Page 65 of King of Ruin

Did he tell me that he loved me? No.

But those words. For tonight…they are enough.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Maddie

And by the next morning,I turn into a chicken.

Even though he said we’d talk more today, I don’t ask Roman anything else as we have breakfast. I take a shower, and for the first time since I came here, he doesn’t join me.

This shouldn’t be a big deal. People shower alone all the time. It’s not usually a group event. Then again, most people don’t have showers with six shower heads.

I’ve learned the layout well enough that I don’t need his help, but I can’t shake the feeling that I messed something up last night.

Why did I have to go confessing that I was falling in love?

I get out of the shower, dry off, and after wrapping the towel around my body, I sit down to brush my hair.

I wish I could blow it out. I mean, I can blow-dry my hair. But I need someone else to really style it.

I could try…

The lighting in here is amazing, even better than the rest of the house and when I lean close…

I start to work at the strands using a large round brush to straighten with just a big curl at the end, then Roman enters. I turn off the blow dryer with a sigh, sure I’m not doing a great job.

“What are you up to?”

Considering how much I’ve already confessed, I think it’s best I don’t say,trying to look pretty for you. So instead, I go for snark, which is not my thing at all. “Umm. I’d say it’s obvious, isn’t it?”

He stops behind me. “Is it? I’ve never seen you dry your hair before.”

I let out a sigh. God, I suck at thishiding my feelingsthing. “I bet the other women you’ve dated dry their hair.”

His hands come to my shoulders, sliding along my skin. “I don’t really date. So, I wouldn’t know.”

My brows scrunch at his words. “You have satchels of overnight products prepped in your bathroom.”

“Those aren’t for dates,” he answers, gently taking the blow dryer from my hand. “To be clear, they are for women I convince to come back here for a single shared night. And since we’re being honest,” he takes the brush from the other, “what you and I are doing is in keeping with that, because I didn’t ask you out on a date either.

And then he starts to dry my hair. I blink my eyes several times because, those words hurt. We didn’t go out on a date. He did just convince me to come back here with him. I’m a hook-up…

The sting reverberates through me a moment before my mind rebels. He told me not to give up on him. I reach out for the counter to steady myself as I try to get my emotions and thoughts back in check.

I can feel him rolling the brush through my hair, as he holds the strands against the dryer. He works around my head,the steady hum of the blow dryer creating a pause in our conversation as I try and pull myself back together.

I can see him creating a sleek coif. I tilt my head, leaning closer. It’s perfect.

But somehow, I no longer want to look like every other woman.

He doesn’t notice or doesn’t acknowledge my change of mood as he finishes the task, switching the dryer off.

I look down at my lap. He reaches my chin, tilting my face back up. “But Maddie,” he says like no time has passed.

“Yeah?”

“You are completely different in that none of them have ever been invited to stay longer than a night.”

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