“Only because we’re kept at the office for forty hours a week.” I give him a disbelieving look. He sighs. “Or fifty hours.”

“Fifty sounds more accurate with you.” I snuggle closer, basking in his warmth. It’s a balm for the nausea for some reason. “I miss you.”

“Sophia.” He murmurs, gently brushing his fingers along my jaw. “I want to be home more. My assistant can only be there forty hours a week.”

“You better be making bank, mister. Doing the job of multiple people and all” I poke his chest. “Are you off Saturday?”

“Yes.” He assures me.

He kisses my forehead, then lifts my chin. “Am I allowed to kiss you? I should have asked earlier since you’re not feeling well.”

“You can.” I encourage him. “You should.”

He still hesitates. “I love you. I know I’m at work often. I know that I miss dinner, that we’ve only been on two dates since we’ve been back and one of those was a group date. But I think of you all the time, Sophia.”

“I pout over you.” I smile. “Pout and whine over you not being here. But I know you work hard, Roman. I’m not silly and I love your dedication to every project you have. I know you’re always the guy who gets the job done properly.”

He kisses me hungrily, his tongue tangling with mine. We make out until he rolls me onto my back. Then I push on his chest and sit up, closing my eyes as another wave of nausea threatens my stomach.

My teeth click together and I force myself to breathe properly. In through the nose out through the mouth. Or I have it completely backward. Roman rubs my back. “Sorry.”

“No more apologies.” I wave it away. “I want this bullshit to be done.”

“Holden set up an appointment.” Roman whispers.

There’s some undercurrent in his voice, one I don’t recognize. He motions for me to lay on my side and lifts my shirt over my head, then takes my bra off. I narrow my eyes. “We just proved I can’t do that.”

“I’m not asking you to.”

“Well you’re stripping me and that leads to sex and I don’t want to have sex. I’m not in the mood.” I roll on my other side, so I’m not facing him.

Roman sighs. “Sophia, being cold can help with nausea. I’m not going to force you to fuck me.”

I bite my bottom lip so I don’t let out the rest of my anger. I know it’s not because of Roman. I’m not angryathim, I’m pissed with this damn situation. I don’t want to feel sick. I want to fuck my very sexy, delicious husband. I want to be able to eat without feeling gross. I don’t want to feel bloated and pissy.

Roman strokes down my back, then kisses my shoulder. “I’ll stop. I can leave if you want me to.”

I catch his hand, not asking him to stay, just holding him in place. He kisses my cheek. I undo the top of my pants anyway and shimmy out of them. With the tightness of my bra gone and my pants no longer cutting into my skin, I do feel better.

And even though I’m shivering, my stomach stopped rolling. I back up a little until I feel Roman against me. I’m still cooling my temper, still trying to calm the frustration that nothing can be easy, my anger that we can’t just jump into our happily ever after, and all of this happening before we’re going to have a party.

Roman wraps himself around me. “Going to snap at me for this?”

“Maybe,” I whisper. “I’m not mad at you, it’s … everything.”

“I figured.”

“I’m sorry, amore.”

“No more apologies.” He quotes me. “Let’s get some rest. You have me all day tomorrow.”

I don’t bother to ask why he took it off, don’t bother to point out that he’s still going to have all that work to do, don’t bother to say anything that can or will start an argument. I want this softness. I need it.

“Thank you.” I kiss his bicep.

“Anything for you, mia dolce moglie.”

I like the way ‘wife’ sounds on his tongue. It helps me fall asleep with a smile on my face.