“Thanks for your help,” he says.
“I had fun,” I tell them both. “Thank youso much.”
“It was our pleasure,” Sheila says with a wink. “Hit me up when you want that makeup lesson.”
I smile at her, and once they’re gone, Rome turns to me and brushes his finger along my jawbone.
“Did you really enjoy your time with them?”
“Actually, yes. They’re nice girls.”
He leans in and presses his lips next to my ear. “I can’t wait to get you out of this stunning fucking dress in the morning.”
I swallow hard and brace myself with my hands on his sides. “They said you picked it out. Does getting me out of it mean you don’t like it?”
Rome ghosts his lips over the shell of my ear. “Not at all. It’s fucking perfect. And it’s going to look even better on the floor of my bedroom.”
I swallow thickly and then chuckle when he presses his lips to my forehead.
“I have to go to work,” I remind him.
“I’m aware. Before we go, I want to lay some ground rules.”
Here we go.I should have known. I’m not under my father’s control anymore, but I’m under Rome’s roof now, and there are always fucking rules.
“Okay.”
“Number one, you’ll keep this on you.”
He passes me a cell phone, and I frown up at him.
“It has my number in it, along with Luke, my second-in-command, and the men who will accompany you if you leave the building. That’s rule number two. No leaving without my men to keep you safe.”
I blink up at him. “Let’s go back to rule number one. You got me a phone?”
“Yes. I need to be able to reach you and vice versa. It’s yours.”
I sigh. “You’ve already done so much. I don’t need a phone. I don’t have anyone to call.”
“You have me,” he says, hooking his finger under my chin, forcing me to look him in the eyes. “AndIwant to be able to call you. Especially if something comes up and I have to leave unexpectedly.”
I lick my lips and slip the phone into my pocket.
This amazing dress haspockets.
“Thank you,” I murmur. “What else?”
“I want you to make a grocery list at some point so we have all of your favorites here.”
“No, you don’t.” I shake my head and start to laugh.
“I’m missing something.”
“Rome, I went to culinary school. If you set me loose on your kitchen, which is so freaking beautiful I might want to marry it, I’ll never come out of it. I’ll be cooking enough for twenty people every day. It’s my favorite hobby.”
His smile is beautiful. “The kitchen is yours, Eloise. Make your lists or take your detail and go to the grocery store whenever you want.”
“Holy shit,” I whisper. These rules are nothing like the ones at my father’s house.
