I’ve thought a lot about this in the last eight months and I realize now that because my boyfriends were perfect for my family, it didn’t mean they were perfect or right for me. Iunderstand now they deteriorated my confidence to the point where I doubt my own worth.
“Hey.” Drew flicks my shoulder lightly to draw my attention to him. I wrinkle my nose and flick him back.
“I was recently told that I need to give you more credit and respect your decisions,” Drew says. “I hate that I needed to be reminded of that and from someone I’m not sure has the best intentions.”
My jaw drops and I pretend to be surprised. “What?! You mean the man who’s not right for me is asking you to respect my choices? How dare he? I can see why you hate him. I’m calling a divorce lawyer right now.”
Drew rolls his eyes as I reach for my phone, pretending to search for divorce lawyers. My stomach fills with warmth, thinking about Roman defending me.
“Alright, you drama queen. I’m willing to admit that,” Drew pauses and chews on his words, “I don’t know Roman and he might,” he stops and looks at me meaningfully, “mightbe an okay person.”
I think my brother and Roman can be friends if they get over this hatred of each other.
“Does this mean you’re going to be nice to him now?” I ask.
Drew makes a face. “How about I don’t punch him again?”
Okay, this is going to be harder than I thought.
“Do you want a drink?” Drew is already getting up and moving towards the kitchen. I tell him I do as Bailey jumps up onto the couch and lays down on the spot he vacated, and I lean down to kiss her head.
“You should invite Roman to do something,” I call out to Drew.
The boys have a super-secret group chat that they think I don’t know about, but Kai and Drew told me about it a longtime ago. They’re always planning dinners or activities outside of hockey.
Drew comes back to the living room carrying two bottles of beer and hands one to me.
“I don’t like Roman that much to invite him to do anything with us,” Drew says.
“Why not? He’s a Titan. Hasn’t he proved his loyalty?”
I want to gauge how much work is needed before they accept Roman into the fold. I also want to know why they won’t accept Roman. It’s ridiculous to hold his past against him.
“He married you,” Drew says, slowly and deliberately. “How is that proving loyalty? You don’t date your teammates siblings, it fucks up the whole dynamic, and Roman straight up married you.”
“You said you’re going to respect my decision.”
“I know, and I am. You’re my sister and I love you. I can't say the same about Roman.”
I sigh and take a sip of my beer. I have my work cut out for me. If Drew doesn’t accept Roman, then the team won’t accept Roman. It doesn’t matter how many games Roman wins against his previous teams. Marrying me seems to be having the opposite effect than Roman intended.
TWENTY-SEVEN
ROMAN
The knock on my apartment door surprises me. Quickly drying off from my shower, I pull on a pair of sweats and skirt around Salem on my way out the bathroom. He trots after me.
I’m not expecting anyone, and Kita never knocks. That’s mostly on me because I also never lock the door. It’s for the cats. Kita loves them and I want her to come in whenever she wants to pet them.
I check the peephole and immediately reach for the door handle, twisting it open.
Lavinia looks up and blinks once, her eyes meeting mine for a brief second before tracking down my torso. I’m never going to get over how she looks at me, her eyes lingering on every tattoo. What man doesn’t want to be desired by this woman?
The sound of her crying my name right before she came on my thigh and on the phone has been haunting me for the last week.
I lean a shoulder against the doorframe and let her take her fill.
“Why do you always answer the door shirtless?”
