Page 51 of The Billionaire Benefactor

He was thinking about Lucy. The thought stilled his feet outside Blake’s door. That had to mean something. Before meeting Jenny, kids had felt far off. Like something he wanted, but not at all within reach. He never would have thought about dating someone with kids. And yet he was truly concerned right now about Lucy. He could picture her tiny grin, a replica of Jenny’s, and the thought warmed him. If nightmares were taking that away, he wanted to fix it. He could picture tucking Lucy in, brushing her hair back from her face. Giving her a new stuffed bear to snuggle with at night.

“You coming in?” Blake said. “Helloooo—Roman!”

“Shut up,” he said.

“Man. Girl trouble makes you surly.” He ducked out of the way as Roman lunged toward him again. “Need some clothes? I think I’ve got a few things that will fit.”

“Yes, please,” Roman said. He unbuttoned his tux jacket and tossed it over the back of a dining room chair.

As Blake ducked back into the bedroom, Roman’s phone began buzzing. He sucked in a breath. Jenny was calling. He went out onto Blake’s balcony. The heat was still oppressive in the dark, but there was at least a breeze up here on the fifteenth floor.

“Jenny? You okay?”

“Hey, Roman. I’m so sorry for ducking out on you.”

He leaned against the metal rail, watching the car headlights on the highway in the distance. “I understand. I’m sorry about that. I was planning to come with you—I wanted to. My mom didn’t agree, so I had to convince her.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop. I know Lucy needed you. You didn’t need to wait. I wish I hadn’t made you. I should have just told my mom I was leaving instead of having a whole argument about it.”

Jenny sighed into the phone. It sounded weary. “I don’t want to cause tension, Roman. That’s the last thing I want to do.”

“It’s not you,” he said. “She’s just…having a hard time still. With my father gone. Sometimes she gets a little protective of me and our family.”

Jenny didn’t say anything. He closed his eyes and tried to picture her. She wouldn’t still be in her gown. Her hair would be loose around her shoulders now, or maybe put up in a messy ponytail. She’d be curled up on the couch in a loose T-shirt and yoga pants, but her makeup from earlier would still be done. He blew out a breath. This mental image was as beautiful to him as the sight of her in her gown earlier.

“Jenny, did my mom say anything to you when she pulled you away earlier?”

More silence. He waited, wanting to break the awkwardness, but also wanting to give her time.

“She explained a little bit about you.”

“What about me?”

“She said that you have a big heart.”

Roman waited for more. That didn’t sound like a bad thing, but it’s what Jenny didn’t say that concerned him. “And?”

“Look, Roman—I think we should back off.”

Roman sank into a cushioned chair near the balcony rail. Blake opened the door, a T-shirt and shorts in hand. Roman waved him away and pointed to the phone. Blake closed the door.

“Help me understand. Things started off differently tonight. Did I do something? I know I should have let you walk with me on the red carpet—”

“Roman, that’s not it. Or, not all of it.”

“But that’s a part of it.”

She sighed again. “Look, you were right when you said that you have this very public life. And especially right now, I want to have a private one. When I was talking to your mom, she voiced some of the same concerns that I have. It’s too soon. For me and for the kids. You’re younger and haven’t been married before. I come with all this baggage. I mean, I don’t think of my kids as baggage, but you know what I mean. I’m not some fresh-faced younger woman with no past. I’ve been through a lot. I think I need some time.”

“How much time?”

“Are you really interested enough to wait for me?”

“I would wait. For you.”

He heard a soft sound in the phone that could have been a sniffle. Had he made her cry? Good or bad cry? Again, he waited. When she didn’t speak this time, he did.

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