Page 58 of Along Came Amor
He tipped her chin up so she was looking at him. “I’m glad you came here tonight.”
Her lashes lowered, shuttering her eyes from him. “You were the only person I could think to turn to.”
Her quiet admission left him feeling honored, and a little bit awed. He should’ve left it alone, but he couldn’t. “Why me?”
She exhaled and cast her gaze around, like she was looking for the words. “You listen without worrying about me. Without judging me.”
“Who says I don’t worry?” He slid his fingers into her hair to cup the back of her head. “But you’re right. I’ll never judge you.”
“I think you’re the only person who doesn’t,” she muttered.
Roman had the feeling she judged herself more harshly than anyone else did, but he kept that thought to himself.
Before he could consider what to say next, her brows drew together and she cocked her head, directing a quizzical glance at the coffee table.
“What... is that?”
He swallowed a laugh. “That’s my dog.”
The corners of her mouth tilted up. “Your dog?”
Roman picked up the toy and patted its head. The dog barked like it was smoking two packs a day.
Ava’s eyes were still wet, but she let out a surprised giggle. Roman made a mental note to send Camille a gift card for her favorite restaurant as he handed Ava the dog.
She turned it over in her hands. The shameless animal wagged its stumpy tail and whined. “Does it have a name?”
“We haven’t gotten that far. It only arrived this afternoon.”
“I see.” She gazed down at the silly toy, a smile lingering on her lips. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being here and listening. For making time for me.”
A vow hovered on the tip of his tongue, something impulsive, likeI’ll always make time for you, but he didn’t want to scare her away. All he said was, “You’re very welcome.”
Then he kissed her fingers before he drew her up from the sofa. “Why don’t we go out to dinner? Somewhere nice.”
He wasn’t sure how she’d react, since she’d been very clear from the beginning that their arrangement was only about sex and nothing more. But she’d come to him when she was in distress and there was nothing sexual about the vibe tonight. Taking her straight to his bedroom felt wrong. Would dinner at a restaurant—instead of room service in a hotel room—seem too much like a date?
But she shook her head. “Maybe I should go. I’m not fit company tonight.”
His fingers tightened on her hand. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet. Who knew how long she’d stay away now that he’d seen her cry?
Mikayla’s words from earlier came back to him.I don’t want you todoanything!
Maybe that was the key here. Not trying to fix it.Nottrying to do something.
It ran contrary to everything that drove him, but it was worth a shot.
He rested his hands on Ava’s hips and watched her expression closely. “What do you need right now, sweetheart?”
She bit her full lower lip and looked away, like she was uncertain of how he’d respond. “Would it be... well, could we just stay in and relax?”
“Sure. You want to have a movie night?” He made the suggestion on a whim, but when her eyebrows twitched with interest, he went on. “When I was a kid, whenever my mom or I had a stressful day, we’d splurge on a pizza and watch movies. It helped.”
Funny, he hadn’t thought about that in ages, but those were some of his fondest childhood memories.
