“I just wanted to do something nice for Roman. Things seem a little off between us lately.”
“Off in what way?” she asks suspiciously.
“I guess he’s crankier than normal.”
“Isn’t Roman always cranky?” she asks, half-joking.
“No,” I say in a melancholy voice.
“You sound down, Bitsy. What aren’t you telling me? Do I need to come over there and whip some Masterson ass?”
I tear up.
It’s a good thing Sloan can’t see me because my overprotective friend would probably overreact as usual. Little does she know that she and Roman are alike in so many ways.
“Things are just… really hard, Sloan.”
“How are they hard?”
“Things have changed between us since Knox was born and I’m thinking, what if being with me isn’t what he thought it was going to be? What if loving me and Knox is harder than he expected? I mean, he’s never been in a relationship this long or this serious before and my body doesn’t look the same since—”
“Hold up! Let me stop you right there before you work yourself up in a tizzy. If there’s one thing that I know about that control freak is that he loves the stinking ground you and baby Knox walk on. He would bribe, maim, and kill for y’all. Shit might be tough right now, but life is hard for a lot of folks.
“If any couple is going to figure it out, it’s going to be you two. If I can’t believe in your love, then what chance does a girl like me have? So burn up that salmon you’re cooking, serve it to him in that pink lace bra and panty set I gave you for your birthday, because he doesn’t give two shits about any stretch marks you might have.”
“You haven’t seen it lately. My butt jiggles now.”
“Your ass has always been rounder and cuter than mine, and since delivering the baby it’s even better.”
“I just really need him to hear me. I need us to talk to each other and not at each other.”
“Wear that set and he’ll listen to anything you have to say. I promise you.”
I treasure my friend and her much-needed pep talk. Once we hang up, I finish up my sauce, take a quick shower, and put on the lace bra and panty set.
While the color of it pops nicely against the color of my skin, when I take a side view glance at myself in the mirror I’m not exactly in love with how I look in it. My breasts are spilling over the top of the lace cups, the waist of the panties are basically hidden under my new tummy pouch, and I feel like I’m trying way too hard by wearing this.
“What do you think?” I ask Knox as he sits in his caterpillar chair chewing on a teething biscuit. “Is it too much?”
Knox looks straight at me as he babbles a few words, then laughs. His mouth full of mushy biscuit.
“I could interpret that in so many ways, peanut.” I smile. “I’ll just pretend that you told me to go for it.”
7
ELIZABETH
Idon’t know where Roman’s been the last couple of hours, but I can tell when he steps through the door he’s thoroughly impressed by what he smells. Frankly, I can’t believe I cooked it either. It smells and looks better than anything I’ve ever made before.
“Is Juliette here?” he questions as he ditches his boots at the front door.
I exit the kitchen barefoot, dressed only in the pink lace bra, a pair of matching panties, and a white ruffled apron around my waist. I notice a sudden surge of lust in Roman’s eyes, yet he refrains from acknowledging the fact that I’m standing before him half naked.
“Juliette’s not here,” I tell him. “I cooked the delicious meal you are smelling.”
“Really?”
“Yes, sir.” I smile brightly.
