Page 29 of Roman and Jules
If only his father knew the half of it.He doesn’t, does he?His father looked every inch the stern CEO, though certainly not as confident with a heart-to-heart with his son as he was when facing the board. And still, Monty Hugh expected Roman to be the man that he was. The expression in his eyes was a blend of soberness and irony, like he was ready to offer a mocking laugh if life got too serious. Could those eyes see something that Roman couldn’t?
“Get home to that girl, son. You don’t need me to say it.”
Roman had never wanted to confide in his father more, but instead, Roman nodded and turned away. Every part of that lecture stung, and for none of the reasons that his father might guess. There wasn’t a thing about his marriage that didn’t have to do with Ty. Roman was a puppet and he’d made his own strings. It had made him insecure at his weakest moments, like now. And it shouldn’t. She should mean nothing to him. Right?
Still, Ty’s hints that she cared nothing for Roman made him sweat bullets. He straddled his Harley and rushed to The Mantua, only to come home to a smiling Jules waiting for him, and just like that he relaxed like the unpleasantness from Tyson and his father had never happened.
Almost.
He hurried to get out of his work clothes, throwing on his nearest hoodie and board shorts, not caring how well they matched before he stumbled out of his room. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of Jules. She was wearing braids—a Pippi Longstocking look with no makeup. She made her way to him in bare feet, a lightweight top, and ragged, white jean shorts. That meant she didn’t have band practice or a gig tonight. He’d have her all to himself. His heart lifted.
He sat on his white couch in the entertainment room, and before long she settled onto the other end of it. Her red nails were wrapped around her green smoothie as she sipped absentmindedly on the drink. Her lips were glossy from the Chapstick she’d stolen from his pocket. He was so used to that by now that he barely flinched at it.
She crossed her smooth legs and put them up on the couch, digging her toes under his knees to warm them up.Yeah, Ty doesn’t know what he’s talking about.The dog nestled next to her side. Now that it was October, Mercutio had gained about fifteen pounds and five inches. She rubbed the lively puppy’s head, taking turns giving him love, drinking her smoothie, and texting.
Roman felt a surge of uncertainty watching Jules’s fingers fly over her cellphone. Was Ty a part of this moment too? “Hey!” Roman called over to her. She glanced up and he stole her phone and slid it under him. Her forehead creased, and he gave her a weak smile in response. “Let’s play.”
“Excuse me?” She set down her green smoothie on the side table and dove over the cushions to try to wrestle her phone from him. That wasn’t what he’d meant by playing, though he’d take it. Mercutio barked around them as Roman captured her arms and folded them around her stomach while she struggled and let out shrieks of laughter.
His mouth ran into her neck and he resisted the sudden urge to kiss her as he pulled back to peer into her eyes. “I’ll give it back if you beat me at War Blaster,” he said. “Deal?”
Her eyes turned rebellious. War Blaster was a video game about zombie hunters that they’d both discovered together. It was terribly uncreative and strangely addicting. She shifted her weight against him. “Fine, but I’m going to need my hands, Roman.”
He let her go reluctantly, but she didn’t go far. She hooked her arm under his while he handed her the game controller. It was ironic that the more comfortable she grew with him, the more hyper-aware he’d become of her every move.
They set up the game, and as soon as they picked out their zombie hunters, she straightened in concentration, her elbows hitting his arm as she tried to move her whole body with her controller. She let out a shout when a zombie tried to attack her, and she rose to her knees, pounding against the red button on her controller to shoot it down.
She wasn’t normally a gamer—obviously. In fact, he suspected she’d never picked up a controller until she’d met him, but now he loved how obsessed she was with it.
Jules blocked his character with a karate chop to his virtual face. “Oh, now you’re not so cocky,” she said, and then she beat him with a cheap shot and won the game. She did it regularly—none of his other girlfriends had. And where had that thought come from?My girlfriend?Out of habit, he reached out for her and poked her in the stomach.
Jules pushed him back and collapsed against the couch next to him. Her skin was warm after moving around so much, and he wanted to scoot her closer.I should be kissing her.She’s my wife, after all.He froze.
She turned to him, trying to catch her breath. “I think you owe me something.”
Still spooked at the direction of his thoughts, he grudgingly dug out her phone from under him. What was it about her that made him want her like this? He was getting too close to her—that was why. He held out her phone to her.
Jules bit her lip and snatched at her phone like he’d still try to keep it away from her. She let out a grunt when his fingers tightened over it, and then she squealed when he used it to reel her in closer so that she was leaning over his chest.What am I doing?It was like he couldn’t stop until he had her all to himself. “I need you to be my arm rest,” he said. “Okay?”
She batted at him, but he had her in his arms now, and she relaxed against him. Her hands still worked on getting her phone from him.
He rested his chin against the top of her head. “Who are you texting?”
“Oh… just…” She hesitated. He shouldn’t have asked.Ty is a fly on our wall. Thinking about his cousin, he let her go. He hadn’t cared this much before, but now it bothered him. A lot.
Confusion clouded her blue eyes, and he knew that this was breaking their deal. The whole plan, as he’d explained it to her, was for her to get Ty back, but he’d never meant for it to actually work, and he’d never planned to get this emotionally involved with her. Roman was beginning to believe that this was one of the stupider things that he’d done… so why did he enjoy these moments with her so much?
“Hey!” He tried to distract her—maybe himself more. “You’re not drinking that green smoothie for dinner, are you?”
Jules straightened, looking eager. She couldn’t hide how much she liked his cooking. It was another reason he was so crazy about her.
“You know what? You’ve got to start pulling your fair share around here,” he teased. “I’m going to start teaching you how to cook. I can’t stomach you living off peanut butter sandwiches.”
“Green smoothies,” she said and picked hers up to finish it off. “And I could probably benefit from not eating as much as I have, but…” she gave in, “I’d love cooking lessons from you.”
He probably should’ve started with that, and he grinned. “What do you want to learn first?”
“Spaghetti and meatballs.”
