Page 89 of Along Came Amor
“Looks like you’ve got yourself a touch of heat exhaustion, mi amor,” he said, helping her to her feet.
She wobbled. “No shit.”
Roman would have laughed if he weren’t so worried about her. “I’m going to pick you up and put you in the tub, okay?”
“You’re going to get your suit wet.”
“I’m—” He looked down at his polo shirt and chinos, just to be sure. “Ava, I’m not wearing a suit.”
She wound her arms around his neck and spoke into his shoulder. “You’re always wearing a suit in my mind.”
Not knowing what to make of that, he lifted her gently and carried her over to the tub. He lowered her into the water with great care, glad he’d been keeping up with the lower back exercises his physical therapist had assigned. Ava let out a sigh as the cool water lapped over her bare thighs and she relaxed into the tub with her head resting on the edge.
“Is that better?” he asked, unable to keep the roughness out of his voice. His only focus was on her wellness, but he couldn’t ignore the way her nipples hardened into peaks as the cool water teased the edges of her breasts.
Or the relief he felt that she was letting him take care of her.
“Mmm. Yeah.” Then she held her breath and slipped down, dunking her head under the water. When she resurfaced, she wiped her eyes and blinked at him sleepily.
“This is better, thanks.” She sounded a bit more like herself. “Can I have another sip? And my migraine meds. They’re on the counter.”
He retrieved the water bottle and the pill and stayed while she soaked, watching her attentively and helping her bathe. When she seemed to have cooled down, he lifted her from the tub, even though she protested about getting him wet. He dried her off as she shivered and he bundled her into a robe before tucking her into the bed.
“Sleep.” He stroked her wet curls, winding them around his finger one by one, as he’d seen her do. “I’ll stay right here.”
“My hair is going to be a mess tomorrow,” she murmured into the satin pillowcase.
“And you’ll still be beautiful,” he whispered, but she was already asleep.
Oscar brought Roman a plate of food and another bottle of water for Ava, and Roman ate dinner on the bed next to her. He read over sales reports on his tablet, pausing frequently to check Ava’s temperature and replacing the cold towel on her forehead every time Oscar brought a new one. Roman didn’t relax until she’d dropped below ninety-nine degrees, and he finally sent Oscar home. It was clear the older man didn’t want to leave, but Roman promised he’d stay by Ava’s side all night.
The Wedding Flashers group text—which had a new name every week, thanks to Michelle—was lighting up with questions about the day’s meetings, but Roman didn’t have it in him to provide details yet. Ashton had texted him directly:Please tell me you didn’t buy her a car.So Roman notified the group that Ava had taken a little too much sun and was resting. Jasmine asked him to send an update on Ava’s health in the morning, and the messages calmed down.
Ava slept, and Roman watched over her. Until finally, around 1 a.m., he stretched out beside her and let himself sleep, too.
Chapter 26
The sunlight slanting in through the open curtains woke Ava early the next morning, and the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Roman.
The sight startled her, as she’d grown unaccustomed to having a man in her bed. And the few times she’d slept beside him, he’d risen before her. It took her a moment to even remember where they were, and why Roman was fully clothed on top of the covers while she was under a sheet and—she took a peek—naked.
A fluffy white robe was bunched up beneath her. She must have wriggled out of it during the night.
Memories of the previous day came flooding back, along with no small amount of embarrassment. She’d gone for a walk on the beach to work off her mad and process her argument with Roman. Apparently she could add, “New Ava is not afraid to express her feelings” to the list, because she still couldn’t believe she’d said all of that to him. It never would’ve happened if she hadn’t been feeling so shitty. Her cousins and Colleen, her old therapist, would probably commend her on letting him have it, but Ava prided herself on maintaining a placid façade, no matter the circumstances. Even when Hector hadcome home and told her he was leaving her, she had responded calmly. Somehow Roman had achieved what no one else ever had—he’d made her lose her cool.
Despite the heat and her splitting headache, the beach and the rolling turquoise surf had soothed her, so she’d taken her time walking back. By the time her anger had faded, she had a full-blown migraine. Dizzy and sweaty, she’d completely overshot the house and had to double back after realizing she’d passed the turnoff.
But Roman had been there the second she’d reached the door, taking care of her every need before she could voice it, and staying with her all night to make sure she was okay.
In the early morning quiet, she could admit there was something sexy about his decisive, take-charge nature. She hadn’t liked him talking over her yesterday, but when she’d needed him, he’d been there.
Hector had always required instructions when she was sick. The last time she’d had the flu, she’d had to tell him where to find the thermometer—even though it was always in the medicine cabinet—and he’d only gone to the store for Gatorade and broth after she’d asked him to. It was like living with a child, and she’d often wished he would think of those things on his own without being told.
While she didn’t want to compare Roman to Hector, it was hard not to sometimes. She’d been with her ex-husband for so long, and he was her only barometer for romantic relationships.
She wasn’t in a relationship with Roman, though. She didn’t know what they were, but it wasn’t that.
Still, it didn’t hurt anything to admire his profile while he slept. He was stretched out on his back, breathing deeply with his head turned toward her on the pillow. Her gaze traveledover his thick lashes fanning against the tops of his cheeks, the curve of his upper lip, his expressive brows—finally relaxed, as if they were asleep, too.
