Page 57 of Sweet Addiction
Carefully, I move the laptop, turn off the light, then lift her in my arms, cradling her against my chest. She weighs nothing. Less than before, and Dillan Ryan didn’t have weight to lose.
“Rome,” she murmurs in her sleep and wraps her arms around my neck.
“Sleep, baby. I’ve got you.” I press my lips against her head and carry her upstairs, then lay her in bed and climb in behind her, dragging her back against my chest. “Sleep, Dillan.”
“The pillows,” she whispers, sleepy and soft.
“They’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow, we’ll hate each other again.”
My heart fucking beats faster. “Probably, princess. But maybe we don’t.”
“Maybe we don’t,” she whispers back, and her breathing evens out.
Maybe we don’t.
DILLAN
A man gets his woman off first.
A gentleman makes sure she forgets how to walk before he’s done.
—Dillan’s Secret Thoughts
“Maybe this was a bad idea,” I tell Rome, hating the tremor in my voice as we pull into my parents’ driveway. “I’m a lot of things, but I’m not a liar. I may not go out of my way to tell people all my truths, but I’ve never gone out of my way to lie to them before either.”
Rome throws the car in park and turns toward me, his hand reaching for me, like he has the right to do so when we’re not in front of anyone. I know I should back away, but I don’t. I close my eyes and absorb the feel of his hands on my face. He’s the reason I’m lying. I shouldn’t find any comfort in his touch.
“I’m sorry I’ve put you in this position.”
My eyes fly open, shocked. “Really?”
“I needed help, Dillan. It’s not like I’m fucking you over on purpose.”
Time to pull away. I turn out of his touch and grab my purse. “You’re blackmailing me, Rome. I’m not helping you out of the goodness of my heart.”
Once upon a time, I might have, if he’d have asked then. But that was before.
He drops his hands and turns off the car without another word.
Welcome to my shit show.
“So what are we saying tonight?” he asks as he opens the car door for me and takes my hand in his.
“Stick to the real story as much as possible,” I tell him. “We don’t have to be exact with the dates. We bumped into each other at West End one night, and things kind of evolved from there.”
Rome
An hour later, I’m sitting at Nattie and Brady Ryan’s table, Dillan and Asher to my left, and Killian and Lilah across from us, with Nattie and Brady at the heads of the table, telling them exactly the way Dillan had suggested.
“Isn’t that so romantic?” Nattie smiles as she sips her wine. “You just knew?”
Dillan chokes on her water and turns to me, her eyes watering. “Yeah, Mom.” She rolls her eyes and turns back to her mother. “We just kind of knew. At least, we thought we did. Butyou know, it’s not like you can trust your gut instinct right away. So it took some time.”
“Especiallyyourgut, Dillan. Your gut likes to change its mind a lot.” Asher looks around his sister and shrugs. “No offense, man.”
I lay my arm along the back of Dillan’s chair possessively, not liking the way Asher’s talking about his sister. “None taken. I’ve got a mother and a sister who both change their minds all the time. Nothing new to me.”
