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Secrets, Part 8

Zach watched her over the rim of his glass. She was standing by the windows with a champagne glass in her hand. Her back was to the rest of the room. He had noticed the anxiety-ridden face she had worn almost the entire evening. At the rehearsal, she had been smiling, but it had been strained and forced. Sighing into his glass, he took another sip of the champagne and took a step towards his fiancée, until his father stopped him. "Yeah, dad?"

Zechs shook his head. "You look worried. Any reason?"

"You noticed?"

"You have that look your mother gets. She doesn't realize she does it either."

Zach sighed again and looked over at Quatrina. "I'm a little worried about her."

Zechs turned his head and regarded his future daughter in law with the same ice blue eyes as his son. He took note of the waiter handing her another glass of champagne and taking away the empty one. He arched a brow and returned his eyes to his son. "Her drinking?"

Shaking his dark head, he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "You could say that. She's been tense the entire dinner. I don't know what it is. She says there's nothing wrong, that its just wedding nerves, but I feel like it's more than that."

"She was fine at the rehearsal."

"She was covering up at the rehearsal. That smile of hers was not a true one. There's something bothering her and I can't get her to tell me."

Zechs arched the other brow at his son's obvious frustration. "Well, it's natural for the bride to be a little preoccupied the night before. Kellie was a little distracted at her rehearsal and dinner."

"Yeah, but she wasn't uptight about it. She looked a little stressed, but not freaked out like Quat is."

Zechs looked over at Quatrina again. She was drinking the alcohol pretty fast. It did seem out of character for her, but according to some, she could drink with the best of them. "You think you're overreacting because you're nervous?"

Zach was also looking at his future wife. "I am a little nervous, but I'm sure I'm not overreacting."

Zechs sighed. "You one hundred percent sure?"

"Yes."

Shaking his silvery blond head, he let out another sigh. "I think we all say that, and it's always a lie." His eyes were still centered on Quatrina, when his nephew came to stand beside her. He took note of the hand that came to rest between the woman's shoulder blades and the way the dark head bent closer to hers. There was a look of tender concern on his face. He looked at his son out of the corner of his eye. He was watching too. "Dominic seemed to beat you to the punch."

Zach's mouth twitched. "That bothers me too."

"So, you noticed how he's been spending a lot of time around her lately. You hadn't said anything about it."

He ran a frustrated hand through his midnight hair. "I don't know why, but it does bother me, but I'm not jealous."

Zechs snorted. "You sound like you are. He's your cousin."

"And her ex boyfriend…who I asked permission to date her in the first place."

"He's dating Morgan Valenti, isn't he?"

"Yes, but didn't mean he would stop caring about his "Kit."

"You are jealous."

Zach gave his father a slight glare. "I'm not," he sighed, bending his head forwards and swirling the contents of his glass. "Well, not a lot anyway. Before I asked Quat out, I asked his permission. I knew how he felt about her…I didn't want to create a problem. So, I asked him if it was all right with him and he said yes. Yet at the same time, I had a feeling that part of him didn't want to. However, I knew he still carried some feelings for her. And even now, even though he has Morgan, part of him still loves her."

"And you don't like it?"

He rubbed the back of his neck again. "I don't know…maybe it is the nerves getting to me. It's just he's been spending quite a bit of time with her…hell, I sound like an idiot," he muttered as he took a mouthful of the champagne.

Zechs rolled his eyes and took a sip of his own glass. He let his gaze wander over to Dominic and Quatrina again. The consoling hand was still there on her back, moving in slow circles, and the dark head was still bent over hers.

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"You're drinking that way too fast."

"I'm fine."

"That's a lie."

Quatrina glared at him. "I'm all right."

Dominic was unfazed by her look. "Are you sure?"

Her head fell forwards. "No. I'm not. I'm a mess."

He rubbed his hand in a slow circle on her back. "You want to talk about it?"

She glanced into the Prussian blue eyes. "I just…I couldn't…I…Dammit, I don't know. And now it's too late. I couldn't keep my promise to you. And tomorrow…" she trailed off and took a large gulp of champagne, finishing off the glass before speaking again, "more than tomorrow, it's tomorrow…night."

Dominic took the glass from her hand and handed it to a passing waiter, while keeping his eyes on her. "Kit, I only asked you to try, I didn't say you had to, but it would've been in your best interest. However, don't you think he could tell if uh…something was um…missing about…you?" A faint flush filled his face.

Heat filled hers. "I don't know…he could…but sometimes guys can't…right?" Her eyes turned towards his.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Sometimes."

"So…I could get away with it…right?"

"You could…but the question is…do you want to? Do you want to start your marriage out on a lie?"

"It wouldn't be lying."

He put his glass down on the nearby table and took her by the shoulders. "It would be. I know you're afraid of telling him and I know that thinking about tomorrow night isn't helping, but how are you going to handle it? Have you even thought of that?"

The serious look on his face made her eyes fall away from his. "These past few nights, I've been thinking of the same thing. I tried to tell him again, but as soon as I think of it…the memories are too strong and every night this week they've been playing like an obscene recording in my head. They won't go away, Dominic."

Biting his lip, he glanced around the room before grabbing her hand and leading her to the atrium. He shut the door behind him. He led her over to a bench and pulled her down beside him. "How come you haven't told me before? Has it just been this week?"

She shook her head. "No. It's been a couple of months. Although this week…has been the only time they've played in my head every night. And it just makes me feel so…all I can remember is his touch…" Quatrina squeezed her eyes shut. "How am I going to get through?"

Enfolding his arms around her, he kissed the top of her head. He didn't know what to tell her or even what to say to her to make her feel better. It was like the therapy she went through, hadn't even happened, but at the same time, she was huddled in his arms. "Are you afraid of Zach hurting you or touching you?"

"No," she replied, her voice muffled by his jacket.

"Does the idea of having sex…scare you?"

"I don't know…I don't think so. I think it's the…memories."

"Are you afraid of me?"'

She lifted her head away from his shoulder and looked up at him. There was a solemn look on his face. "No…Dominic…Why would I be afraid of you?"

His knuckles brushed against her cheek. "Humor me, Kit."

Blinking her eyes, she stared at him. "I was never afraid of you. I'm not afraid of you. I have no reason to be."

"Even if I was the one you were going to marry? Would you be able to answer that the same way?"

A more puzzled look crossed her face. "Dominic…I…"

"Kit, you're not terrified of me because I'm just not a threat. If I were marrying you, I would be. Since it would require you to be intimate with me and since I'm not, you don't see me that way. I would never want you to be frightened of me…just like Zach wouldn't want you to be of him."

There was a pained look in his eyes. Her heart twisted. "I'm not afraid of intimacy."

A rueful smile touched his lips. "It is."

"No, it's not," she said, shaking her head.

Another sad smile crossed his lips at her denial. "It is because you let your memories get the better of you. You're afraid if you let someone that close to you, that they'll hurt you like he did. No one is going to, let alone my cousin. He loves you very much. He will never ever hurt you. I've never seen him act the way he does with you with other girls. You're going to be loved and protected by him."

Tears filled her eyes. "But my secret…my flashbacks…"

He lifted both her hands from her lap and kissed the back of each one. "You'll find a way. I know you can…I have faith in you. You'll be all right. I know you will be. Trust me."

"I…"

"Kit, you'll be ok. He'll understand. He loves you too much not to. Have faith in Zach."

The Prussian blue eyes gazed deeply into hers. Tears trickled from the corners of her eyes. "Dominic…"

He shook his head, sending his messy bangs across his forehead. Part of him wanted to pull her into his arms and keep on reassuring her that everything would be ok. The other part of him still wanted to comfort her, but he wanted to kiss her and make her pain go away. And she was marrying his cousin. And he loved Morgan. It was hard to see her like this and not want to do something about it. It was just too hard. Feelings for her would always run deep. He pressed his lips against her forehead. "Kit, just take my word for it. Now…I want you to dry your eyes and go back out into the other room. You're going to be a bride tomorrow. It wouldn't do for you to be a jumbled mess, now would it? You've come too far to go back now."

Quatrina leaned away from him and searched his eyes. There was so much emotion in his eyes. She swallowed and nodded her head, as she whisked the tear trails away before she stood. Knowing that no words were needed, she pressed her lips against his forehead and walked away.

Dominic listened to the sound of her heels striking the floor. He remained where he was for a moment as he got his emotions under control. Standing, he straightened his tie, and finally left the silence of the atrium.

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Later that night…

Dominic walked quietly down the stairs towards the kitchen. He couldn't sleep. He kept on tossing and turning, and kept waking up Morgan. She finally told him to go get a glass of milk to help him sleep. Sighing, he raked a hand through his naturally messy hair as he walked into the kitchen. His eyes widened when he found his cousin standing in the light of the fridge. "Zach, what are you doing up?"

Zach looked over his shoulder at him. "Couldn't sleep and besides, there's cake in the house." He pulled out the remnants of the cake from the party and set it on the island. "Why are you up?"

He rubbed the back of his neck before switching on the lights over the island. They gave off a warm glow. "I couldn't sleep either. Morgan told me to get a glass of milk to help me sleep before she rolled over and went back to sleep. Again."

Arching a brow over one of his icy blue eyes, he gave a slight chuckle. "She does know what she's talking about. It does help. Why can't you sleep?" he asked as he cut a slice of the chocolate and vanilla marble cake. He pushed the plate towards Dominic before cutting himself a slice.

Prussian blue eyes fell away from the directness of the ice blue in front of him. He shrugged. "No reason. Just can't." "I can't say that I'm worried about Kit and that's the reason I'm awake." "And why can't you sleep?"

Zach eyed his cousin for a moment before taking a bite of the sugary confection on his plate. "I guess you could say nerves."

"Getting married I think every guy gets a bad case of nerves. We're giving up bachelorhood."

"In a way, yes, but at the same time…. it's a bit of excitement too. As I recall, David freaked out when he finally realized he was getting married. Chris just paced back and forth, talking to himself. Jonathon was the calmest of them all."

"He was probably hiding it better."

"Probably. But, I think he took to the idea better then his brothers did. I don't think he saw a reason to go nuts."

Dominic laughed after he swallowed his mouthful of cake. "That sounds like him. However, you don't seem to be in that big of a panic."

Zach's fork paused halfway towards his mouth. He set it down again. "I'm getting the woman of my dreams. I might be a little anxious about tomorrow, but that's about it. How would you handle marrying the woman of your dreams?" he asked, leaning on the counter and giving his cousin a level look.

He blinked once. "Actually, I don't know. I think I would be happy about it."

"Would it depend on the woman?"

Dominic gave his cousin a level look as well. "Yes. She would have to be special."

Zach knew that his cousin wasn't telling him something. A Yuy was hard to crack, and to get them to divulge their secrets, one had to strike a sensitive issue with them. Which, in any Yuys' case, wasn't easy. They hid their weaknesses very well. He wanted to outright ask his cousin what he was talking to Quatrina about, and why they disappeared from the dinner for twenty minutes. However, he decided that tact was the best option, but he found that was hard too. "You would have to love her a lot, and she would have to love you in the same way."

Messy bangs fell over the younger man's forehead. His cousin was getting at something. He had a good idea on where this conversation was heading. However, he promised her. And himself. "Yes, she would. Morgan is that kind of special."

Arching both brows this time, he tapped his fork on the edge of the plate. "But there's been another special woman with you, hasn't there?"

"Not as special as she is," replied Dominic, his brows furrowing slightly.

"As I recall, you were in love with someone else before her."

"I might have been."

Zach frowned. He knew that Dominic was adroitly avoiding the goading questions. "Are you sure there was no one else?"

"Is there a point to this line of questioning? You know the answers to all the questions you're asking. You knew that the only other woman I loved was the woman that you're marrying."

"I want to know why you've been hanging around her so much."

"You sound jealous. There's no reason for you to be."

"I'm not jealous. I just want to know why you were hovering around her earlier."

"Kit needed someone to talk to."

"Why couldn't she talk to me?"

Dominic ground his teeth together. "Because."

Zach's eyes narrowed. "That's not an answer."

"She feels comfortable talking to me."

"And she doesn't with me?"

"Kit has a bad case of nerves about tomorrow. I don't think it would've helped much if you had talked to her."

"And she felt all right talking to you?"

Zach's pointed question made Dominic sigh. "Yes, she did."

"Do you still love her?"

Dark and light eyes met each other over the expanse of the counter. "Yes. Part of me does. But doesn't that first person you fall in love with, always remain with you?"

The raven-haired man didn't answer, but continued to stare at his cousin through narrowed eyes.

Dominic stared back. "But I am right. There's always someone else. Someone else that you loved at one point."

"Not when she's the woman I'm marrying."

"You're being stupid. I love Kit; she's very special to me. I can't help it if I feel that way. But I came to terms with losing her long ago. I have a girlfriend, whom I love very much. Morgan is everything to me. She took my heart a long time ago, but I can't help it if a part of my heart belongs to your wife to be."

"You should help it."

"Dammit, Zach, you're not listening. I may love her, but she loves you. Kit loves you very, very much. She wouldn't marry you if she didn't. And I know you love her. You love her even more than I did. If I thought you couldn't, I wouldn't of let you date her in the first place. I loved her enough to give her up. And she's happy. That's all I want for her and you're acting like some jealous idiot."

Ice blue eyes regarded the younger man in front of him. They remained narrowed. "If you loved her enough to let me have a chance at her, why are you spending so much time with her now? You're not telling me something."

Dominic's mouth tightened into a thin line. "I'm telling you everything."

"You're not. You know something I don't. Something she told you. What's bothering her? I have the right to know."

"I'm telling the truth."

"You're not. You're hiding something."

Frustrated and a little angry, the younger man finally braced his hands on the edge of the counter and leaned forwards. "You know what, I do know something. But I can't tell you. I promised her. I would very much like to tell you, but I don't have the right to. She trusted me enough to tell me, I'm not going to break it by telling you."

"Is it something I should know?"

Dominic kept a straight face and didn't blink. He didn't even answer.

Zach eyed his cousin while his fingers tapped on the countertop. The face in front of him was expressionless. "Damn you, Yuy. Your silence makes you guilty as hell."

"Are you sure about that?"

Giving the other man a once over again, he gave a snort. "I am."

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not."

Sighing, Zach ran his fingers through his hair and looked away. The sky outside the windows was clear and black. Stars glittered bright in the distance. "It's not anything bad, is it?"

Startled by the quietly asked question, Dominic's face regained its normal expression. He turned his head and looked out upon the night sky beyond the panes of glass. He felt like he should say something, but he had promised. And he always kept his word no matter what, but… "It's just something…she has to tell you when she's ready to. You know I can't tell you as much as I feel like you should know, but it's not my place to say."

"Is it?"

Hanging his head forwards, he looked at the tile splashed with the cool glow of the moon and warm flood of the lights overhead. "…Its something important…that's all I can tell you, Zach."

Letting out a long sigh, he turned his head to look at his cousin. The younger man seemed lost in thought, staring at the floor. There was a torn look on his face. "I'm sorry. I had no right to ask. And you're right, I am jealous because…because you've shared the same feelings towards Quat. She loved you like you loved her. And even I have to remember that a small part of someone else always remains behind. It's just…hell, I don't know. Now, I sound like an idiot."

His eyes remained on the floor. "No, you don't sound like an idiot. I guess you have the right to be concerned about how much time I've been spending with her. I think it's just been easier for her to talk to someone who wasn't part of those "nerves" she's been having."

"I never thought she would be the anxious type."

"She's not. Under normal circumstances. But then again, she's had a wedding to plan and tomorrow is the culmination of all those months of planning. Would you blame her for trying not to have an anxiety attack?"

"With Quat's record of being a perfectionist…I guess I couldn't. She gives Victoria a run for her money in that department," he replied as he took his last bite of cake. He let out another sigh before a slight smile touched his lips. "Is her dress as perfect as she's planned?"

Dominic looked up from the floor and thought of her wedding dress. He had been there when she had tried everything on. A faint smile touched his lips. "It's as perfect as they come. You wouldn't believe how beautiful she looks."

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Zach lay in bed fifteen minutes later, looking at the ceiling. He had his hands stacked under his head. "I hope Quat's getting a good night's sleep. Talking to Dominic earlier seemed to even calm my nerves," he said as he smiled before he rolled over and finally drifted off to sleep.

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Dominic stood at the glass doors in the family room, staring into the night. He took a sip of the milk from the glass in his hand. He had hated not telling his cousin the whole truth, but he had promised her he wouldn't say a word. He sighed. "Let's just hope everything that happens tomorrow goes without incident." He swirled the milk around in the glass. "And I hope she's sleeping all right tonight. I can only hope she's not having any nightmares."

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Violet eyes watched the clock's hour hand descend towards four. She had barely slept even though she had gone to bed at half past twelve. She turned over again, trying to find a comfortable position. She tried closing her eyes again, but all she saw was an image she didn't want to see. "Dammit, how am I going to get through tomorrow?"

A/N: Sorry, it took some time to get this out, but here it is for your reading pleasure. Stay tuned for more coming soon! XOXO!!