Page 77 of The Promise

Shiny.

Pretty.

Old.

Or interesting.

Karine was overwhelmed by it all, and if it hadn’t been for Claire who didn’t leave her side every time she became distracted by yet another thing, she might have gotten lost in the maze of tables and tents. It was harder than she expected to contain her excitement and the nervousness that constantly bubbled through her between the things, the people, and everything else.

Each time she felt claustrophobic, she turned to Claire who gave her a reassuring smile. At the very least, it reminded her that she wasn’t alone.

They slowly made their way around the stalls, even though they took care not to speak to anyone unless absolutely necessary. The idea of conversations with strangers was enough to make Karine want to run the trip back to the lodge. Claire was as careful as Roman would have wanted her to be—never inviting questions from any of the people at the market, but not drawing attention by being rude, either.

“How are you feeling?”

Karine peered over at Claire, smiling around the sticky mess of maple syrup twisted around a popsicle stick. A treat they had picked up at a vendor near the entrance giving them away for free. “Honestly?”

“I expect nothing less.”

“Thank you for this, Claire. I’ve never ... done something like this. Just gone out, and—”

“Been normal?”

“Felt normal, maybe.”

Claire nodded, and then weaved an arm around hers with a bright smile. “I was looking forward to us spending some time together, away from the lodge and all. It didn’t hurt that a change of scene is nice for us both, although Masha didn’t seem very happy with this arrangement, did she?”

Karine sighed. “She’s not used to us being apart, I think. But if you ask me, we’ve probably spent too much time together. In very close quarters, for a very long time.”

Walking side by side, arm in arm, with her, Claire cleared her throat, asking only, “Do you think she’ll be with you forever, Karine—or better yet, do you want her to stay?”

Not that she wanted to admit it, but Karine had found herself considering that very question more often than not recently. It just wasn’t ... an easy conversation, considering the life she’d had and how big of a role Masha played. She was glad to be able to discuss it with someone else, even if it wasn’t comfortable to do so.

“I’m not sure,” Karine admitted. “There’s a big part of me that hopes she’d want to have her own life. One away from me. She’s spent so much time looking after me. Doesn’t she deserve to make a life for herself, too?”

“She may not look at it that way,” Claire responded in a murmur.

“Maybe not, but I would like her to. I don’t want to need her forever.”

“But what if what she wants is you?”

Karine hadn’t considered that.

What would it even mean?

Claire squeezed her hand encouragingly. “And you won’t always need her, sweetheart. Sometimes, it’s more about what we want, you know?”

She did, but she didn’t at the same time. All she wanted then was something—someone—that she couldn’t have. Karine couldn’t help but miss Roman. She wished she’d experienced the market with him. Hell, she would have been too distracted by his presence to even notice her own nerves. He just had that way about him.

As much as she wanted to ask him to come back to be with her again, she never did. The words always danced on the tip of her tongue when they spoke—threatening to blurt out every time their conversations started to come to an end, and she would have to hang up the phone.

But ...

She made a promise to herself that she wouldn’t say a thing. She didn’t want to put Roman in a situation where he felt torn between her, and what he needed to do to keep them safe. Besides, he asked for trust, and she was trying to do that. She would savour the moment she saw him again, instead.

Because she knew she would.

He wouldn’t let her down.