needs?” He looked at me, thoroughly confused. “What
is she talking about?”

I
shot him an apologetic look. I was stunned that he was even participating in
the conversation. “What do you need from me?”

Kadyn
looked thoughtful. “Time. I need some time with you, so we can work things
out.”

Shae
nodded before turning her attention to Rafael. “Okay, Rafael. Your turn.”

Rafael’s
eyes narrowed. “I’m not so sure I like where this conversation is headed. I
don’t intend to negotiate the terms of my relationship with Kristine with
anyone but Kristine.”

Shae
smiled. “I’m not making any decisions about your relationship. You are.”

Rafael
folded his arms across his chest. “I need time with her too. Time to prove I’m
the one she should spend the rest of her life with.”

I
gasped.
The rest of my life? As in marriage?

Kadyn
growled. “You are
not
the one she should spend the rest of her life
with. I am.”

I
shot Shae a desperate look as I tried to steady my breathing.

She
offered me a sympathetic nod before continuing. “Okay, then. Bear with me.
We’re almost there. Rafael, what is it you value?”

Rafael
raised an eyebrow as he turned toward me. “Value?”

I
groaned as I shoved my plate aside. I let my head fall across my folded arms.
“Values… like honesty, respect, monogamy, personal security, love,” I mumbled
from inside my arms.

“I
want all of those things,” Kadyn interjected.

“So
do I,” Rafael bit back.

Shae
grew quiet. She looked thoughtful, then finally responded. “Well, the good news
is you have a lot of common ground.”

I
lifted my head from the table. “I don’t see how this resolves anything… and oh by
the way, little miss mediator, you haven’t considered any of my interests,
values, or needs.”

Shae
laughed. “Why, Kri! I thought you’d never ask. Go ahead. Tell us what you
need.”

My
head fell back onto my arms. “Oh, God. I can’t believe you’re making me do
this.”

“We
can’t sort through this until you tell us what you need,” Shae quietly
responded.

I
lifted my head. My gaze shifted between Kadyn and Rafael. “I can’t choose
between the two of you. Not right now. I care about you both. I don’t want to
hurt anyone, and I have no idea who the best person is for me. I need time to
sort through my feelings… time to figure this out.”

Shae
refilled our wine glasses. “Good, Kri. You need time. I think it’s safe to
assume you value all the same things they do, since you offered up that list of
values first. You’re interested in dating both men, and your position is that
you won’t choose between them… not right now, anyway. Am I right?”

I
nodded as I slouched down in my chair.

Shae
took a deep breath. “Okay. Everyone needs time. So we’re going to make sure
everyone gets the time they need.”

All
eyes locked on Shae.

She
glanced at Kadyn over the top of her wine. “Kadyn, pick one evening you would
like to spend with Kri… one day of the week as sort of a standing date.”

Rafael
rose from his chair. “Absolutely not. She’s dating me.”

Shae
nodded. “Yes, she is, but she’s going to start dating Kadyn too. She needs to
spend time with both of you in order to make a decision about who to date
exclusively.”

The
smallest of smiles flitted across Kadyn’s face. “I’ll take Saturday nights.”

Rafael
glowered at Kadyn as he leaned across the table. “You are not dating Kristine.
You had your chance, and you blew it.”

Kadyn
rose from the table. “I did no such thing. Your brother stole her from me.”

“Stop,”
Shae exclaimed forcefully. “Sit down, both of you, before you upset Kri.”

Both
men slowly sat.

Rafael’s
eyes sought mine. “You can’t want this, Kristine.”

My
eyes filled with tears. I glanced pleadingly at Shae.

Her
eyes and voice softened. “How else are you going to decide? You need to spend time
with both of them.”

I
slowly nodded.

“Then
I want to see her on Fridays and Sundays,” Rafael responded irritably.

Kadyn’s
eyes met mine. “If we’re picking multiple days, then I’d like to see her on Mondays,
Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.”

I
shook my head. “Thursday is my late night at school.” My eyes flitted back toward
Shae. “My entire schedule could change in a month, when summer session begins.”

“Let’s
just get through this first month,” she encouraged softly. “Besides, Kristine
needs a night to herself. The rest of the evenings should be evenly divided
between the two of you.”

I
drank my entire glass of wine and refilled the glass. “I cannot believe we are
negotiating this.”

Kadyn
reached for another piece of lasagna. “Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays,
then.”

Shae
glanced at Rafael. “Are you okay with Fridays, Sundays, and Tuesdays?”

Rafael
shook his head. “Not really, but if this helps Kristine see that I’m the man
she belongs with, then I’ll do it.”

Shae
exhaled loudly as she fell back against her chair. “Okay. Let’s establish some
ground rules.”

“Ground
rules,” I repeated numbly.

Shae
disappeared into the library. “Hold on. I need to track down a pen and some
paper.”

I
glanced nervously from Kadyn to Rafael. I wondered if there was a single one of
us that was happy with this arrangement.

Shae
plopped back into her chair with a notebook and pen. “Okay, Kadyn. Offer up a
ground rule.”

Kadyn
laughed. “That’s easy. I don’t want him following or spying on us when we’re
together.”

Shae
nodded. “You got that, Mr. Bodyguard? You’re off duty when she’s with Kadyn.
He’s fully capable of keeping her safe.”

“He
didn’t keep her safe from Justin Morris,” Rafael retorted.

“And,
you
didn’t keep her safe from the lunatic who tried to drown and
strangle her to death,” Kadyn bit back.

“That
wasn’t on my watch. She was with Jean,” Rafael responded through gritted teeth.

Shae
threw her hands in the air. “Enough. I think it’s safe to say those were
extremely rare and very extenuating circumstances. I think you’re both capable
of keeping her safe. Kristine, would you agree?”

I
nodded. “Yes. I feel safe with both of them.”

“Fine,”
Rafael replied. “I don’t want him spying on us either.”

“Wouldn’t
dream of it,” Kadyn muttered.

Shae
tapped her pen against the table. “Rafael, do you want to add a ground rule?”

“Yes.
I don’t want her having sex with him.”

“Well,
I don’t want her having sex with you either,” Kadyn responded.

“Each
of you said you value monogamy. So, I assume everyone agrees that you should
abstain from having sex while Kri is dating you both,” Shae interjected.

The
conversation stalled.

I
glanced around the room. I could have sworn I’d just heard crickets chirp.

Neither
Kadyn nor Rafael looked pleased.

I
didn’t know what to think. I’d already had sex with both men, although not in
the same calendar year. I knew it was wrong to sleep with two people at the
same time, but I also knew they’d be pushing the limits of this agreement,
doing everything they could to make sure I wanted to have sex with them.
How
was I going to resist that?

Shae
cleared her throat. “The alternative is you can all get tested for STD’s and
exchange the test results so everyone knows it’s safe.” She looked pointedly at
Kadyn and Rafael. “Then you’d have to come to terms with the fact that you’re
not the only man Kri will be sleeping with.”

My
heart pounded as I waited for Kadyn and Rafael to respond. Nobody said a word.

Shae
filled the silence. “Okay. I think you should all get the tests done, just to
be on the safe side. We’ll keep the ground rule in place, but the test results
are good to have in case anyone slips up or in case you want to remove the
ground rule later.”

I
nodded numbly.

“Kristine,
do you want to add a ground rule?”

I
looked at Kadyn and Rafael. “I don’t want anyone fighting.”

Shae
studied the two men. “Can you both agree to that?”   

They
both nodded.

Shae
smiled. “Okay. Any other ground rules?”

Rafael
cleared his throat. “I’m teaching Kristine self-defense and Russian. She needs
the instruction, but I don’t want that eating into the limited time I have to
date her, and I don’t want Kadyn here thinking that I’m breaking the rules if I
offer some instruction on his days.”

“You’re
not the only person capable of teaching her self-defense,” Kadyn responded. “I
can teach her too.”

“I’m
not sure when Kri is going to have time to fit that in. She starts work on
Monday, and she still needs time to go to school and complete her homework,”
Shae responded with concern.

Rafael’s
eyes met mine. “What if we work on your self-defense skills for an hour each
weekday morning before we go to work?”

Kadyn
looked frustrated. “But that just gives you more time with her. Why don’t you
take the mornings that correspond with your date nights and I’ll take the
mornings that correspond with mine. We can both teach her self-defense.”

Shae
refilled her wine glass. “That sounds like a good compromise. Anything else?”