Page 84 of Rebound
“Do you make any money from it or is it a hobby?”
“Kita, you don’t need to interrogate Lavinia,” Roman says. He shifts so he’s slightly in front of me, as if he’s defending me from this sweet old lady.
Salem brushes past our legs and Kita gets a big smile on her face, bending down to pick him up.
“Hello, my precious angel baby,” she coos, kissing his head. “I missed you so much.”
I’m so sorry, Roman mouths to me.
I shake my head because Kita’s interrogation doesn’t bother me. If anything, I like that Roman has someone who’s as protective over him as my family is over me. Which makes me wonder, do his parents know about me?
“I came to get my baking dish,” Kita says, looking between Roman and me.
“Sure, let me get it.” He opens a kitchen cabinet and grabs the dish. Salem jumps down from Kita’s arms and Kita takes the dish from Roman.
“I will…see you later.” Again, Kita looks at me meaningfully. “Kiss my babies for me.”
Roman walks her to the door and I hear them whisper back and forth before the door closes. The lock turns and Roman is back in the kitchen. I’m leaning a hip against the counter, my arms crossed as I try to contain my smile.
“She hates me.”
Roman gives me a confused look. “You’re happy she hates you?”
“In this context, yes. Kita doesn’t like me because she’s protective of you.”
Roman chuckles lightly, shaking his head. “No, she’s protective of the cats and they live with me. She sees them as her children.
I know I’m right, even if he doesn’t want to believe me. Kita’s not here interrogating me because she’s worried I’m going to hurt the cats. I want Roman to believe that, and I want him to believe that he’s worth worrying about. I’m going to argue with him, but something he said stops me.
“Cats, plural?” I ask. Because one is surprising enough. Somehow this man has more than one cat and a nosy neighbor? Who is he?
I get my answer when a machine whirs and deposits cat food into three little bowls. I look at the food dispenser and almost as if they poofed into existence, two more cats join Salem for dinner. One of them pushes its face into the other’s dinner and Roman crouches down, lifting the cat and turning it back to its food.
“This is your food. Don’t steal your sister’s.”
The cat yowls and kicks back at Roman. “Excuse me, young lady. What kind of language is that? I’ve raised you better than this.”
I’m melting. I’m actually turning into a pile of goo, and my soul is leaving my body. How is it possible that the man everyone calls The Brutalizer is actually so adorable? If everyone knows this side of him, he wouldn’t need me to help bridge the gap between him and the team.
Roman straightens after making sure each cat is eating from their own bowl and turns to face me. I don’t think I’m hidingmy feelings as well as I think I am because he jerks back a little. “What’s that look on your face?”
“This is the greatest day of my life.”
“You do remember winning Olympic medals, don’t you?”
“That’s completely different, and those were also great days. I can have more than one greatest day, Roman.”
“That is literally not how that works. By its very meaning, the word surpasses all other great days in your life,” Roman argues. He moves closer and picks up the ice pack, putting it back in the freezer and then wiping the condensation off the counter.
“Clearly, you’re applying too much logic here. Greatest days are not based on the literal meaning of the event or word. They’re based on feelings and emotions. Winning an Olympic gold medal after working my ass off? The greatest day of my life, for sure. Finding out my temporary husband is a secret, soft good boy? Also, the greatest day of my life.”
Roman stops and turns to look at me, his eyes sharp. “That’s false propaganda! No one is going to believe you.”
I can barely contain my smile. “Maybe.” Turning, I walk towards the other end of the island, where the chairs are, and then double back. “Then again, maybe my reputation as a person who’s always nice and kind will make people believe me.”
Roman’s also circling the island, following me. There’s a predatory gleam in his eyes as he chases me. Shivers run down my spine as I continue to walk backwards, away from him. There’s a part of me that thinks giving into Roman will be a mistake. That there might come a day when I’ll slip and fall, and he won’t be there to catch me because he never signed up for it.
The other part of me wants to say, “fuck it”, and jump. Because who cares if Roman isin’t there to catch me. I’m a big girl. I can enjoy the fall and land on my own two feet.
