Page 13 of Toxic Things I Love About You

“You can talk to him from here.”

I nodded and rolled my eyes.

“Fine. But only because you asked nicely. Now can you remove his gag so I can ask him questions? Or hear him scream. Whatever.”

Roman took two long strides and ripped the tape away.

“With pleasure, princess.”

That last word was enunciated, as if telling my new toy that I was indeed a princess, just not the adorable one he’d tried to insult me as.

FIVE

roman

I didn’t knowwhat the hell I was doing when it came to Emilee. But the light in her eyes when the guy screamed sure as hell made me feel a little bit less conflicted about the proposal.

She was mine.

I tossed the tape in the trash that would see more garbage by the time I was done with this SOB.

“Talk, Mr. Walter,” said Emilee.

That fucking shirt and her heels? She could pull that look off, but something told me Mr. POS wasn’t going to be appreciating her business attire. Or rather the lack thereof.

“What do you want to know, you spoiled little bitch?”

I reached out and punched him before Emilee could react.

“That was rude,” I said.

He spit, and red dripped from his lip.

“Thank you, Romy-poo.”

At this point, all I could do was roll my eyes whenever she called me that fucking ridiculous name. But the fact that she seemed to be happy had me hating it just a little bit less.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Emilee stepped closer while I was trying to be the buffer and make sure she stayed far enough away. I was satisfied until she got close enough to see her or even smell her.

“I won’t touch him, Roman. Calm down.”

My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out of my pocket.

“Who is that, and why are you smiling?” Emilee asked. Nothing got by her. The sooner I figured that out, the sooner I’d stop being surprised.

“Parks,” I said and pushed the speaker button.

“Have you gotten it out of him?” Parks asked.

This time, Emilee rolled her eyes.

“What out of who? And why are you calling Roman, Parks? Are you two besties now? And if yes, we should for sure do a double date.”

Parks and Roman both seemed to sigh in unison.

“What?” she asked.

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