Roman had a hell of a time concentrating the rest of the afternoon. He must have texted Mark, Gracie’s driver/bodyguard, a dozen times to check up on them.
Mark, an ex-marine, finally had enough, and late in the afternoon, sent him a terse text:
Relax boss, I’ve got it.
Roman didn’t make it home until almost eight, and the limo was still in the driveway, which alarmed him. The security system at his home was top-of-the-line, so he hadn’t asked or expected Mark to stick around after she was home for the night, but when he walked into the house they were sitting at the kitchen table eating pizza. Gracie had a beer, and Mark, ever the professional, was drinking a bottle of soda. She had exchanged her work clothes for a pair of leggings and an oversize sweatshirt. With her hair pulled back in a ponytail, she looked just like she had back in college.
As soon as she saw him, Gracie smiled and stood to greet him. “Sorry we started without you, but I was starving.”
He walked over to her and she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. She tasted like tomato sauce and beer. “Did you have a good day?”
Hell no, not even close. “I had a busy day.”
She shrugged and said, “I guess busy is good. I was just telling Mark that my new purse line is doing fantastic. They’re flying off the shelves. We’re going to make record profits this quarter.”
“That’s great,” he said with a smile, wishing he could share her enthusiasm.
Mark finished his soda and stood. “I’m going to head out. What time tomorrow, ma’am?”
“Gracie,” she said. “And let’s say seven thirty if that’s okay. I have an early meeting to prepare for.”
“I’ll be here.”
“A word?” Roman asked Mark, who nodded. “I’ll be right back,” Roman said to Gracie over his shoulder as he left.
When they were outside, Mark said, “I hope you don’t mind that I stayed. She offered pizza and I was hungry.”
“I don’t mind, I just saw the limo still here and thought the worst. So there was no trouble today? No sign of anyone following you?”
Mark shook his head. “Nothing. And I have to say, that’s one hell of a great girl you’ve got there.”
Roman couldn’t suppress a smile. “She is.”
“When you told me who she was I expected her to be snooty or arrogant. I was wrong. I told her that my eight-year-old daughter is really into fashion and she offered to give her a tour of her offices. I didn’t expect that.”
Roman had learned over time that people were just people. Heiress or not, Gracie was still a good person who cared deeply for others. “She is something special,” he said. And he had to go in there and lie to her face. Because she was going to ask him about the Dax situation, and he had no information to give her.
“Hang on to that one,” Mark said, opening the driver’s side door.
He was trying. When he went back inside Gracie was clearing their plates from the table.
“Are you hungry?”
“I had a bite to eat at the office.” The truth was he hadn’t eaten all day. Not only did he have no appetite, but when he thought about lying to her he wanted to barf.
“Did you make any progress on those files?” she asked, putting the plates in the dishwasher.
Shit.
“I didn’t,” he said, which technically wasn’t a lie. “But I put some feelers out and I’m waiting to hear from a few people.”
Again, technically not a lie.
“Tonight I’d really just like to crash on the couch and watch TV.”
“Sounds good,” she said. “But first, can we talk about something?”
He had no idea what she wanted to talk about, but still his heart dropped. “Of course. What’s up?”
“Roman,” she said, walking over to him, tilting her chin up so she could look him in the eye. “There’s something I have to say to you. Something I’ve wanted to say for a while now, but I... I just had to be sure.”
“Okay,” he said, heart in his throat, expecting the worst.
She cradled his face in her soft hands and looked him in the eye. “I forgive you.”
A knife plunged through his heart couldn’t have stung more, and though he was happy and relieved to hear the words, they were bittersweet. And he couldn’t stop himself from what he said next. He took her hands and held them tight, looked deeply into her eyes and told her, “I love you, Gracie.”
With misty eyes she smiled and said, “I love you, too,” twisting the knife that much deeper.
He wrapped his arms around her, wishing he never had to let go again.
He had the love of his life back. He was finally right where he wanted to be. And now, due to circumstances completely out of his control, there was a pretty good chance that he could lose it all.
* * *
Gracie and Roman never did watch TV that night. They never even made it to the couch. They fell into bed together instead, and made love way past their bedtime. The way they had pretty much every night since.
In the following week Mark became a familiar fixture in her life. She hated that the driver had to be there, and as far as she knew there had been no nefarious activity, but if Roman thought it was necessary, she wasn’t going to argue. But he hadn’t made any headway to speak of on the files and she was getting impatient. If she didn’t know better she might think he was stalling, but that ended tomorrow. She was going to ask him to bring the flash drive home so she could look at what was on it.
Home. That was an entirely new concept for her. When Roman gave her the all clear, would she be able to go back to her place? Would she be happy not seeing him every day, waking up to his smile and his messy hair? Would she feel alone without him to cuddle up to in bed? She had been at his place only a week yet somehow it felt like a lifetime.
And what if he asked her to stay? She’d been back to her place twice with Mark to pick up a few things. Well, more than a few actually. All of her makeup, hair products and toiletries were in Roman’s bathroom. Half her wardrobe was hanging in the closet in the spare bedroom. Other than her furniture, she was practically moved in already. And it couldn’t have felt more natural or more comfortable.
That didn’t ease her nerves the day of her sister’s wedding. This would be their first outing as a couple, and her entire family would be there. She thought her sisters would be okay; it was her mother and Sutton she was worried about. She wanted her sister’s wedding to be perfect.
“I need help,” Roman said, stepping into the bathroom, where she was putting the finishing touches on her makeup before she slipped into her gown.
He was dressed in his tux, and he looked so hot and sexy, she almost asked him to take it back off again. But they were already running late. They were supposed to be at Sutton’s estate in less than an hour.
Roman held his bow tie out to her. “I’ve always sucked at these,” he said, tugging at his collar. “I hate these damned monkey suits.”
She tied a perfect knot, then stepped back to look at him. Perfect, other than the slightly rumpled hair. But that was just Roman. And it was getting long enough that he was due for a trim. She was so used to his hair that way, that when she saw photos of him with a military cut he was barely recognizable.
But still hot as hell.
“You look good,” she said as he gave his collar