Page 45 of Healed Hearts

His eyes light up, and he leans in, dropping a kiss to my lips before pulling back. “Good morning, darlin’. Thank you forstaying with me last night,” he whispers, and then he’s taking off with Wren into the kitchen.

I sigh heavily, a combination of swoon and what the actual fuck, before turning my attention back to Ro. “Wanna come sit down?” I ask.

“Yeah, I think that’s a thing we need to do for sure.”

I wave him along, and he follows me to the couch. I smile when I hear Wren singing in the kitchen. Her little voice is so sweet. I love how often she sings. Roman’s chuckle brings me back to attention. “What’s so funny?” I ask.

“You,” he says, laughing again. “My little Hold’s all grown up and inlove.”

“Shut up. No, I’m not.” But I’m definitelysomethingbecause I can feel my cheeks heating up again.

“I think you might be,” he says, grinning like an idiot. I scowl at him, trying to look serious, but I can tell by his amused expression that it’s not working.

“You know,” he muses. “It’s the craziest thing. That mean look you’re giving me isn’t nearly as intimidating with all the love pouring from your eyes.”

I groan, flopping back on the couch. “Ugh, you’re the worst.”

“No. Beck is the worst. So you better start talking, so I can help you mitigate his ridiculous-ass overprotectiveness.”

I sigh. “We hooked up a few weeks ago,” I start, and Ro nods. He already knew that, of course, because I dropped the pin to this house. “And it was good. He was…” I let my voice trail off, considering how much I want to share. Fuck it, this isRoman. I can tell him anything. I drop my eyes to my lap and fiddle with the bottom of Julian’s shirt. Good God, I look ridiculous. Can’t believe I’m having this conversation dressed like this. “He was really nice to me.” My voice comes out in a whisper, and when I bring my eyes back to Roman’s, they’re soft with understanding.

“That’s good, Hold,” Ro says gently. “He should be nice to you. Anyone you hook up with should be.”

I roll my eyes. “I know, I know. Anyway, we hooked up. I fell asleep on him.” Roman’s eyes go wide. It’s no secret how little I trust people, especially in situations like that. Ro knows I don’t trust easily, but there’s a lot he doesn’t know—like my rules. “Like literally on him. I was lying on top of him.” I chuckle a bit at the memory and Roman laughs too.

“That must have been a little scary.”

I nod, thankful he knows me so well. “It was, and it wasn’t. And I think the fact that it wasn’t was the most scary of all.” I drop my voice to a whisper. “He kept asking me stuff the whole time. Like ‘what would make you feel more comfortable’ and ‘is this okay?’”

Roman’s eyes light up in understanding. “He should do that. Anyone should.” It’s very similar to the conversation I had with Beck, but Ro is handling it completely differently than he did and for that, I’m thankful. I still feel bad for getting mad at Beck that day.

“I had this same talk with Beck, you know? I yelled at him. I felt bad about it.”

Roman nods. “Yeah, he told me. There’s no reason to feel bad. He knows he pushed too hard. He felt bad about it too.”

I lean forward until my forehead lands on his shoulder. Being in this situation is scary. I don’t know how to navigate it, and I don’t know how to trust that Julian is genuine. “I really like him, Ro,” I whisper.

Roman reaches up and rubs my back. “I can tell. You’re not exactly good at hiding it.”

“And Wren is sick. Which adds a whole other layer of complication. I don’t know what’s going on, but the doctor on her case is a fucking idiot.”

“Is that how you guys met?”

“Kind of. I mean, we hooked up, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it—him.And then a week later, he shows up with a sick kid. Kinda took the breath right out of me, you know?”

“Yeah, I get it,” he says, still rubbing my back. “Can I offer some advice?”

I sit back and look at him. “Yeah, of course.”

“If he’s good, and nice, and it seems like he is because your walls are sky-high, and you’re here anyway, sleeping in his bed and wearing his clothes—which is adorable by the way,” he adds with a smile. “Then don’t fight it. It’s okay to be scared, but be scaredwithhim. Not without him. Don’t make my mistakes, okay?”

I nod. “Okay, I think I can do that.”

He pulls me into a hug. “I’m happy for you, Hold. You deserve this.”

I’m not sure that I believe him, but I want to. I really fucking want to. Ro used to think he didn’t deserve Beck, but they’re perfect for each other. And maybe I don’t need to feel like I deserve Julian to be perfect for him too. “Thanks, Ro.”

“Don’t mention it,” he mumbles. He takes a big breath. “Well, come on then. Let me go grill this man of yours.”

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