Then he headed for the kitchen.
“Rome?” Heather called from behind him.
He turned. Again.
She hurried his way at an impressive speed given the height of her stilettos.
“Are you interested in her?” Heather asked point-blank, right on target. She read him like she was a Babushka in training. Given she had that uncanny ability to see straight through bullshit, he figured she had to have seen how he really felt about Sadie.
“Yeah,” Roman replied. “I’m interested.”
God help them all, he was interested.
Chapter Five
Lately, there was a space, a space in Sadie’s mind right before she fell asleep. Generally, she could logic herself into recognizing that building her law practice in Denver would take time. That Tonya’s case was only one of many. But in that little space right before slumber, her mind reminded her that she was taking major risks with her career and her life.
In those little snippets of time, panic like she had during the first months out of law school would take hold.
Her heart beat a little faster. Her skin got damp with perspiration as her sympathetic nervous system kicked into overdrive.
Lothario, Marlee’s white-haired chihuahua, barked, yanking Sadie from her thoughts. She jolted, knocking theIllustrated Encyclopedia of Aquarium Fishfrom where it had rested on her chest.
She blinked as the front door of Marlee and Eli’s house pushed open. If this were a dream, she would fully expect the goldfish that had expired when she was five to walk straight through the door. What could she say? Her dreams had never been reasonable.
Before she even had a moment to panic about what was coming through door number one, Roman strode through as though he had every right to be there.
Was she still asleep? This made no sense. But hell, if she were going to have a waking-type dream, it might as well include Roman.
Sleepy Sadie was all about a Roman dream.
Marlee and Eli had a grandfather clock, because, of course, they did. It began the first of ten long bongs to mark the hour.
“Hey, Rome,” she said, her voice husky.
Yes, if this were a dream, she’d just embrace anything that dreamy Roman wanted to do to her.
Dream Roman still wore his wedding tuxedo, his hair carefully combed. Gah, she really hoped he’d take off the tuxedo and do naughty things to her. What was the use in having him walk into her dream if she couldn’t have some fun?
Except…
Sadie blinked away the remnants of sleep.
She was awake and this was not a dream.
This was reality and, for some reason, Roman had moseyed into Marlee and Eli’s house like he was supposed to be there. His tie had been pulled loose and hung like a limp reminder of what their long-ago relationship had become.
“Sadie?” Roman asked, surprise evident in his tone at finding her sprawled on her brother’s sofa.
By sprawled, she wassprawled.
She was not one of those women who could sleep delicately. She slept hard and she slept long. Yes, Sadie was a total mess when she drifted into slumber. She blamed it on her generally whacked-out subconscious and the dreams it threw her way.
Sitting up from where she’d crashed while waiting for news that her nephew had been born, Sadie snatched up the aquarium encyclopedia from where it had fallen to the floor, tucking it beside her.
Lothario continued barking at Roman like he was ready to do some damage—even though he was tiny and Roman was not.
“Lothario, it’s okay,” Sadie said as soothingly as she could. “This is Rome.”
