Page 173 of Romeo

She shrugged. “Then, I guess I did us a favor by making us both realize what our lives would be like without each other.”

“Truth? Didn’t fuckin’ like it. Also don’t like needin’ anyone as much as I need you.”

Holy shit.He really did want this.

Romeo. The infamous womanizer.

The man known for bouncing from bed to bed his whole adult life had stopped doing that after the chance meeting they had at a hamburger stand.

She had witnessed other bikers clean up their hound dog ways after meeting “the one.” Was she “the one” for Romeo?

An awkward laugh slipped from between her lips. “We’re a mess.”

“Ain’t gonna argue that.”

“Will this even work?” She still had some doubts. Actually, more than some. He’d been set in his ways for a long damn time.

“Not sure.”

At least he was honest about that. “Is it worth trying?”

He hesitated before admitting, “Ain’t gonna be easy.”

It sure wasn’t. “Our lives will be completely changed,” she warned.

“Not completely. But it’s for fuck sure gonna be different.”

Again, he wasn’t lying.

“If we build a strong foundation, we can grow from there.”Holy crap, were they really doing this? Would Romeo become her ol’ man? Would she be his ol’ lady?

Something neither of them wanted.

Until now.

“Maddie…” He lifted her chin and forced her to look him directly in the eyes. “Wanna make this fuckin’ clear, then we need to move the fuck on. Doin’ this for one reason and that one reason is you. Ain’t doin’ it ‘cause I’m forced to, doin’ it ‘cause I want to. Can’t see myself with anyone other than you anymore. Thought those motherfuckers scrambled my brain when they knocked me in the head, but the truth is, it made me see shit more clearly.”

She stared at the man with only inches separating them. The man she gave her virginity to so long ago. The man she gave her heart to more recently.

Her heart and her head might not be totally at peace with all this yet, but they were finally in one place.

“This snuck up on me,” she whispered.

“Yeah. Same.”

“This is not how I envisioned the direction my life would take.”

“Yeah. Same.”

“I never thought I’d end up with someone like you.”

“Yeah. Same.”

She grabbed his beard and tugged on it. Dropping her voice an octave, she echoed, “Wanna make this fuckin’ clear, then we need to move the fuck on. I’m doin’ this for one reason and that one reason is you. Ain’t doin’ it ‘cause I’m forced to, doin’ it ‘cause I want to. Can’t see myself with anyone other than you anymore.” When his mouth opened, she pressed a finger against his lips and shook her head. “You said this was complicated, so let me simplify this for you… I love you, Rome.”

It was finally out there. She could never take it back.

“Yeah…”

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