Page 13 of Ronny

Olivia smiles. “Come on, let’s go eat,” she says, taking my hand and leading me to the dining room through the kitchen where she has the table set up.

She went through a lot of effort to make this moment perfect. “You did this for me?” I ask her, pulling out her chair so she can sit, and I scoot in next to her.

Olivia

He looks floored that I went through the effort. This will be his first night here in this house and I wanted it to be special for him.

“I did. This a big moment,” I tell him, resting my hand on his large, muscled forearm. I never knew a man’s arms could be this sexy, but Ronny has these deep veins running up to his biceps, and you can see the strength he has.

My finger glides along one of his veins, and he takes my hand and kisses the back of it. “It is,” he agrees.

I dish up our food. I settled on roasted chicken thighs with homemade mashed potatoes on the side and grilled veggies. I know he is a healthy eater, so I went with something basic.

“This looks amazing, you didn’t have to do all of this. Takeout would have been great for me,” he informs me, cutting into his chicken and taking a bite. He closes his eyes, groaning. “Fuck, I forgot how good of a cook you are.”

For a minute there I thought about going to culinary school, but being a social worker honestly makes my heart happy, even if sometimes it breaks it.

I think the reason I went into social work is because of Ronny. He slipped through the cracks and suffered because of it. I’m thankful every day that Bell and Maverick adopted him.

Ronny is diving into his food like he hasn’t eaten in days, it makes me happy. I loved to cook once I returned home after being rescued from the cult, it was a way for me to get out of my bedroom and have a life again.

I was terrified to leave the house. I went to be with other women that were saved from the cult just like I was. We all healed together in a lot of ways and it helped because we all went through almost the exact same thing. We weren’t alone.

Some, sadly, don’t have a good quality of life, they stay behind those gates and just live the best life they possibly can.

Ronny made that promise to me all those years ago, and I can’t help but wonder if this is what he truly wants, or does he just feel obligated to keep to his word?

“I can feel you thinking,” he tells me, and I look up to see his handsome face. His eyes are so piercing, it’s like he can see into my soul.

It’s hard for me to fully grasp that someone like him, who is so amazing, could want someone like me.

I swallow hard, laying my fork down on my plate. “Ronny, I wanted to give you an out,” I start, then cringe because that didn’t sound so great.

“An out.” His voice has no emotion as he repeats this.

I nod, sighing. “You made that promise to me all those years ago. You’ve been so patient with me, and I just wanted to make sure that I was worth the wait—if this is truly what you want…” I trail off, thinking of my next words. “Or if you feel obligated?”

He genuinely looks amazed at the words coming out of my mouth, but I’m not perfect and I need to know.

I have been in love with him since I was fourteen years old, when he saved me and prevented me from being taken. That feeling has grown over the years because of the respect he has given me, never straying from where I needed him to be.

I love him enough that if this is not what he truly wants, I would let him go, even if it would wreck me.

“Angel.” His voice is deep as he scoots my chair out with one hand and lifts me out of my seat easily, walking with me into the living room.

He plops me down onto the couch, with him sitting directly beside of me so we are face to face.

“It kills me that you think you’re just so easy to replace.”

He growls deeply, his hands going to my hips like he is afraid I’m going to get up and bolt out of the room.

“You are not replaceable. From the moment I saw you, I knew you were meant to be mine, and I am content with any way that I can have you. If it meant I never got to touch you, to make love to you, then I would’ve been fine with that too.” He stares deep into my eyes. “No one can compare to you. I’ve seen you come from something most people can’t come back from. You are here, and you are so beautiful.”

I think I could die right now, his words are hitting me so hard.

“Thousands of women could undress in front of me and I wouldn’t be fazed because all I see is you.”

That does it, the tears fall from my eyes and he lifts me into his lap, holding me tightly. “You have proved yourself to me over and over, Ronny, but I feel like I’m not worth all the effort.”

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