From the outside, everything with Charlotte probably seems pretty great.
For the past two weeks, since the first night we were together, Charlotte and I greet the rising sun in the shower together, exploring each other’s bodies and working ourselves into a sweat under the scalding water. I then head off to the clubhouse or out to a rental if I have on-site work to do, while Charlotte spends time with Tessa. In the evenings, Charlotte either comes and finds me at the clubhouse to hang out with my crew and I until it’s time to go home, or I meet her at home where she demands sex before dinner.
It’s nearly perfect and so easy. I’ve been happier with her these last few weeks than I have ever been in my entire life.
Still, there’s this shadow hanging over us, a name she never speaks. I see her thinking about him constantly, every time I catch her twisting the wedding band still on her finger.
There’s one other odd thing I began to notice too.
If the mood strikes her, Charlotte pulls me aside and lets me have my way with her anywhere — in the clubhouse, out on our deck, in the kitchen, dining room, or on the couch. But never once has she initiated anything when we lay down together to go to sleep at night. If she even thinks I might try, she leaps up and laughingly leads me to some other part of the house, always eager to take me inside of her. Anything other than hot and dirty fucking remains taboo. So does my bed. Even though she sleeps there beside me each night, I’m beginning to feel like there’s one other person there between us that isn’t going away any time soon…
Chapter Nineteen
Charlotte
“Today’s the day,” I say when I wake up in bed with Roman spooning behind me. Man, will I miss him – his warmth, his strength, his protectiveness, and yeah, I can’t forget how much I’ll miss the way he knows his way around my body so well he should own it. “I don’t want to move, but I need to get up and start packing before Tessa changes her mind.”
“I don’t want you to leave. Stay here with me,” Roman says while burying the tip of his nose in my hair, tickling my neck.
“Stay?” I repeat in surprise as his words sink in and make me smile. “I guess I could stay for ten more minutes.”
“No, Charlotte. I want you to stay here in Myrtle Beach with me. Live in my house, sleep in my bed.”
“For how long?” I ask. “A few more weeks or…”
“I was thinking somewhere between forever, and I dunno, maybe until the end of time?”
“Roman!” I exclaim as I quickly flip over to see his face. That wasn’t what I expected him to say. Is he joking? He must be joking.
“What?” he asks with his sexy smirk and unshaven jaw that usually makes it impossible to resist him. But this? Wanting me to move in? That’s just nuts.
“I can’t stay here. I have a house, a job, family and friends back home.”
“This could be your new home. You could get a job here. And I already have a house, so that’s one thing you can cross off the to-do list.”
“Being with you these last few days has been…amazing,” I tell him honestly as I comb my fingers through his soft auburn curls. “And I don’t know how I would’ve gotten through everything that happened to Tessa without you.”
“But,” he says with his strong jawline clenched tightly.
“But I can’t just up and move in with you after a month.”
“Why not?”
“Because that’s insane!” I tell him.
“Please give me an actual reason, because I honestly can’t figure out what’s holding you back.”
“It’s…hard to explain.”
“Try.”
“Moving in is a huge step,” I start. “One that we can’t make lightly and one I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to take with someone else.”
“So this is about Adam?” Roman asks as he sits up. He actually sounds pissed that I’m not ready to be in a serious relationship after losing my husband!
“Yes, Roman, this is about how I loved a man once and married him. He was my best friend and soulmate. I thought we would be together forever, but fate had other plans.”
“You don’t think a person can have more than one soulmate in their lifetime?” he asks.
“No, I don’t.”
“That’s complete and utter bullshit, Charlotte! To be such an incredibly smart woman, how can you be so stupid about this?”
“Did you really just call me stupid?” I scoff.
“No. I said you’re acting stupid about this. Why are you so adamant about being alone for the rest of your fucking life?”
“I’ve told you before, it hurt too fucking much to go through that kind of loss again! And if you want me to be brutally honest, I can.”
“Oh, don’t hold back to try and spare my fucking feelings,” he huffs, jerking the covers off so he can get out of bed.
“Fine,” I snap, getting out of bed on my side so that there’s an entire mattress between us. “I’m afraid that no man will ever be able to measure up to Adam. It wouldn’t be fair for me to constantly compare you to him. I’m already guilty of doing it.”
“How?” he asks, his green-eyed stare so heated it’s almost scary.
“I dunno. It’s just little things mostly, things he did for me that you don’t or things you do differently. I mean, you’re a lot of things Roman, but romantic isn’t really one of them!”
“Are you fucking kidding me? You don’t want
