Santa Soldier Bear - Meg Ripley Page 0,46

time.

Roman stood there on the doorstep. For the longest moment, his bags in his hands, he simply stared at her. “Melody.”

“Roman.” She glanced over her shoulder, wondering if anyone else had known he was coming. “What are you doing here? I thought you went back to Wyoming.” Melody held the door open wider for him to come in.

“I did, and I felt like an absolute piece of shit for it.” Roman stepped inside and tossed his bags down in the entryway. “I need to talk to you.”

“All right.” If he’d asked her that a few days ago, she would’ve told him to just shove it. But Melody needed to talk to him, too. “We can go in the living room. We just finished up Christmas and everyone is pretty much gone.” Why was she babbling like that?

He stopped in front of the Christmas tree and took her hand. “I owe you an apology and an explanation.”

“No, you don’t—”

“Yes.” His eyes were serious as they bored into hers, and he was holding both of her hands in his now. “Yes, I do. You see, I thought I found the person I wanted to be with while I was still in the military. We tried to make it work, even while I was overseas. Elizabeth told me she was pregnant with my child, and I couldn’t have been more excited. Whatever problems the two of us had, I knew we could work them out because we were going to have a baby together. I fell in love with that little boy through video calls and letters and photographs, but when I got home, I found out he wasn’t really mine after all.”

“Oh, Roman.” Melody was too emotional for this, and the corners of her eyes stung with threatening tears. “I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head. “I was devastated, too hurt to consider fatherhood again. When I started feeling things with you—not just things, but big things—I knew we were experiencing something real. But if I wasn’t emotionally ready to be a father, and if you were destined to be a mother, as I know you are, then I just didn’t see a way to work it out.”

She touched his cheek as she looked over every aspect of his handsome face.

Roman sighed, looking down for a moment. “I think, in some ways, I know how you must’ve felt when Ruby’s parents came to take her away from you. You had the time to get attached, and you knew there was a chance it would be forever. It wasn’t fair of me to just leave you to grieve like that.”

“I’m dealing with it,” she replied, a small smile playing on the corners of her lips.

“It also wasn’t fair of me to flip out on you after the incident at the zoo. I never meant to make you feel like you were incompetent. It just scared the hell out of me to think something could’ve happened to you. Then when it happened again in the backyard, I just felt that fear all over again. I had to leave, and maybe I still should, but I had to come back here and tell you.”

Melody squeezed his fingers. “You didn’t have to come all the way back to California just to explain your past to me.”

“Maybe not, but I did need to come back to give you these.” Roman reached into his pocket. He pulled out a closed fist and held it over her hand, releasing a little pile of burgundy rose petals into her palm.

“Zuzu’s petals,” she said with tears in her eyes. This was the best apology she’d ever gotten, though she thought she might cry all over the velvety little things. “It’s Zuzu’s petals. You remembered.”

“Of course, I did. I can’t forget a single moment when I’m with you, Melody. I know we’re meant to be together, and I promise I’ll stop acting like an ass if you can just give me a chance to love you the way I should.” He held her wrist so delicately in his big hand, the petals vibrating between them.

“Roman.” Melody fell into his arms and kissed him, her tears streaming back as her snow leopard purred its content. This was what she needed. Roman was what she needed. They’d had their little squabble, but that was all over now and everything was going to be different. She pulled back as she realized just how different everything really was going to be.

“What’s wrong?” His shoulders sagged as she