Page 55 of Got Me Feeling

"Well, there's something I haven't told you."

A thread of panic starts to coil in my stomach, but nope, I squash it down. Because I trust Roman. And I know that whatever he's about to tell me, even if it's something bad or that I might not like, is something that I—that we—can handle.

Together.

"I've had a crush on you since the first time we met. Obviously, I couldn't do anything about it since you were married, so no way was I going there. But then I heard you'd split up and…"

He averts his gaze, his eyebrows pulling in tight. "I wanted,needed, to see you."

"We did see each other," I say. "At dinners and at the guys' places. You avoided me like the plague."

"I did." Still no eye contact. "You were stirring up feelings in me."

"Oh." I start to get it. "And you were worried you'd revert back to your old ways?"

He nods. "Yeah. But I couldn't get you out of my head. Once a week, I'd have dinner with Bishop and Fulton. He'd have the clinic's work schedule pinned to the refrigerator. I'd snap a photo to see when you'd be working."

"Why? You never came in."

"No. I didn't." The muscle in his jaw twitches. "But I… I… I low-key stalked you."

"What?"

"I'd follow you either on your way to work or after, desperate to just…see you. It was stupid and creepy, and I'm really sorry." Finally,finally, he looks over at me, chewing into his bottom lip. "Are you…okay?"

"I think I am." I smile at the warmth filling me. "It's actually kind of romantic. Something that happens in movies or romance novels, but not in real life."

"You're not mad or weirded out?"

"No." I take a moment to actually process it, and yeah, I really am cool with it. No one's ever gone to such huge lengths for me before. It feels nice.

Plus, he's being honest and transparent with me when he doesn't have to, since it's highly unlikely I'd ever find out about this any other way.

Maybe that's why I'm so cool with it. Because once again, Roman is showing me the type of man he really is. A good, honest one.

"Does this mean you had feelings for me when you asked me to move in?"

"Busted. Yeah. But I also did genuinely want to help you out. It was awful seeing you get locked out of your house like that."

I think back to that awful moment all those months ago. "So you weren't visiting a friend and happened to be passing by?" I ask, remembering that's what he told me at the time.

He shakes his head. "Nope. I was stalking you."

I reach for his hand. "And I'm fucking glad you were. I would've done god knows what to Bailey's car, ended up creating nothing but more of a headache for myself, and still had no place to live. You helped me out. Big time."

"You bring out the best in me, Locky."

"I think we bring out the best in each other."

I lean over and kiss Roman. His mouth tastes like a bunch of yummy flavors of ice cream all rolled together to form one mega-awesome flavor.

"I love you," I tell him.

He smiles, and it shoots straight to my heart. "Love you, too, baby."

"Thank you for being honest with me. Let's promise to always tell each other everything. No matter how difficult or awkward or how much we don't want to say it."

"I promise," Roman replies with a smirk. "Starting with… I may need some more ice cream."

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