Page 50 of Sapphire Storm

So they didn’t even sleep in the same bed in their BeverlyHills condo? The deception went that deep. He could see the signs of a fakemarriage everywhere now, but they’d been hidden in the frenzied rootlessness ofan actor’s life.

She handed him his coffee with a smile, then went toretrieve her own.

“You actually want me to hook up with your fiancé?” hefinally asked.

Taking a careful sip, she nodded. “I think he’s on thespectrum, too, but he’s what we call aromantic. He doesn’t form romanticattachments to people, just sexual ones. So there’s no risk he’d fall in lovewith you. As hard as that is given how wonderful you are.” She returned to thechaise and smiled. It seemed genuine. But she also seemed afraid. Her nervousstage business with the coffee, her sudden difficulty looking him in the eyemade it clear—you didn’t say no to Diana Peyton without consequences.

But so what? He already had one foot out the door. Hell, hisbags were literally packed.

But if he left now, it would be for a different and moretangled reason.

It wasn’t about protecting Rachel anymore.

It was about him—his body and who he allowed to touch it andwhy. Why were those questions so much harder to answer?

“I don’t like him,” he finally said. “I don’t know if I cansleep with someone I don’t like.”

“Oh, babe.” She sat forward. “Are you demi?”

“A what?”

“Demisexual. It’s another spot on the spectrum. It’s someonewho can’t get sexually aroused by someone they don’t have romantic feelingsfor.”

“I don’t know. A lot of this is…new.”

“Sorry. I shouldn’t be diagnosing people. Or not diagnosing,’cause that makes it sound like a disease. I shouldn’t bearticulatingotherpeople’s identities for them. Honestly, this is new to me too. But God, itexplained so much. I thought there was something wrong with me. I kept havingtheseawfulsexual experiences in search of the one moment that wouldfix me. And no matter how I felt about the person, every time it was likehaving my skin peeled off. And then one day I had to accept that I was a personwho could love deeply, but I don’t express it the way I’d been taught to. Andit gave me permission to stop treating sexual intercourse like some level ofthe game I could never reach.”

Thinking of all the clients who’d flown Ethan around theworld, Roman said, “Yeah, well, most sex doesn’t involve love anyway. Peoplejust say it does.”

“Exactly,” she said with a sheepish smile.

“Why can’t you have an asexual marriage with someone you reallylike?”

Rachel sighed. For the first time, she reached for theramekin and gathered up a handful of nuts too. “Mom says we don’t have the timeto find that person. She’s got me on a schedule.”

“And she wants them to look like Scott.”

Rachel nodded.

“And agree to the pre-nup.”

Rachel nodded again and chewed.

A silence fell.

“Did you really pack?” Rachel asked.

Roman nodded.

“Sweetie, I know it’s weird, and I know Mom canbe…challenging. But she could do great things for you. I mean, look, she kindof already is.” She gestured to the magazine resting on the chaise next to her.“Think about it before you give up on it. Or on her.”

“And you? Would I be giving up on you?” The frog in histhroat swelled, and suddenly his vision had misted. “’Cause honestly, that wasthe thing I was worried about losing most.”

Suddenly, her arms were around him, and he was swimming inher sweet designer perfume and sniffling like a little boy in a way that hehated and wanted to stop but couldn’t.

“Never,” she said quietly. “We’re Romy and Rachelle,remember?”

“Only without the high school reunion part because highschool sucked.”

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