Contract Marriage with My CEO Boss (Kylan and Katrina)
Chapter 95

Chapter 95

Kylan let go of her hand, moving to kneel in front of this grave in the same way he did for Yasmin. Only this time. This time, he completely slumped forward, his hand grasping the grass in front of her grave, his knuckles clenched tightly. He dropped the bouquet of flowers, his shoulders shaking slightly.

She stayed where she was, giving Rylan the space and time to process what he needed to. To feel what he needed to. To break, if he needed to

She would be there to pick up the pieces, should he want her to

But this was. This was Kylan's moment. His grief that she couldn't begin to understand

so sorry" Kylan was mumbling the same words repeatedly, his voice little more than a whisper in the

"I'm so sorry I'm so sor

Slowly, she knelt next to him as she had at Yasmin's grave. She didn't touch him still, instead brushing leaves and other nature away from Karina's final resting place.

"This is. This is Katrina. Mom. She's Kylan sniffed, and she realized he was crying. She hadn't seen him

since Christmas Eve, and she stiffened. "She's the woman that. She's everything to me. I wish. Christ. I wish you could meet her." His voice caught at the end, and he shook his head bitterly.

I would have loved to have met her, Kylan, I'm certain she was beautiful, she whispered the words, trying to picture Kylan as a child in her mind.

She could almost see it play out in front of her tangibly. A small boy with stark black ir, smiling up at his mother with adoration and love as she bent down to pick him up, twirling him as he giggled happily. It was a beautiful vision. A beautiful dream

Je vais te rendre fiere, maman. Je serai un homme bon. Kylan kissed his fingertips, placing them on the headstone and adjusting the flowers into the vase connected to her grave.

"She's already proud of you, Kylan. I know she is, I am, too. I'm so proud of you, she gambled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, kissing the side of his cheek softly.

Kylan looked at the flowers, tears in his eyes. "Thank you, Katrina. For being here, I mean." He sounded so small. So uncertain.

She hugged him to her gently, her hand brushing through his hair. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Kylan," she murmured.

She stayed like that for a long time, the sun nearly disappearing behind the grey clouds that hung in the sky. She held Kylan, and he held her. Neither of them spoke, neither of them needed to. -0-0-0-

"Breckenridge, Colorado?" She eyed her boarding pass curiously, following Kylan after he finished checking in her bags

"Breckenridge," Kylan echoed, wrapping an arm around her waist, and pulling her against him. He seemed to want to be touching her in some capacity, ever since leaving the graveyard. Something had undeniably shifted between them in those quiet moments she shared in his grief. She felt closer to him. She felt like she knew him

so much more now.

"How long of a flight is that?" she asked nervously, pulling out her ID so she could walk through security.

"Nearly four hours. I'll be right next to you" Kylan assured her, rubbing circles into her lower back.

"You challenged yourself today. Now it's my turn," she responded confidently, lifting her head a bit higher on her shoulders.

Kylan chuckled at her, the sound low and almost affectionate. "Okay, darling Okay" He surprised her by kissing her cheek, and she smiled at him.

-0-0-0-

The flight to Breckenridge was long, but she wasn't nearly as anxious as she would have been, had it not been for Kylan's steady presence and his hands on her the entire journey

She was shocked when they landed and it was a near blizzard outside, suddenly understanding why Kylan had her pack the winner g

She shivered against the cold as they made their way off the plane, thankful yet again th Kylan's warmth was beside her

Kylan know where he was going it seemed, and she followed him first to baggage claim, and then to rent a car

An hour later, she was piling into a white Escalade, strapping her seatbelt on, and turning the heat up full blast grar she did.

"Get comfortable, we have a bit of a drive," Kylan informed her, clicking his own seat belt in place and turning on her seat warmer for her, just as he always did.

"You got it. Sir." she teased him, reaching across the or

center console and resting her hand along his leg

She plugged her phone into the car with the coed she brought along, choosing the classical playlist Kylan always enjoyed listening to during long

She settled in her seat just as Kylan instructed, her eyes on his face while he drove them to their secret destination.

He was beautiful in the moonlight, and she felt so. So hucky, to be with him. To get to love him. Because she did. She really did. She loved the hell out of him. She just didn't know how to tell him. She didn't want to scare him away with the depths of her feelings She must have fallen asleep at some point, because she felt a hand on her face, so soft she almost wondered if she were imagining it

sciousness.

"We're here, Katrina," Kylan's low, conforting voice, called her back on conse

Stuntered hei

1 eyes open, yawning as she did. "Mom, where's here?" she mumbled, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes.

"See for herself" was Kylan's only reply. He opened his door and stepped out, the distinct sound of snow crunching beneath his boots filling her

She blinked a few more times, attempting to gather her bearings. She climbed out of the car, stumbling a uneven, snow-laced ground. Kylan was at the trunk now, removing their suitcases.

bit her feer worked to

o adjust to the

A light caught her attention, and she turned around, her mouth falling open,

There was no way. No way Kylan brought her somewhere like this.

"Kylan." She couldn't speak. Couldn't think,

She was overwhelmed with love, with warmth, despite the frigid mountain air around her.

There, in front of her, was a cabin. A cabin covered in snow. A cabin situated in the mountains, surrounded by a sea of trees and the backdrop of a twinkling, night sky.

It looked so much like the painting that hung in her dining room.

Except this was real life, and it was perfect.

Kylan brought her here. Kylan planned this for her

The world fell away from her, and the only thing she could see, was Rylan moving toward the cabin, luggage in hand.

Katrina realized then, that she never wanted to see anyone else by her side. She never wanted to see anyone else carrying her luggage, or comforting her on a plane. She never wanted anyone else to hold her when she was sad, or to bugh with her when she was happy.

was wh

Kylan was who she wanted. Kylan was who she dreamed of as a little girl, alone in her bed, sad and distressed after her mother left her. Kylan was her haven. Her reprieve from the world.

"I love you, Kylan Ross" The words left her mouth before she had an opportunity to filter herself. Her eyes widened, her entire body going rigid.

Kylan stopped a few feet away from the door of the cabin, his back to her.

"1. Shit, um. I wasn't exactly supposed to tell you like. Like that. But um you know, it's t-true. I love you. I'm in love with you. You're You're everything to me. Now that she started talking, the words wouldn't stop falling from her lips. Her heart was an absolute disaster in her chest, her mind racing in time with it.

"You don't need to say anything. I don't. I don't want you to say anything, just because I did. I know this is a. A big step. So just... Let's go inside. okay?" She walked over to him quickly, avoiding his gaze while she waited for him to open the door.

He was staring at her. She could feel it. She could sense it, more than anything else.

"Katrina.." he started quietly. She couldn't decipher the tone of his voice, and she was still far too terrified to look at him

"I'm freezing, Kylan. Can we please go inside?" Her voice was too high-patched to be casual, but she was a dam wreck.

"Yeah, okay." Kylan unlocked the door of the cabin, pushing it open and replaceing a light switch to turn on

It was cozy, she noted. An open floor plan with a living room, kitchen, and dining room all situated right in front of her. A bathroom was located off to the left, down a small hallway. Her eyes drifted to a set of winding, wooden steps that led to an upstairs lott, where she was certain a bed was

It was exactly what she was hoping it would be. Small, quaint, intimate. Only now, she wanted to run away. To disappear into the forest and let nature have its way with her.

She still couldn't look at Kylan while she untied her boots and sat them near the front door.

Chapter 95

"The kitchen is fully stocked. I can start a fire in the fireplace and if you want, you can take a shower" Kylan's voice was cautious, on guard, and she wanted to slap herself.

She couldn't believe she slipped up, after months of being so careful not to.

"I do that" She flashed Kylan a quick smile, not actually looking at him. She hauled her suitcase upstairs, turned on a light, and took in the lot.

A king-sized bed paired with a few fluffy quilts, no end tables, a dresser, and a TV fixed to the wall, took up the majority of the space. A small chair sat in the corner near a large window that overlooked the forest below. It was snowing a bit outside, flakes of white passing by in wisps that should have been comforting.

She was grateful there was also a bathroom upstairs, not quite ready to go and face Kylan again. She turned on a bedside lamp, setting her suitcase on top of the quilts, and opening it to replace her pajamas.

Twenty minutes later, she was sufficiently clean and wearing a sweater and a pair of Kylan's swearpants that she stole. Her hair was tied up in a wer bun and she pulled on a pair of slippers, feeling slightly more grounded.

She couldn't hide away from Kylan forever. She was going to be here for a week, after all. She needed to face him at some point and really, the only thing she could do was own what she said.

There was nothing to be ashamed of, she decided.

So, she loved Kylan. So, he now knew she loved him. So what?

She squared her shoulders and made her way down the steep staircase; her senses being overtaken by the delicious smell of the dinner Kylan was crafting

"Curry!" she inquired, resting against one of the countertops near him.

"Curry," Kylan confirmed, brushing by her, and grabbing hold of an ingredient he needed.

"Can I help with anything?" she asked him, hating the layer of awkwardness that existed between them right now.

"You can set out the wine and glasses if you want," Kylan instructed, turning back to the stove,

"Alright," she sighed, doing as she was told and replaceing the wine on the counter and the two glasses next

to it.

Fifteen minutes later, they were eating in silence, Katrina on one end of the table, and Kylan on the other.

Flames crackled in the fireplace, snow fell outside, and the quiet sounds of chewing and silverware were the only things she heard.

She hated this. She hated that she opened her mouch and scared Kylan at the very beginning of her damn romantic getaway

"I'm sorry, Kylan. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable" She couldn't stand it anymore. The silence. The tension.

Kylan set down his fork and made to wipe his face with his napkin, his brow furrowed in contemplation. "You didn't.. You didn't make me uncomfortable," he began slowly. "I wasn't expecting you to say what you did, but I'm not. It wasn't." He groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose between two of his fingers. "I've never done this before," he muttered so quietly; she barely heard him She laughed without any humor, setting her own silverware down. "I haven't either, believe me, she admitted, a quiver in her voice.

Kylän met her gaze, and she couldn't read him. She couldn't understand the emotion, the intensity behind his eyes. It was overwhelming, though So overwhelming, she had to fight not to look away

"Katrina." He sounded strained, almost like he was in pain

"Don't, Kylan. Christ, please, don't. You don't need to say a single word." She stood from the table, her cheeks flushing warm, her eyes looking anywhere but at Kylan. She gathered up her dishes, and his, carrying them over to the sink and setting to work on washing them. thought it would be, not having paid h

"Katrina. I'm shit with this stuff. You're much. You're better at this" kylan's quiet voice was closer than she the footsteps any mind while she tried to distract herself.

"Kylan, please." She scrubbed at the plate in her hands with far too much vigor, her heart a Bloundering mess as it

"I've already said it."

She stilled instantly, the sponge falling from her hands and into the water below.

"I said it. Back in January. Back.. The first night we were intimate since Ireland"

en as she felt Kylan's presence right behind her,

She didn't turn around, not even as

descended into her stomach.

"You were asleep, and the words just Came out. But I said them. I Shit, I meant them. I've meant them for longer than that."

She stared out at the snow, watching it waft to the ground almost in slow motion

It hadn't been a dream... He... Kylan... He said he loved her first. Two and a half months