Page 110 of Revive Me

A laugh bubbles past my lips. “That’syour question? That was a lot of buildup for a movie invite.”

Grinning, his hands drop to my waist. “I thought I’d start with an easy one.”

Chuckling, I tell him, “I would like nothing more than to see a movie with you. And it’s perfect timing because my boss already got me a ticket.”

Somehow, Roman’s grin grows even bigger. “She may have been the one who gave it to you, but...”

My mouth drops open. “You set this all up?” Then, with even more shock, I exclaim, “Wait…are you saying my boss was yourwing woman?”

Roman lets out a loud laugh that makes my heart triple in size. “I never thought of it like that, but yeah, I guess she was.” He sobers, and adds, “She’s been very helpful since I last saw you. With a number of things.”

I start smiling and shaking my head at that, but Roman seems to have the opposite reaction. As if he’s suddenly reminded of something, all humor drops from his face and his hands tighten on my hips.

“You didn’t get in trouble with anything, did you?” he asks, concerned. “It was obvious that she knew about us, but she also implied that you still had your license and your job, so I’m assuming nothing too terrible came of…all of this.” His concern shifts to mild panic. “Am I right? You’re okay at work? Because if anything happened to you because of my bullshit, I’ll?—”

I gently press a hand against his mouth, unable to stop my growing smile.God, I’ve missed him.

“I’m fine, Roman, I promise,” I tell him. “I came clean to Fran and we worked it out. Everything is good.”

Relief fills his eyes. Before I can remove my hand from his mouth, I feel the gentlest kiss against my palm.

I feel warm all over just from that light touch, and when his gaze drops to my lips, a heat flares in them that makes it suddenly hard to breathe. I drop my hand from his mouth to rest on his chest.

“Am I allowed to kiss you?” he asks. “I refuse to do anything anymore that’s not by the book, so if it’s inappropriate?—”

I cut him off with a kiss of my own.

He sinks into it with a groan of relief.

I cling to him, my hands fisting in his shirt as his wrap around me, the feeling entirely mutual.

I don’t know which one of us eventually pulls back, but Roman’s forehead drops to mine, his eyes sliding closed. It lets me look at him, lets me truly take in this moment of contentment. And I can’t help asking in a whisper, “Did you just tell me you love me?”

His eyes open and he straightens slightly, though his hands stay on me so he can keep me close. “I did. You don’t need to say it back, that’s not why I?—”

“I love you, too, Roman.”

His eyes widen.

“And I missed you. So much.”

And then Roman is the one initiating the kiss, his lips taking mine with a desperation that wasn’t there a minute ago. I give into it with a sigh, comforted by the need thrumming beneath Roman’s touch.

We’re both breathing a little heavier when we pull back this time. He only moves so far as to lean his forehead against mine before saying, “So, about that movie…”

37

LILIANA

I don't know how I make it through the movie.

Roman keeps his arm around me the entire time, seeming to want the physical connection as much as I do, and yet it’s still not enough. I want to look at him, run my hands over him, convince myself he’s reallyhere. I glance at him more times than I can count during the movie. But it’s okay, because he’s doing the same thing. And every time our eyes meet, he cups my cheek and kisses me.

Thank God, the movie is only an hour and a half. It’s good enough that I can tell I’d be really into it if not for…everything, but it’s not enough to make me pay attention beyond a few gasps at the gore and laughs at the comedy. I’m mostly just counting down to the moment the credits start rolling.

When they do, it takes everything in me not to jump up and pull Roman back to the sunshine, back to reality where we can really talk. Instead, I force myself to stay in my seat and turn to Roman so I can ask cheerfully, “So…what’d you think?”

His eyes lock on mine, heat flowing through them. “I think we’re probably going to have to rewatch that at home another time.”

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