Page 73 of Roman

“I’ve been getting complaints, you know?”

Danny’s stomach dropped. Had his work been subpar? He knew he’d been a bit…distracted, but he didn’t think it had been bad enough for his coworkers to notice.

Chloe nodded at him, her expression giving nothing away. “Yep. ‘Fraid so. People are saying that Ol’ Reliable Mr. Always Takes Your Shift is suddenly refusing everyone’s requests for coverage.”

Oh.Oh. It was true. Danny had been, for once, not taking every extra shift that came his way, focusing instead on spending time with Roman, enjoying real food and nights of full sleep and mind-blowing sex. But Chloe had always been telling him he was working himself to the bone. It wasn’t like her to scold Danny about working too little.

“Um…”

Chloe pointed a finger at him. “Now, this might be considered forgivable, if this same person hadn’t been guilty of giving me absolutely zero updates on a certain Mr. Handsome he recently bumped uglies with.”

“Oh my God.” Danny covered his face with his hands. “I’m sorry, I’ve been a bad friend.” He peeked through his fingers to find Chloe smiling at him.

“So it’s going good, huh? I get it. We’ve all been there. Sucked into the good dick vortex.”

“Chloe!” Danny groaned in embarrassment.

“Alas,” she sighed dramatically. “I miss those days.”

Danny giggled. “Yeah, right. You and Marcus are sickeningly in love.” It had made Danny feel beyond lonely more than once, watching the two of them together. But he didn’t feel that way anymore. He removed his hands from his face. “Itisgood with him. More than good, really.”

“But…?” Chloe prompted him, sensing he had more to say.

“He just has some…baggage…that’s been getting in the way a little bit.”

Chloe laughed not unkindly. “Who doesn’t? You’ve definitely got your own. Is he being open and honest about it?”

“Yeah, he is. Although, I might have gotten tipsy last night and harassed him about handling it before we start thinking about a serious future together.”

“Good for you, Danny Boy!” Chloe held her hand up for a high-five, one Danny couldn’t help giving her. “You deserve the best, and sometimes you have to set boundaries to get it.”

“Also…it’s possible that at some point—not right away, maybe after my mom…um—well, I might be…leaving with him? For a while. Maybe a long while. He’s traveled a bunch, and he wants to show me some of where he’s been.”

There, that sounded better than,My boyfriend may at some point turn me into a newbie vampire who becomes crazy with blood lust and needs to leave the city to isolate from friends and family for a while, right?

Chloe was giving him a look Danny couldn’t quite read. “Oh, so it’sserious, huh?”

Danny took a sip of his coffee, avoiding her eye. “It’s getting there, maybe.”

Chloe smiled broadly. “Well, I think that would be amazing.”

“You do? You don’t think it’s crazy I just met him? You wouldn’t be mad if I left?”

“Crazy, maybe, but who isn’t when it comes to love. Andmad? Daniel Kingman, in all the time I’ve known you, I’ve hardly ever seen you make a decision just for yourself. If your first one is to run off with your dream man for a while, I’m all for it. I can’t say I won’t miss you, but youareallowed to live your life.”

He was, wasn’t he? Danny could stay in town to see his mother through to the end, with Roman at his side, easing her mind as much as he could. And then he would get to actuallylive his life. His life with Roman.

Adventure and travel and mystery, all Danny’s for the taking. He couldn’t help but smile at the thought.

His happy daydreams kept Danny company his whole shift, and it wasn’t until work was over and he saw Soren in the driver’s seat of his car to pick Danny up that he realized something was wrong.

WherewasRoman?

eighteen

Roman

Romanfingeredthesheetson the hotel bed and grimaced—the thread count was definitely not up to his usual standards. But it had been the best he could find in this tiny town, and he wasn’t planning to stay long anyway.

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