Propping myself up, I hover over her, peering down at her face. I lean in, letting my nose brush hers. “My wife is brilliant,” I say, slouching down until my lips meet hers. “Mywife is beautiful.” I incline again. Another kiss to her soft lips. “I will do whatever my wife tells me to do,” I whisper. I gaze down at her, taking her in and wondering how in the world I’ve lived this long without her.
Stella’s arms snake up and around my neck, pulling me down for another kiss. Her body curves against mine, warm and small and made to fit next to me. When our lips part, I study her. My past, my present, my future.
“Stella, I—” I swallow down what I want to say. I want to tell her I love her. And while that black rubber ring on my finger commits me to her, while I’ve confessed that I care for her, it’s so much more than that. And I’m not sure she’s ready.
She blinks, waiting for my thought to finish.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I say.
“I’m glad you’re here too,Graveyard.” Her tone inflects, teasing me with my team nickname. “I was afraid you wouldn’t come.”
“I might go anywhere as long as you’re there, Mrs. Graves.”
Her fingers play with the hairs at the nape of my neck.
“It is Graves, isn’t it?” I ask.
She swallows. “Yes. It’s Graves.”
And it almost feels like she’s saying I love you back.
Fifty
Roman looksat his watch for the third time this morning. He swivels in the stool at Felicity’s kitchen bar, nibbling on the burnt toast she’s made him. I’m not sure Felicity cooks, but it was sweet of her to offer us breakfast before we take off this morning.
“I’m sure he’ll wake up,” I tell Roman, my hand on his wrist.
We leave in less than one hour. And while Felicity has assured Roman that Mason will naturally wake before we go, he’s anxious.
“I told you. He’s an early riser,” Felicity says.
Peter chomps down on his blackened toast. “Except that Roman completely wore him out this weekend.”
Felicity is unbothered. She’s always unbothered. She’d have to be to stay married to Peter Graves, who I am convinced is nothing like Roman. How did Roman grow up to be the man he is?
“Can we wake him, if we need to?” I ask.
“I don’t want to do that,” Roman says.
“He’ll want to say goodbye,” Felicity says with a wink. She’s sweet, and her winks might be growing on me. “You are his new partner in crime.” She grins.
Peter grunts.
“What?” Roman says. “You don’t like your sons getting along? Most parents would appreciate it.”
“You are half-brothers. You are more than two decades older than the boy.”
Roman tenses beside me. “Still my brother,” he says.
“Yes, well, we’ll see if you’re still his partner in crime in a few years.” Peter scrolls through his phone, not bothering to look at Roman. How can so much angst be inside one human?
“I will be as long as he wants me to be.” Roman turns to Felicity, not bothering to address his father. “I’d love to send you tickets to a game, if you and Mason wanted to come. I’m sure Dad’s busy with work.”
Peter smacks his phone on the table and stands, strutting to the breakfast bar where Roman and I sit. “You have no idea how exhausting a family can be,” he says.
And for the first time since we arrived, there is a glitch in Felicity’s smile.
“Then why have a family?” Roman asks him.
