crushing Brett. He rolled to his side before sitting up and tossing the condom in the trash. He had attacked Brett like a crazy man, and his heart still wasn’t appeased, but he finally took a second to look at his surroundings. There were a few candles flickering beside a bouquet of roses. An unopened bottle of wine sat nearby. Roman blinked at the sight.
“Is that for me?”
Brett sat up and kissed his shoulder. “Yes. I brought you something else too.” Brett sounded nervous. He had Roman’s attention. Brett pushed to his feet and hobbled around the room, finding a towel to wipe away the mess on his stomach before trying to dress. Roman didn’t like that. He wanted Brett nude. Thankfully, Brett only covered his body in the bare minimum of clothing. A pair of workout shorts and nothing else. He grabbed something from the table and motioned for Roman to follow him. “You might want to cover up a little so we don’t get thrown out of here.”
With a sigh, Roman pulled the sheet from the bed and wrapped it around his body like a toga. Brett’s bright smile made his ridiculous choice worthwhile.
Brett limped for the door. “These past few weeks, I’ve been thinking about something you said.” He opened the door. “You said there was no such thing as a modern-day fairytale anymore. I can’t let you think that’s true.” Brett shifted nervously as Roman came to stand at his side. He passed a thick piece of plastic Roman’s way. It took Roman a second to figure out it was a keyfob. Roman pressed the button. The lights flashed on a new-looking Land Rover. Confusion had Roman’s gaze turning Brett’s way. Brett bit his bottom lip, looking like he questioned his entire life.
Brett motioned toward the SUV. “It’s yours. I brought the title with me, already signed over to you and everything.”
Roman tried handing the keyfob back. “You can’t give me a car.”
Brett shook his head, refusing the keys. “It’s yours,” he repeated, sounding firm. “I bought it for you. The last thing I need is another car.”
Roman stared at the keys. He didn’t know what to do. This was unfamiliar territory. “I’m not for sale.” The words burst from him before he could think things through. It was too late. “I know it must seem that way, especially now that you’ve seen me at work, but you can’t buy me.”
Brett’s expression closed, making Roman’s chest ache. In a flash, Brett snatched the keyfob from Roman’s hand and headed back inside. Without a word and while limping more than he had been, Brett dragged out his suitcase and started tossing things inside. In the middle of grabbing his stuff, he blew out the candles and moved on.
“What are you doing?” Even Roman heard the tightness in his voice.
Brett didn’t look his way. “I didn’t intend to have to drive another nine hundred miles back home. I guess I’d better get started now, since that seems to be the case. It’s a good thing I didn’t take any pain meds in anticipation of seeing you. Otherwise, I’d be stuck here with someone who thinks the worst of me.”
A hint of shock wore off, allowing a few truths to sink in. Brett had driven nine hundred miles to give Roman a car. He might have been wrong about Brett’s intentions. “I don’t think the worst of you.”
Brett snorted, but he didn’t say anything else. He headed for the bathroom and flipped on the lights. Brett worked on repacking his toiletries. “You know, I’ve been doing next to nothing for the past month, trying to get better so I can come here and sweep you off your feet. When you never called, I guess I should’ve taken the hint. Still, you played me. I really thought with all your sweet talk and trying to get to know me, that you really were looking for a relationship with me. Pretty stupid, huh? That’s me in a nutshell, though. I hung around in the background for Wrecker for years. He’s by no means the first. I must have some invisible sign that says I’m stupid or something. For fuck’s sake. Why do I have so much stuff?”
Roman closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Brett, trying to hold him together. Brett looked half a second away from totally coming unglued. “You’re not stupid. I am.” Roman tightened his grip as he felt everything slipping away. For five minutes,