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Stop holding your breath. That’s not going to stop anything except the flow of oxygen your body desperately needs.

I forced a slow inhale and exhale. “You have an arranged marriage with a powerful princess who commands an army and wants to perm your hair?”

He screwed up his face and then smirked. “No.”

“You fathered five kids with three different married women whose husbands are working together to go after you?”

Amusement gleamed in his eyes as he considered me, probably wondering what happened to my brain. “You have an incredible imagination. That sounds like an exciting life, but not for me. No to that question.”

He pulled out a drawer from the counter and showed me a tray of fancy knives. He held up a knife, and it gleamed in the light.

“Like a knife, medicine can heal or hurt people. Though I’m a doctor who heals, I don’t have a problem hurting those who deserve it.” His tone was even and cool, reminding me of a calm ocean on a lovely day, but beneath the surface was a strong whirlpool of emotion threatening to surge.

When he shifted the knife around, it caught a reflection of his face. He was the blade, and the blade was him. We made our own choices.

His words cut into my skin, but not in a painful way. They were raw and real, and made me realize something about myself. I gripped the smooth handle of a small knife and examined it. Certain circumstances called for certain actions that no one else had the right to judge.

I looked at him. “I can’t judge you for your decisions, Forrest, because I would have used this knife to save me and Olivia from that trauma. Sometimes, survival requires you to hurt another person.”

His eyes softened on me.

I stepped closer and tapped my knife to his. The blades clinked with a kiss—a tribute of acknowledgment, honor, and respect.

His eyes flickered with understanding, and a smile formed on his lips. “You’re a one-of-a-kind woman, Kiera.”

“Because you’re a one-of-a-kind man, Forrest.” I took both knives and placed them back into the tray.

“We’re made for each other.” Forrest swallowed, and my eyes went to the motion of his throat and the scar at the back of his neck that he’d acquired from the car accident.

“I need to show you something in Brazil. You’ll understand and see me in a different light. You can decide if I’m worth your affection.” His gaze intensified like a dark storm. “If you think you’re better off without me, I’ll let you go.”

I sucked in a breath. “I don’t like the sound of this, Forrest. You’re scaring me.”

He gripped my chin lightly. “Scaring you is never my intention. I just want to be honest with you. I want you to see me . . . and all my flaws. Isn’t that what a relationship is about? I’m not a perfect man, but I want to be one for you.”

His honesty did something to me, and I touched his face, caressing it as though it were a cold blade begging for warmth. The motion warmed me as well, and I hugged him to prevent myself from crying. Forrest was opening himself, letting me in, and here I was being skeptical.

“Everyone has flaws, Forrest. They’re what makes us different from the rest. I’ll take you as you are.”

“What I’ve learned in the past few days is that life is too short.” He gazed down at me, his eyes holding so much emotion. “I could lose those I care about in an instant. I don’t want it to be too late for us. So I need you to know the true Forrest Navarro.”

My previous relationships lacked communication and trust. I hadn’t trusted those men enough to let them in either. I’d safeguarded my heart because of a father who wasn’t there for me. That sense of abandonment and loss skewed my perception with men. But Forrest was changing all of that. He was the healing I needed.

Forrest had created this sense of security that I’d never experienced, and I welcomed whatever he had to show me because my past wasn’t unblemished either.

This heaviness surrounding us needed some joy, so I smiled and said, “Okay. I’m ready to see Brazil and unravel my mysterious man. May I shower first?”

“You may, but I’m joining.” He didn’t ask for permission.

“I’ll allow it since you have dark circles under your eyes.” I tapped the spots gently, wanting to erase them.

“After the shower, we’re hopping on a flight on Grayson’s plane. I’m going to feed you on the plane, and you can tell me exactly what happened to you before, during, and after the abduction. I want all the details of what you went through.”

My brain was tired just trying to see into his mind. I looped my arms around his neck and studied him. “How do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Manage it all. Your medical facility, the Ba7M5Bu88Project, the Holistic Farm, the alternative medicine development, and the video games with your boys. And these are just the major projects that I know of. I’m sure you have more. Seriously, how do you juggle them all, and make it seem so easy?”