Roman (Raleigh Raptors #2) - Samantha Whiskey Page 0,39

me.

“Yeah. Fine. I just…I can’t stay here.”

“Okay, where do you want to go?” I asked.

“Oh. Um. I was just going to call an Uber and head home.”

I brushed the hair of her wig out of her eyes. “Then I’ll take you home.”

She flushed. “I don’t want you to have to leave. You should go back in. Have some fun.”

“You’re the only place I want to be tonight.” I jokingly cringed. “Plus, you have my car keys, since this doesn’t exactly have pockets.”

“Oh! Right. Are you sure?” She looked back at the exit door.

“More than. Let’s go home.”

She nodded, then tucked her hand in mine as we walked to my car.

The ride home might have gone down as the most tension-filled ride of my life. I knew she was struggling with Rick’s appearance, but it had also happened right after I’d pretty much admitted that I wanted her.

As usual, our timing was fucked.

What was I even thinking, telling her something like that? She was only four months out of a relationship that had lasted three and a half years. Nothing like fucking up your friendship by announcing a feeling that wasn’t even reciprocated.

“No trick-or-treaters?” she asked as the gate swung open before us.

“Country road. Gated entrance. Unlisted address.” I shrugged. “I miss seeing the kids walk up and down the street like they do where we grew up, but it’s the price you pay for privacy. If you want, we can head that way and help them hand out candy.”

She shook her head. “Not tonight.”

Annnnnd cue awkward. Again.

I parked the car in the garage, and we did the dance-around as we made our way in the house, each careful to give the other space.

“Hey boy,” I said to Walt, scratching between his ears as he raced to greet us. “I’m going to take him out.”

“I’m getting in the shower,” Teagan announced with a shaky smile and ran toward the guest room bathroom like her costume was on fire.

A shower wasn’t a bad idea since I was still covered in oil like I was about to climb into the ring for some old-school wrestling. I tried my best not to think about the fact that Teagan was naked at that very moment as I scrubbed myself clean. The bathroom mirrors were fogged up by the time I stepped out of the shower.

I wrapped a towel around my hips, then walked out of the bathroom to get dressed, rubbing another towel over my head.

Teagan stood in the middle of my bedroom, wearing only a robe.

“T?” I stopped dead in my tracks.

“You said you never go for the blondes because there’s only been one blonde you’ve ever wanted.” She fidgeted with the silk tie of her robe. Her hair was still wet from the shower, her heavy, Cleopatra-style makeup long gone.

“I did.” Shit. Why the fuck had I opened my mouth?

“Who is she?”

I blinked. “Sorry?”

“The only blonde you’ve ever wanted. Who is she?” She pressed her lips into a flat line.

“T…” This wasn’t just playing with fire. This was jumping into a fucking bonfire.

“Because I think I know,” she rushed. “But I don’t want to be wrong and then feel like a complete moron, especially since tonight is the first time I’ve felt sexy in…forever. So if I’m wrong, then I don’t want to ruin the way I feel right now.”

Could she hear my heart thunder? I could. The damn thing was as loud as a bass drum. I’d never been a chicken when it came to women. If I wanted someone, I told her, and generally we ended up in bed. But T wasn’t just someone.

“Roman?” Her eyebrows knit, and she was going to rip that tie clean through the little holders if she tugged on it anymore.

This was it. This was the moment I’d been avoiding…and longing for since I’d realized I was in love with her. The timing was wrong. The situation she’d just gotten herself out of was wrong. But it would be even worse if I let her walk out that door thinking I didn’t want her.

Crimson flushed from the deep-v of the robe and up her neck to stain her cheeks. “I mean, if I’m wrong, it’s okay. I know you usually go for the tall, leggy models who look like they’d fall over if you blew hard on them—”

“I go for anyone who doesn’t look like you.”

Her eyes flared as the words hung between us. “Why?” She finally whispered.

“You’re the only blonde I’ve ever wanted, and there’s