Page 31 of Deceit & Desire

“Fair enough.” I leaned forward, brushing my lips against his. “I love you. No matter what I said, no matter what I did, no matter how long I was gone… that never stopped being true.”

Roman relaxed back into the couch, like an immense weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and tugged me to him. I shifted, so I was straddling him, sitting in his lap, and wound my arms around his neck, holding him tight. His beard scraped against my cheek, and I sighed as he stroked my hair and pressed a kiss against my temple.

“Say it again.”

“I love you, Roman York, and I’m going to marry you.”

Roman kissed me, his hands trailing down my body to grip my hips, pinning me against him as his tongue swept against mine. I moaned and arched against him, stunned when he broke the kiss and pulled back.

I frowned. “What is it?”

“Did you mean what you said to your father about giving him potential grandbabies, too?”

I stilled, sitting with the question as the full weight of it rolled through me. “Yes. I don’t want to rush, or push you into anything you’re not ready for yet?—”

“I’m gonna stop you right there, darlin’. What about me gives you the idea that I’m not ready to have kids with the woman I’ve loved for my entire life?”

My heart started hammering in triple time at his admission, at the implication, at the idea of us having kids together. My mouth went dry and my stomach flipped and fluttered.

Roman threaded his fingers through my hair and pulled me close, kissing me until I was dizzy and we were both breathless. He pulled back, and I rested my forehead against his, grazing the tip of his nose with the tip of mine.

“Are we really doing this, Rome?” I whispered the words against his lips, settling into the warmth of his embrace.

Roman leaned back a little and tipped my chin up so he could gaze into my eyes. “You bet your sweet ass we are, baby. I’ve been waiting my whole life to do this with you. We can go straight to the courthouse tomorrow and make it official, if you want.”

I nodded, even as I chewed on my bottom lip. “I think that’s probably a good idea, but I’d also like to have an actual wedding ceremony some time. Something small, here at the ranch, that my dad can be involved in.”

“Of course. You just tell me what you want and we’ll find a way to make it happen, sweetheart.” Roman leaned up and kissed my forehead.

“I love you.” My body went boneless and my eyes fluttered closed. I melted against his chest, tucking my head under his chin as I heaved out a long, gusty sigh.

Roman rubbed my back, his warm hand making big, soothing circles, lightly massaging my exhausted muscles. “What’s the big sigh about, Firecracker?”

“I’ve basically been home for a day and a half and my whole entire world seems like it changed overnight.” I murmured the words against the column of his throat, suddenly so exhausted I wasn’t sure I could pry my eyes open again, even if my life depended on it.

“Is that a bad thing?” Roman’s tone was carefully neutral, and I winced at the sudden distance that tone seemed to put between us, even though I was still cradled against his chest.

“No… it’s not bad, just different.” I pressed a kiss against the fluttering pulse point in his throat, hoping the gesture would reassure him. “And it means I have about a million things I need to do, but between getting up at the ass crack of dawn to meet with the vet, getting the big house ready for dad to come home from the hospital, moving us into my parents’ old bedroom, cleaning the bathroom my mom died in, and Michael showing up and attacking me… I just… I don’t know if I have it in me to do any of them right now.”

“Then don’t worry about any of them right now, sugar. Just go upstairs and take a nice, hot shower while I get dinner on the table. Tomorrow’s another day, and we can start tackling whatever it is you need to handle after you get a good night’s sleep.”

Roman lifted me off his lap and helped me stand up, giving me a gentle nudge toward the stairs.

I reached up and rubbed the back of my neck, massaging the knot of tension that had formed there at the thought of all the things I needed to handle over the next few days. “A hot shower and a home cooked meal sounds… divine. And I didn’t know you could cook.”

“I’m a man of many talents, Zo. Now go get cleaned up while I fix us some supper.” Roman gave me a gentle, playful pat on the ass and I couldn’t help grinning, even as I rolled my eyes at the same time.

It was such an easy, familiar gesture, and it left me feeling warm and fuzzy from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

* * *

When I walked back downstairs,phone in hand and considering whether or not it was already too late to make the calls I needed to make to Miami, the familiar scent of my mother’s homemade chicken gnocchi soup recipe washed over me.

My steps faltered, and I paused, struggling to swallow the massive lump of emotion that had formed in my throat. It had been so long since I’d smelled the warm, savory mixture of chicken, onion, garlic, thyme, carrots, and celery, all in a perfect white cream sauce. The scent brought tears of gratitude to my eyes as I shuffled into the kitchen and slumped into a chair.

“I haven’t smelled this exact recipe in twenty years.” I breathed it deep, closing my eyes as I savored the scent of the soup. “What made you decide to make mom’s chicken gnocchi for dinner?”

Roman shrugged. “It was always your favorite comfort food when we were kids, and with everything we’ve got going on right now, I figured you could use your favorite go-to comfort food. So, I looked through the recipe cards, found your mom’s chicken gnocchi recipe, and I made it for you.”

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