Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 50811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 254(@200wpm)___ 203(@250wpm)___ 169(@300wpm)
I blinked, then nodded, hoping he was right.
“So how do you get from here to there?” I asked. “I don’t even know where to start.”
Rome set my foot back down.
“You ask for help,” he said simply. “From your friends. Your community. For me, that was the Reapers. Me and Damon were both prospects when he died. They stepped up, gave me all the time I needed and kept me safe when I was out of control. Hell, they even mowed my parents’ lawn a couple of times.”
I thought about Tinker’s husband, Gage. He’d always kind of scared me, but he’d been gentle with Lexi and Kayden last night.
“Peaches told me about what you did Friday night. During the fight,” I said, thinking about his club. “She said you only went back into the fight to save that guy—I should’ve realized that. She said you’re a hero, and I think she’s right. Last night you were my hero. You’ve been really good to me this weekend.”
Rome raised a brow.
“What?”
“Peaches is full of shit,” he said. “I jumped back into that fight because I thought my brothers needed me. I didn’t even see that guy until I stepped on him, and I had no business taking you to a dive like that. Every time I see that black eye, I feel like a jackass.”
My jaw dropped. “Last night at the reunion, Peaches told Jenny Woelfel that you saved his life. She said you kept him from bleeding out all over the floor.”
“Let me guess—Jenny was saying something nasty about bikers. Bet she talked about the bruise, too. Treated you like trash?”
I nodded, stunned. “How did you know?”
“Because she’s a bitch, and her husband’s out playing grab ass at the Starkwood almost every weekend,” he said. “She’s jealous of Peaches, she hates the Reapers, she hates Brett, and she hates… Hell, she probably hates baby bunnies in the spring. You can’t listen to what people like that say, Randi. You gotta form your own opinions. About me, about my club. About the bunnies.”
Rome’s mouth quirked, and something inside me clenched. He was so beautiful. I really wanted to keep him, I realized. He’d asked me to give us a chance, and I wanted to. I really did. But I couldn’t start dating someone, not now. There was too much work ahead of me.
He deserved someone who actually had time for him.
My phone buzzed, and I leaned across the bed, grabbing it. It was Lexi, asking when I’d be at Tinker’s house. I texted her back, promising to come soon, then caught Rome’s eye.
“Do you have some socks I can borrow?” I asked, looking back down at my feet. “Lexi and Kayden need me.”
“No,” Rome said. “But I’ll bandage them up so they don’t get dirty while we find a real doctor.”
“It’s fine,” I insisted. “I have way too much to do. I can’t worry about it right now.”
He ignored me, leaving the room. I looked around, wondering where he kept his socks. Once I had those, I could leave for Tinker’s… Of course, he still had my car keys.
Maybe Tinker would give me a ride.
Rome came back in, carrying a big first aid box. Dropping down to a crouch, he started pulling out gauze. I frowned at him.
“Rome, it’s not that bad. I really need to go.”
“You can’t take care of business if you can’t walk. These are gonna get infected.”
“It’s not your problem, Rome,” I insisted. It didn’t matter how much I wanted him. The timing was wrong. “You’ve been a great friend, but—”
“I’m not your friend, Randi.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m not your friend,” he repeated, his voice firm. “I’m the guy fucking you. Big difference. You can have lots of friends, but only one guy fucks you.”
“My mom died last night, Rome. I don’t have time for dating.”
He stilled, then sat back on his heels, catching and holding my gaze.
“I know she died, Randi,” he said quietly. “I was there.”
My eyes started to water. Without a word, Rome stood up and crossed the room, opening the blinds. Sunlight flooded us. Then he grabbed a box of tissues off the dresser and handed them to me as he came back.
“We’ll date later,” he told me, dropping back down in front of me. “Maybe next year. Until then, I’ll be the guy fucking you. And the guy who bandages up your feet. You can cry on me, too, but I’m not gonna let you dump me until we’ve had a real chance. Sooner or later, you’ll be ready to live again. I can wait.”
I opened my mouth to argue, then closed it again.
Rome was right. We weren’t friends. I hardly knew the man, yet on the worst night of my life, he’d been there for me.
Not only that, we had something in common. Something big.
“Okay,” I said, offering him an unsteady smile. A flash of movement caught the corner of my eye, and I turned to look out the window. A bird had landed on the ledge.