“Doesn’t make it right.” My tone darkens. “She doesn’t get to use you for leverage.”
Rose reaches across the table, squeezing my hand. “Hey. Look at me.”
I do.
“I don’t care what she posts,” she says softly. “I know you’d split with her before any of this… You’d already made your choice.”
Something in me unclenches at that. The noise, the gossip, all the mess and turmoil that surrounds Talia fades. What’s left is Rose. Always Rose. “I have,” I say, my voice rough. “And I’m not changing it.”
Her lips part slightly, like she’s about to speak, but I don’t let her. I lean across the table, kissing her once, it’s quick and soft, but full of meaning. She tastes of red wine, and kissing her feels like breathing after being underwater too long.
The waiter clears his throat somewhere nearby. We break apart, laughing quietly. I fish my wallet out of my pocket and hand it over to pay the bill. Rose tries to protest but I silence her with a kiss and a promise she can repay me when the Team pays her for the photo shoot. That seems to appease her for now.
When we step outside, the rain has started again. Light, silver drizzle shimmers under the streetlamps. She shivers, and I slip my jacket over her shoulders without thinking.
“Thank you,” she murmurs.
“Don’t mention it,” I say, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Can’t have my date freezing on me.”
“Your date?” she echoes, teasing.
“Yeah,” I say, my voice low. “That’s what you are now.”
We stop under an awning, the city lights reflected in the puddles. She looks up at me through the soft rain, and everything else disappears. No rink, no headlines, no Talia. Just her. “I like you, Rose,” I say quietly. “More than I probably should.”
She smiles faintly. “That’s good. Because I’m definitely in trouble.”
My laugh is quiet but heartfelt. I step closer, hands sliding to her waist. “Then we’re both screwed.”
Her eyes shine as she whispers, “Maybe that’s the point.”
I kiss her again, longer this time, deeper. The kind of kiss that seals and promises things. The rain hits harder, soaking into our hair and clothes, but neither of us moves. When we finally break apart, she’s breathless, and laughing softly. “We’re standing in the rain like a bad rom-com.”
“Yeah,” I say. “But mine has a better ending.”
By the time we get back to my car, she’s shivering, and I reach over to turn the heater up. She rests her hand on my thigh, casual, like it belongs there. Because it does.
At the next red light, she looks at me. “You okay?”
“I am now,” I say honestly. “Today was a mess, but tonight…” I glance over. “You made it better.”
She smiles, “That’s what I’m here for.”
My chest tightens in that weird way that sits somewhere between want and need. “You’re here for a lot more than that.”
Her fingers tighten just slightly on my thigh, and the silence that follows isn’t heavy, it’s full.
When we reach her building, she hesitates, then leans over to kiss me goodnight. It’s supposed to be quick. It isn’t. By the time she pulls back, my pulse is hammering.
“Goodnight, Callum,” she whispers.
“Night, Rose.”
I watch her go, every instinct screaming at me to follow her, but I stay put. For the first time, I don’t feel restless. I feel certain.
Because no matter what Talia throws at me next, I know what I’m fighting for now.
And I’ll protect it, I’ll protecther, with everything I’ve got.
