Roman (Raleigh Raptors #2) - Samantha Whiskey Page 0,75

crying.

A small relief pooled at the edges of my pain, knowing Roman was safe. Knowing I’d done what I could to protect him in the only way I knew how—which was to crush us both.

Me: It’s done. Leave him alone unless you’re protecting him on that field.

I typed the text to Rick, my eyes glistening with tears. I tucked my head against my pillow, breathing in Roman’s scent from the last time he’d slept over, and mourned the moment it would be washed clean.

I’d pulled out every doubt, and insecurity Roman had ever had about our relationship—about his inability to have children.

Heartless.

Cold.

Wench.

Rick: Smart girl.

I scowled at the return text and tossed my phone to the other side of the bed, burying my head in my pillow as I bawled and cringed and felt every inch of my soul die.

But Roman would be safe. Rick wouldn’t be able to doubt it, not when he saw Roman. Because Roman believed it.

He’d be safe.

That’s the only solace I could take in this dark, brutal situation. And I could spend the rest of my forever convincing myself that I'd done the right thing.

Even when I felt like a part of me had died.

19

Roman

Three fucking weeks—that’s how long it had been since Teagan had come to her senses and walked out on me. Three weeks of complete, abject misery.

Not that I blamed her.

Who the hell would ever settle for less than they deserved? That was something I never wanted for her. I’d rushed things. I’d missed the signs. For fuck’s sake, the woman had moved out, and I’d proposed?

The worst of it was that I’d taken advantage of her emotional vulnerability to play out my own dreams while forsaking hers.

“I still feel like this is a miscommunication of some sort,” Mom said through the speaker in my car as I zipped through traffic on my way to the stadium.

“It’s not.” I pulled onto the highway and cursed at the traffic. If one thing could go my way right now, that would be great.

“Well, I talked to her mom and we both—”

“No!” I cut her off and merged into traffic. “This isn’t up for discussion. We’re not kids anymore, Mom. This isn’t something that you can fix by having a playdate or work it out with Mrs. Hall. Teagan wants things that I can’t give her.”

The line fell silent as Mom absorbed what I’d said.

I used the time to cut across all three lanes of traffic.

“She wants kids,” Mom whispered.

“Bingo, and I can’t give them to her. Not the biological kind.” I ignored the speed limit and put the pedal down. Who cared if I got pulled over? Who cared about…anything? Nothing mattered.

“Oh, Roman. I didn’t realize.” Her voice lost that chipper we’ll-fix-this edge she’d had when she’d called.

I hadn’t told her about what had happened with T, and apparently, T hadn’t been forthcoming with her parents either, so they were just putting the pieces together. Any other day I might have been able to handle it. Might have been able to soothe Mom’s feelings, too, but today I could barely handle my own.

“I know. And don’t you dare go back to her mom with this. The last thing Teagan needs is to get guilt-tripped by her own family.”

The line went silent again.

“Mom. Promise me.”

Her sigh was loud enough to rumble my speakers. “Fine. I’ll let you two sort this out. Do you still want us there today?”

My foot eased off the pedal as the pain of it all consumed my chest. “Of course I do. It’s the AFC Championship.”

“I know you’ll win. It’s your year!”

Now her chipper tone was over the top.

“Let’s hope. I’ll see you after the game, okay?”

“I love you, Roman. You are an extraordinary man. You know that, right?”

“Yeah. Love you, too.” I hung up, and blasted my music, letting it drown out the thoughts I’d been fighting to keep at bay since Teagan had crushed my heart and walked away without a second glance.

Every day I watched my front door, my phone, and my social media, hoping she’d come back around. Hoping it was really the initial scare of my injury was what had spooked her. Hoping she hadn’t been honest in the kitchen that day.

But three weeks had gone by without a single peep.

The only thing that hurt worse than losing the woman you loved was being completely ghosted by your best friend.

I made it to the stadium, parked in the player’s lot, and headed inside. We had hours before