“Shit, are you okay?” he asks, clearly panicking, but I laugh.
“It’s just cold.” I shake my head, then regret that when the room spins. “Whoa. It’s okay.”
“I just have to start the shower. Can you sit here without me for a second?”
I smile up at him. He’ssofocused on me. His whole body is tight, his face hard, and his jaw tense.
My poor man.He’s fighting fear and anger, yet he’s still so calm and sweet to me.
“Yes. I can sit here.”
But he doesn’t turn away. He rests his forehead to mine and exhales, then kisses me so softly it makes my heart melt.
“I’m so sorry, Eloise.”
“Nothing is your fault.”
“Everything is my fault, but I’m going to do everything in my power for the rest of my life to make it up to you.”
His voice is so rough with emotion, I need to comfort him. So I rest my hand against his cheek and nuzzle his nose.
“I’mfine, Rome. I’m fine.”
He kisses me once more, then makes sure I’m steady on the vanity before he turns to start the water in the shower. He sheds his clothes as the water heats.
“I will say, seeing you march right into that room in your Kevlar vest, gun drawn, so fucking fierce, that in hindsight, it was sexy as hell.I finally got to see you in gangster mode, and it did not disappoint.”
“There was absolutelynothingsexy about what went on today.”
“No, in the moment, I was so scared, I’m shocked I didn’t shit myself. But now that everything’s okay, and I look back on it, you were hot. If you were after me, I’d be terrified. Good job.”
Hesmirks and shoves his boxers down his legs, then returns to me and cages me in, his hands leaning on the countertop at my hips.
“Did you just give me a glowing review on mynefariousjob, firefly?”
“I did. Do you want me to leave you a Yelp or Google review?”
“Fuck, firefly. How can you joke right now after what you went through?”
“Rome, if I don’t, I’ll start crying again. My father tried to kill me today. I don’t know if I’ve even digested that yet. It’s going to take a while. So for now, I’m just going to focus on how hot my man is and the fact that you saved me. I love you.”
“Fuck, I love you too.”
He pulls the ugly gown off me, helps me out of the sling, and lifts me to take me to the shower, stepping under the hot spray. He’s careful with my left shoulder, and when his eyes skim down my torso, they harden, and his jaw clenches again.
I follow his gaze and wince.
Shit, I’m covered in bruises.
“I’ll be okay.” My voice is soft now as the realization of everything that went down today washes over me again. My eyes fill with tears. “My emotions are all over the place.”
“Of course, they are. For the first time since my mom died, mine are too.” He shakes his head and squeezes my body wash into my loofah, then starts cleaning me up. “Ihate that you saw any of that. That Loveland had her hands on you.”
“Why was she so mad atme? Because you hired me when she didn’t want to? That seems stupid. You own the business.”
“Her name was Sarah Lowman,” he says, and my eyes find his. He pauses in cleaning me for a heartbeat before resuming. “Way back in the day, she and I were, well …”
And there goes my heart again. But not in a good way this time.
