Page 22 of Roman and Jules
He headed for the jacuzzi, seeing she’d beaten him out to his balcony, her long blonde hair hitting against her back as she leaned on the railing. He was surprised, since his past girlfriends normally took twice as long to get ready. The sound of the sliding glass doors as he opened them made her turn, and he was taken aback by her beauty. Her sporty suit made her absolutely irresistible, like she was getting ready to go surfing in California. Her legs seemed even longer than when in her lacy blue dress, though he secretly thought the cowgirl boots would complete the look.
He whistled low under his breath. She nudged him reproachfully with her shoulder on her way to the jacuzzi, like that was some kind of punishment. “Are you ready to try your jacuzzi out… again?” Jules placed delicate hands on the railing. She had no problem leading the way up the stairs to the jacuzzi, and he had no problem enjoying the view. She lowered down to the edge of it like she’d done at the pool the night before. That might’ve started this trouble in the first place. He was having a hard time keeping his heart steady.
She dipped her legs in and gave a little gasp. “It’s cold!”
“Yeah.” He sat down next to her, his legs sinking into the cool water. “Vegas is too hot to keep the water boiling year-round.”
She turned to him, her hair sliding around her pale face. It made quite the contrast with her dark brows and ruby red lips. Of course, Ty never downgraded when it came to girlfriends, but she was so different from his usual that Roman hadn’t immediately recognized how much she affected him. It had only gotten worse since he’d married her.
He plunged into the frothy surface to put some distance between him and his wife, but when he glanced up, he saw her watching him, her eyes bluer against the water, and he couldn’t help it, he reached out for her. His hands made contact with her warm waist. Her stomach moved under his fingers as she breathed in with a laugh before he dragged her in with him.
She let out a scream as she paddled for a hold, and then her hands were over his shoulders and she was clinging to him before he settled her next to him. “Roman!” He loved the sound of his name in her soft-as-velvet Southern accent—it came straight fromGone with the Wind.
“Roman?”he unconsciously copied her drawl. “I like the sound of that. Say it again.”
“Roman.” Her voice turned more serious, and this time, he let her talk, although she was having a hard time. She played with her fingers. He noticed she wasn’t wearing the first ring he’d given her. “I’m…” she started. “This is a lot of fun, but I need to get over Ty. I think I should’ve just done that, instead of trying to give him an ultimatum.”
Okay, so he needed to tear apart Ty’s arguments. Easy enough, since they were lame. He forced a laugh. “Don’t listen to that poor lovesick fool; he’ll say anything. Here’s the thing; he doesn’t know how to love. As soon as he figures it out then he’ll try to get you back.”
She seemed shocked. “You think he loves me?”
Had Roman said that? He swallowed.Yeah, yeah, I did.Ty loved her as much as he was capable. How did he get around this? The last thing he wanted to do was help this creep get back Jules. He shrugged. “C’mon, even if he did, do you really want him like this? Giving you back your phone was a slick move on his part. I’ll give him that, but that’s as much game as he’s got.”
She was silent and he was wondering what was going on in her head. “Did you leave to meet him this morning?” she asked.
“He didn’t show up, but look what I found instead…” He screwed off his mother’s six-carat diamond wedding ring from the tip of his pinky. “Let’s do this right.” Her eyes widened at it. “Oh, don’t worry,” he said quickly. “It’s fake.”
She laughed and put her hand out and let him slide the ring over her finger. It felt significant somehow, and he lifted his eyes to see if he could read her expression this time. Her face was turning thoughtful, which was both a good and a bad sign. “I love it,” she whispered. Staring at the ring, she hooked her soft arm around his. “I kinda wish… it was real. I mean, like all of this was real.” She sucked in her breath, looking up quickly at him. “Don’t worry. I know that this isn’t… I’m not expecting anything from you. And anytime you want to walk away…”
“Jules,” he said. “Jules.” He tried to cut through her reassurances.
“What?” she said finally.
“It’s okay.” He shrugged. The water shifted around them at the movement. “You can say whatever you want around me, okay? You don’t have to watch your words like that.” He hoped in time she’d have the confidence to say whatever she wanted to say, no matter how clingy she thought it might sound. “It’s not like I think you have the power to force me to do anything I don’t want,” he said. “What are you going to do? Keep me married against my will?”
Her eyes brightened and then she chuckled, maybe a little thoughtfully. “Fair enough. I feel bad, though, you’re getting nothing out of this. At least I don’t think you are.” She studied his face and then reached for his hair, dragging her fingers through it. “How about I… do something with your hair?”
He wasn’t sure what he loved more—the feel of her hands on him or that she was teasing him. “You don’t like my hair?” He didn’t care about being fashionable, but he enjoyed playing with her, and so he turned his back to her. “Go for it. Give me a makeover.”
Jules would have to back up her words now. She gave a laugh and gamely arranged his hair so that it all stuck up like a porcupine. He caught sight of his ring as her fingers brushed past his cheek. His mother’s diamonds looked good on her, and for a second-and-a-half he let himself get caught up in the “what ifs.”
He felt her breath on his neck when she sighed. “I need to get my clothes at my place.”
Roman stiffened in surprise. She was staying? He tried to act casual about it and cleared his throat. “You want me to send someone?”
“No, it’ll be easier to go myself.” He swung around to search her face for any sign of uncertainty, and she ducked her head with a smile. “Don’t worry—I’m not changing my mind. I’m going all in on this, even if I don’t win Ty back. I’m actually not sure if I should take him back anyway… but if he changed… a lot… then maybe I’d think about it.”
He pushed her hair from her face. “Yay girl power.”
It might’ve come out a little sarcastic, and she shoved him back for it then stood to leave the jacuzzi, dripping over its surface.
“Wait, no!” He pretended to beg. “Don’t leave me, baby. Let’s just buy you some new clothes. I want you here with me.”
She laughed in response and splashed out of the water, taking the stairs down to the deck. She wasn’t the type to take gifts. The ring only found its way on her finger because she thought it was fake. He dug his elbows into the jacuzzi behind him. “I get it,” he said. “Independent woman.”
The jeer was enough to get her to return to the jacuzzi’s edge. “Thrifty woman,” she corrected.
His brows rose. “How’s that? The clothes would be free—for you at least.”
