chest to cave with pain. I’ve gotten so accustomed to having Roman in my life that just the idea of not being with him makes me sick. It breaks my heart. If I wasn’t sure before, I am now. I am irrevocably in love with Roman Banks. Even when he’s being a stubborn asshole. I can picture us growing old together—or as old as my heart condition will allow me to live.
“I know, sweetheart. But what happens if he loses you?” she asks quietly, and just like that, the dam breaks. I fall apart in the kitchen, my mother catching me, before I crumple to the floor.
Despite my breakdown earlier, Thanksgiving dinner turns out a lot better than any of us imagined it would. We eat together, as one big family, and the looks on Roman’s and Ryder’s faces are ones I’ll remember for a long time.
Contentment.
Happiness.
I startle when I feel Roman’s hand wrap around the back of my neck, tugging me into him. I breathe in his scent, something clean and woodsy mixed with the faintest hint of leather. He stares down at me, those bright eyes vibrating with an intensity I feel all the way down to my soul.
“Thank you for today.” His voice is low and raspy, caressing my skin like a deep wave. With his free hand, he swipes his thumb across my brow, caressing me with a reverence that makes me want to tell him just how much he means to me.
“Don’t thank me. This was the best Thanksgiving I’ve had in a long time because of all of you. Did Ryder have fun?”
A soft smile pulls across his face. “He did. He likes your family. Thinks your mom is hilarious.”
I roll my eyes. “Oh, God. Don’t tell her that. That’s the last thing we need.”
“She means well.”
I raise my brows. “Does she, though?”
Rome sobers, the intensity in his gaze amping up a few notches. Those three words are on the tip of my tongue. For so long, the only four-letter word I allowed myself to say to this man was hate, but now, the other one is all I can seem to think about.
Sweeping his lips over mine, Roman kisses me softly, at first. It’s sweet and perfect, until he deepens the kiss, drawing a moan from me that vibrates from deep within my chest. When we break for air, both of us panting for a much-needed breath, the air between us is clogged with desire and thick with tension.
“Get your stuff.”
I frown. “What?”
“I’m not sleeping without you again. Deal with it.”
My heart flutters. “But my parents…”
“Are asleep.”
Trapping my bottom lip between my teeth, to stifle the grin that’s itching to spread across my face, I lock up the house and follow Rome home. He’s right. Two nights without him is long enough.
We have a lot of lost time to make up for.
“Case of the Ex (Whatcha Gonna Do)”—Mýa
I’m on my way out of the house, running a little behind for work, more so than usual. This morning, Roman conveniently fucked me into oblivion, before he showered and took Ryder to school. That’s generally what our schedules are like these days. We get up and get ready for work, he leaves to take Ryder to school, while I finish getting dressed, and then he heads to the automotive garage from there.
Only this morning, I seem to be moving in slow motion. It feels like every time I make it farther out the door, I forget something, whether that being my purse, keys, or cell phone. Whatever the hell it is, it’s slowing me down.
A quick glance at my phone screen has a groan tearing from my chest. “Fucking great,” I hiss, as I hurry toward my car. I’m throwing my purse and lunch onto the passenger seat, when I hear a voice from behind me that has me freezing in my tracks.
My shoulders tense, and my back goes ramrod straight. With my heart pounding wildly in my chest, I slowly turn around, facing the source of that voice. I take in the man standing before me, an odd, déjà vu-like sensation passing through me, as I stare at him.
“Reid?”
I’m surprised that, as I stand here, staring at my ex-fiancé, I don’t feel an ounce of regret. There isn’t a speck of longing inside me that makes me miss him. I feel nothing at all.
Reid stuffs his hands into his suit pockets, his gaze raking up and down my body, taking me in. Everything about