Broken (The Broken Series Book 1) (15 page)

I borrowed a midnight blue dress from Lauren. I wore kitten heels with it so the dress didn’t look too short.

Lauren had told me to be ready by seven, so I still had half an hour to kill. I decided to go back to Jack’s apartments to see if he was still awake and tell him about the ball. I didn’t just want to disappear and not tell him I was going out in case he needed something.
 

He hadn’t needed me after hours since I started working here, so my inner voice nagged at me that I was just making up an excuse to go and see him. My inner voice was probably right.
 

I walked into Jack’s sitting room, but there was no sign of him and the bedroom door was closed, so I thought he must have already gone to sleep.
 

I didn’t leave straight away. I headed towards his computer table, where on the corner of the desk, he had a set of three photographs. In one of them, he was wearing black tie, and he looked unbelievably handsome. Beside him was his nasty ex-girlfriend, Joanna.
 

Jack was looking into the camera full of life and hope, and his eyes were devoid of the sadness that seemed to haunt him these days.
 

“Hey.”
 

Jack’s voice behind me made me turn.
 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you. I just thought I’d come back and check that you don’t need anything…”
 

My voice trailed away.
 

Oh. My. God. He was bare-chested and only wearing sweat pants that hung extremely low on his narrow hips.
 

He was leaning on a single crutch. His biceps flexed as he shifted position.
 

My eyes traveled slowly down to his muscular chest, then further down to his taught abs that led into a ‘V’ and lower … I quickly averted my eyes.
 

What was wrong with me? Honestly, anyone would think I was a sex-starved nymphomaniac.
 

“You look nice,” he said.

It was on the tip of my tongue to reply and say if I looked nice, he looked hotter than hell. Thankfully, I managed to control myself just in time.

“Lauren has invited me to the Monte Carlo dinner dance tonight. It’s at one of the hotels… I forget which one. Do you want to come?” I blurted the last part out before I could stop myself.
 

Jack shook his head. “And be the toast of the gossip queens? No, thanks. Anyway, Brian’s coming back for a session. He’s got some kettle bells or some other instrument of torture. He thinks it will give me a whole body workout… so there’s something to look forward to.” He grinned and rubbed a hand over his face.

As he lifted his arm, his sweat pants slipped a little lower. It would be so easy to walk up to him slowly, pull down the waistband of his pants and curl my hand around…

God. I had to get out of here.

Jack didn’t seem to notice the images my dirty mind was conjuring up.
 

“Think of me while you’re having fun,” he said.
   

“I can stick around, if you’d like? I don’t have to go,” I said a little too eagerly.
 

“Oh, no, you’ll like it, I think.” He pointed to one of the pictures behind me. “That was taken at the dinner dance last year. It’s quite a spectacle. Everybody is out in their finest clothes. It gets boring after the first few times, but I think you’ll like seeing it for the first time.”
 

There was a rap at the door and Brian entered.
 

“Okay, buddy, are you ready for a torture session.” He held up two large kettle bells.
 

“They look like they weigh a ton,” I said.

I hovered around the kitchen area as Brian took Jack through the steps of the new workout.
 

I watched closely as he gripped the kettle bells. The muscles in his arms flexed as he lifted them up higher towards his chest. After a short time, his chest was covered in a vague sheen of sweat and I was focused on him intently … too intently.
 

Brian grinned at me. “He’s doing brilliantly, don’t you think, Kristina?”
 

“Huh?” I said distracted and looked at Brian. “Oh, yeah, he’s doing great.”
 

There was a knock at the door, and it made me jump. Who could it be at this time? Maria would have gone home by now. I pulled open the door to see Lauren.

She looked at me with her mouth gaping open. “What are you doing? The car is waiting for us.”

“God, sorry. I didn’t realize the time.”

Lauren looked stunning. She was wearing a full length burgundy evening gown that complimented her creamy skin, and she was wearing a beautiful gold chain. It was simple but it set the outfit off to perfection. Her hair was neatly curled, just brushing her shoulders, and was fastened at the side with a little Diamanté clip. I had never seen Lauren looking so sophisticated.
 

“You look amazing,” I said.

“All right, no need to sweet talk me.” She grabbed my arm. “I’m not mad, but we’d better get a move on.”
 

“Oh, I’d think I better stay.” I pointed behind me, gesturing at Jack.
 

Lauren pouted.
 

Jack shook his head. “No, go and have fun. You don’t want to be around me all the time. You need a break, have some fun. You don’t want to be around a misery like me forever.”

That’s exactly what I do want, I thought, but I said nothing.
 

“Okay, we’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Lauren said as she pulled me out of the room.

Jack

I focused on the burn in my muscle, grateful for the lactic acid buildup and the pain that accompanied it, bringing me back to the present.
 

I tried to concentrate, but my mind was still full of Kristina. I couldn’t shake it.
 

She always looked gorgeous, but tonight, seeing her dressed up like that… I felt odd inside.

I didn’t want anybody else to see her like that.
 

I’d been to hundreds of these stupid events and even before the accident I wouldn’t have wanted to go, but when Kristina asked me tonight, I wanted to be at her side.
 

“Hey buddy,” Brian said and took the kettlebell from me. “I think that’s enough with that one.”
 

As we moved on to the next exercise, I grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from my face.
 

She was here to do a job. I knew that. She was paid to be here. So why was it that whenever she wasn’t around, I felt hollow inside?
 

I clenched my teeth and grabbed the next kettlebell working my muscles until they were exhausted. It felt good to work out my frustrations.

“She looked great tonight,” Brian said. “She scrubs up well, doesn’t she?”

“Who?” I said, feigning ignorance.

Brian grinned. “Kristina of course.”

“Can’t say I noticed,” I said, grunting with effort as I lifted the kettlebell.
 

Brian shook his head. “Okay, whatever you say, buddy.”
 

If Brian had noticed, I must be pretty transparent. I would need to be more careful and guarded around Kristina.
 

I’d hate to feel that I made her uncomfortable around me. I didn’t know much about her past because she had never wanted to talk about it, but I did know that her family were not wealthy.

I didn’t want her to feel like I was harassing her, and I sure as hell didn’t want her to feel like she had to placate me.

I just needed to get my head straight. It was obviously some kind of post-accident psychological bullshit that I was going through. I’d formed some sort of attachment to Kristina because she’s the person around me all the time and because she’s the one that’s helped me.
 

Yeah, that makes sense. I’d just formed an attachment. All I had to do was distance myself from her and remind myself that she was not interested in me.
 

After Brian packed up and left me, I still felt full of unused energy despite the fact the kettle bell workout had kicked my ass.

I couldn’t go to sleep yet. My mind was still buzzing. I switched on the TV and turned on an old Formula One race. It was in Spa, Belgium, one of my favorite circuits. I followed the car imagining myself inside, downshifting when the car reached a bend, focusing on the different braking distances for the corners.
 

This always relaxed me. It always had done ever since I was a boy. But it wasn’t working this time. I couldn’t concentrate.

God damn it. I threw the remote on the couch. What the hell had she done to me?

Kristina

The dinner dance was held in one of Monaco’s swankiest hotels in the center of Monte Carlo’s Casino Square.
 

We traveled in Alexander’s black Bentley. Lauren and I were here as his guests, which was fortunate as I had no idea what the ticket price was tonight, but I was pretty sure I couldn’t afford it.
 

It was out of this world. I’d never seen anything like it before. The front of the hotel was bustling with bell boys and valet attendants to park the guests’ cars. After our Bentley pulled to a stop, Alexander waved away the parking attendant. He didn’t need the car parked - the chauffeur would take care of it.

A member of the hotel staff opened the door for me and I climbed out, carefully adjusting my dress, as a hundred flashes of light exploded around me.
 

“Paparazzi,” I heard Lauren laugh behind me. “They must need their eyes tested if they thing we’re famous!”

Lauren followed me out of the car. She was a little shaky on her high heels, as she usually chose comfort over heels. She was far happier in her clumpy work boots she wore for gardening. She’d put on a pair of silver, strappy sandals for this evening, and I could tell she was already feeling them pinch. I was more comfortable in heels. I’d always loved them. They made me feel confident.

We had to pose for the cameras with Alexander at the entrance to the hotel, which made me feel ridiculous. Surely it was quite obvious I wasn’t anyone important. I guessed it was Alexander they wanted. A couple of the paps called out to him by name, asking him to smile for the camera. I almost laughed. I could count on one hand the number of times I’d seen Alexander smile. He really was so different to Jack.

Thinking of Jack’s smile gave me an empty feeling inside. I would much prefer to be back at the house with him now.

Alexander decided he’d given the paps enough photos, and put his hand on the small of Lauren’s back as he led us to the overwhelming entrance. It was gilded in gold and the glass around the entrance looked antique and old-worldly. I felt like I was stepping back in time. I’d read a little on the history of Monaco before I’d arrived and I was fascinated by the fact that the Grimaldi family had ruled this tiny country since 1297. And the prince was supposed to be here tonight. I couldn’t quite get my head around the history of the place. 1297 was just so long ago. I couldn’t imagine being able to trace my family history back that far.

We headed to the main reception area for the function — a large ballroom where drinks were being served and people were gathered in small groups chatting away. Once Alexander had made sure we had drinks, he apologized and told us there were a number of people he needed to talk to before the dinner. He was here for business, so we would have to entertain ourselves this evening.
 

Lauren looked more than a little disappointed.
 

We stood around feeling a little out of our depth for a while. I grabbed another flute of champagne as a waiter waltzed by with a silver tray full of drinks. I needed to settle my nerves.

Lauren frowned. “Don’t drink too much. I don’t think this is the type of place…” Lauren’s voice trailed away as we entered the banquet hall, and I literally gasped.

The lighting in the huge room was soft and subtle. Dozens of tiny little fairy lights were intertwined with green-leafed vines, which wrapped around the marble pillars. It almost made it seem like we were outside.

We were supposed to be sitting on a table with Alexander, but nobody had headed to the tables yet. Everybody was gossiping and catching up.
 

As Lauren and I passed a middle-aged woman, stuffed into a bright orange evening gown, we heard her telling her companion that the dress was couture. I dreaded to think how much it had cost. It wouldn’t be so bad if the dress wasn’t so f-ugly. Honestly, did people have nothing better to do with their money? I could think of a dozen things I’d prefer to spend my money on.
 

But there were also some beautiful dresses worn by women who flitted around from one group of people to another. They looked like models. Tall and elegant, they dwarfed me and Lauren.
 

I suddenly felt very inadequate, but I tried to shake that feeling off. I was just as good as they were.