Page 116 of Rebound
She is.
In this marriage, the attention will always be on Lavinia, where it needs to be. I will never chase it; I will never steal it for myself. Lavinia can easily spend days locked away, but she also thrives with people. Seeing their attention on her doesn’t makeme jealous. It worries me because I want to hide her away and keep her safe.
I stick by her side, my hand in hers as she talks to people, asks after their family members and pets and vacations.
“Baby,” she whispers, when we’re alone for a moment. She has no idea what it does to me when she calls me that. “Why are you glaring at everyone we talk to?”
“I’m not glaring,” I defend.
“Well, you have an RBF and it’s scaring people.”
I raise our joined hands to my lips and kiss the back of hers. “They’re not scared enough to not talk to you. But I’ll try to be better.”
“If you want to leave, we can leave,” she offers.
I look at her flatly. “Lavinia, I’m not going to make you leave an event you’re having fun at because I’m a man-child who can’t regulate his emotions. We’re not leaving, and I’ll do my best with the RBF.”
I’m even more determined to not leave this party. It’s something my father would have done, demanded they leave because my mother was the one getting all the attention when all eyes should always be on him. They might have fucked me up, but I’m not going to let that touch Lavinia.
“Thank you for coming with me tonight,” I tell her.
Lavinia gives me a sweet smile, her eyes sparkling under the bright lights. “It’s what friends do for each other.”
Ever since I told her I never wanted to be just her friend, she’s doubled down on calling me her friend. I can’t tell if she’s teasing me or trying to tell me something. Knowing her, it’s probably a mix of both.
I stare back at her, unimpressed. “We’re not friends, Lavinia.”
“We’re not?” She blinks up at me. “What are we, then? Acquaintances? After everything we’ve been through.”
“Calling our relationship friendship is you playing emotional dodgeball, baby. Do you flirt with your friends? Stare at their lips when they talk?”
My eyes drop down to the perfect pout of her lip.
“Maybe if you notice the guys lips they’ll be more open to being your friends,” Lavinia suggests.
I growl at her, and she laughs. “Oh look, Mom and Dad are here, should we go say hi to them?” Lavinia nods towards the entrance where her parents are walking in.
Saved by her parents. “This conversation isn’t over.”
We walk over to meet them.
“Vinny, sweetheart, you look beautiful,” Melanie gushes. “That dress is even more amazing in person than it looked on camera.”
“I know! Look at this!” Vin twirls and the skirt of the dress flows out, opening like a petal. The glee on her face makes me smile. Sometimes, I wonder how someone like her even exists. Will I wake up tomorrow and this would all have been a dream?
Vin leans in, giving her a dad a hug. “Hi, Daddy.”
“Hi, killer,” he replies gruffly.
When Vin pulls back, Mr. Callahan nods at me, raising his hand between us. “Roman.”
This is the most cordial greeting I’m ever going to get from this man. I shake his hand and return his nod. “Mr. Callahan.”
“Mom, Roman needs a break from socializing. Do you want to hang out with me?” Lavinia asks.
They hand over their clutches to us and Vin kisses my cheek before they walk to where Jules and Sage are talking.
Mr. Callahan sighs. “I need a drink.”
