Page 112 of By the Letter

The funny thing was, I wasn’t even a little surprised all the Wells brothers were invested in our nanny choice. Roman and I had interviewed several candidates over the last few weeks and had finally settled on Louise. The kids she’d been nannying were heading off to school full time, and that was the only reason she was leaving her current position. We were lucky to find her.

“She’s a gem,” I said. “Besides, she’s Elliot and Kit’s nanny’s sister, and she’s watched their children several times. Do you think Elliot Levy would vouch for someone less than perfect?”

“See?” Nate rounded on Ben. “They have it covered. Relax.”

Ben had not uncrossed his arms. “I’d like to meet this woman.”

“You’ll meet her when she comes to work for us,” Roman barked.

I slid my palm over his jaw. “He’s just being protective.”

“I don’t like him questioning our decision,” he grumbled. “You love Louise.”

“I do, and Ben will love her too. I’m not worried.”

Lately, I hadn’t been worried about much. Once Roman and I’d had our big talk, we hadn’t stopped talking. It was as if we’dbroken something within ourselves, and instead of internalizing every tiny thought, we shared it aloud.

I now understood Roman more than ever. He may have been this massive, powerful man, but he had wounds almost as old as he was and a center that needed tending to. I knew something about that.

We were careful with each other, mutually aware of the old hurts we both carried. I had to unlearn being quiet and enduring, and Roman was making it easy. When it was just the two of us, we had a steady sense of peacefulness I’d never experienced before. His brothers always came along to shake things up so we didn’t get bored, though I doubted that would ever be a problem.

When we weren’t talking, we were going at it. Even with my giant belly, Roman got creative. We couldn’t keep our hands off each other because right beside the love and peace we had uncovered was a fiery passion that burned brighter every day.

Like most nights, I fell asleep on the couch, and Roman carried me upstairs when the game was over. I could have walked, but he liked carrying me, and I didn’t mind giving him that. Not one bit.

We got ready for bed together. Mary scampered off to her snoozing spot at the foot, giving us both the stink eye for daring to interrupt her sleep, then quickly settled down in the ultra-luxurious cat bed Roman had bought for her.

I hadn’t moved in with Roman. Not officially, at least. Unofficially, I slept here every night, and Mary spent most of her time here too. Slowly but surely, all her accessories and necessities had migrated, and my belongings seemed to be piling up as well. Roman hadn’t said a word, but I’d caught him running his hand over my dresses hanging in his closet and smiling to himself. So, I was pretty sure he was liking where we were going.

I sat in bed, my back against a pile of pillows, rubbing lotion on my arms. Roman took the bottle and went to work on my feet. His thumb dug deliciously into my arch. He did this nightly, massaging my feet and legs until I was boneless.

“I’m going to miss it when you don’t do that anymore,” I slurred.

“Who says I’m going to stop?” He kissed the tip of my toe. “These feet carry around the two loves of my life. They deserve to be treated with care.”

“Well, that’s sweet. Is there a part of you that needs massaging?”

He took my foot and placed it on top of the thick ridge of his cock. “Always.”

I reached for him. “Then come here and let me take care of you too.”

Beanie stretched, a foot or knee digging into me so hard, I hissed. Roman followed my hand on my belly, rubbing the spot where our son was trying to break free.

“You okay?” he murmured.

“He’s running out of room.”

“He’ll be out soon enough, then he’ll probably regret giving up his comfy spot.”

I tipped my forehead into his jaw. “I think he’ll be pretty comfy here too.”

His hum reminded me of Mary’s contented purrs. “You know I love you?”

“I do.” I spread my fingers on his cheek. “You know I love you too?”

“Yeah, baby, I do.” He rubbed his face against mine. “You and Beanie are going to live here with me, aren’t you?”

My heart flipped inside my chest, which wasn’t easy since my organs were pretty squished these days. Now that he’d asked—well, sort of asked—I realized I’d been waiting for this. Wantingit. Of course he was giving it to me. Roman always gave me what I wanted.

---