I chuckled just thinking about that damned paper. “No, it was just a bunch of poorly timed photos. If I were dating someone, I would’ve told you.”
Out of all of our siblings, Bella and I were the closest. We had a huge age gap, but had always been eerily similar. Secrets had always been nonexistent between the two of us.
While I was in the Army, I wrote to my entire family. My mom and other sisters received edited versions of what I experienced. Bella always received the whole truth, often serving as a sounding board for my worries.
“But…” I began, throwing a glance at our mom, who was still preoccupied, “We’re going to pretend to date for a while.”
Bella’s eyes grew wide. “Why?”
“She asked me to, I figured, why not?”
In truth, I wanted to help Bec. She despised every part of who I was. I laughed too much, talked too much, and smiled too much. She could barely stand to be in the same room as me, yet that was my entire job. The only reason I hadn’t been fired was because I was good at my job—one of the best—and she respected that most.
Bec was an impeccable businesswoman who was given a shitty hand. Her board of directors refused to place their trust in her, simply because she was a woman. The media had painted her as cold-hearted and ruthless. While that description could be helpful to any man in her position, it only hurt her.
Rebecca Bly was damned good at her job, and I would do whatever she needed to help her prove that—even if that meant pretending to date her for the optics.
“Has anyone told you that you’re too agreeable?” Bella asked, her tone joking.
I chuckled at my sister. I had never heard that complaint. I was a career soldier before retirement and being hired on as a member of the Bly Enterprises Security team. In the Army, I hadto be agreeable to my commanding officers. There was no such thing as too agreeable in that line of work. Since working at Bly Enterprises, I had been too focused on the jobs in front of me to disagree.
Hell, maybe I was too agreeable… but I didn’t mind it. It had gotten me this far in life.
“I owe her brother; the least I can do is help her out.”
Will, Bec’s older brother, had hired me a few years back, after I had first retired from the military. He wasn’t my biggest fan… not because of my performance, but my personality. He and Bec were very similar in that regard.
While working in Oregon, I had been given two responsibilities. Protect his now wife, and find the people who were targeting her. I ultimately failed on both fronts. While Jackie was now safe, and the people harassing and targeting her were now behind bars, I had nothing to do with it. My failures almost resulted in my best friend's—her brother’s—death. I couldn’t even think about that night, the pain too raw and fresh. I hated myself, knowing how horrendously I had failed some of the most important people in my life.
I couldn’t face my best friend, Malachi. Not after he had almost lost his life because of me. He had been calling every other day for months, but I had managed to dodge him each time. My sisters were starting to grow suspicious, but didn’t press me on why I was ignoring him.
This assignment as Bec’s bodyguard was my chance to redeem myself. It also gave me the opportunity to live in New York City, and thus came with the perk of making my five sisters and my mom happier than ever.
“So why do you have to pretend to be her boyfriend? Have you ever even been someone’s boyfriend before? Not just their hookup? One night stand? Bad decision?” Bella asked with a smirk.
I rolled my eyes, not that she noticed. Bella’s focus was on the dough in front of her, but she wasn’t going to let this go.
“You’re pretending to be someone’s boyfriend?” Aria was leaning in the doorway, her gaze curious. She was the third born, and by far the most mature out of all of us.
“What’s Rome doing?” It was Livia this time, her pink hair a rat’s nest on her head. I had a feeling she’d just woken up.
Luna, her twin, followed close behind, “Rome’s home?”
“He just got here,” Bee, my youngest sister, explained as she plopped down in the seat next to me.
Having five sisters was usually great, but it also meant a lot of intrusive questions.
“Sit down and be quiet,” Bella hissed, throwing a glance to our mom, who was luckily still preoccupied in the kitchen, listening to the radio and dancing along as she cooked.
My sisters all complied, taking their seats at the dining table. While growing up, many arguments broke out over who was sitting where at the table, on the couch, in the car… you name it, we fought about it. This led to us getting assigned seats, seats we still honored to this day.
The five of them were quite the crew. Our Italian genes were strong, and it was evident in each of us. Bella and I had black hair and nearly black eyes. Aria was the outlier, with her light brown hair and eyes. Luna and Livia were identical twins, and while they still shared their matching dark brown eyes, Livia had dyed her hair pink in high school to help differentiate them, leaving Luna with her natural dark brown hair. Bee, the baby of the family, was a mix of all of us—her hair was lighter, but she had darker eyes.
The problem was that they were all strikingly beautiful. I had helped their dad run off more boys than we could count. The older they got, the more I let go, but I still dreaded the day they would start to settle down.
God help the men who fall in love with the Romano sisters.
“What I’m about to tell you, you need to keep to yourself, okay?” I looked at each of them as they nodded in agreement. “I am going to… well… I’m going to fake date my boss for the foreseeable future.”
