Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77269 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77269 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“Shucks,” I said. “Thank you.”
This was the kind of recognition that actually still made me feel proud—very, very proud. Brody knew me for a cause that I actually deeply cared about, and Logan had seen me in a series that I was certain had been forgotten in time. It felt like a warm hug, instead of the crazed celebrity-hounding paparazzi gossip that so many people knew me from.
“Are those pigs in a blanket?” Roman asked, eyeing the big plastic container Logan was carrying.
“We made them this afternoon,” Logan said. “I wanted to make cupcakes, but Brody said your mom would have dessert covered.”
“Oh, she’s got dessert covered, I said, gesturing toward the kitchen. “I think she has four different pies cooling on the countertop right now and a big tub of homemade vanilla ice cream resting in the freezer.”
“My mouth is already watering,” Brody said.
“Here, we’ll go find a place to put those delicious-looking pigs in a blanket,” I said, showing Logan over to the kitchen.
As I walked away, I heard Brody muttering something to his brother.
“Well, he’s really fucking hot,” I heard him saying. “You sure you just want to be his bodyguard?”
“Shush,” Roman said to his brother. If they said anything else, I was too far away in the kitchen now to hear it.
My heart felt like it was doing little somersaults in my chest. Roman and I hadn’t had much more deep discussion about where things were heading in the last couple of weeks since my stalker had been caught. Instead, each day had been focused on getting my life back on track, with Roman verifying about fifty times a day that the perimeter of my property was secure. We also had to handle lots of legal talks with the police, and it had all been good news for us—we were assured that my stalker was absolutely going to face justice for the multiple crimes he had committed, both to me and others.
Roman had been acting perfectly professional as my bodyguard every day, but then as each night came, it seemed as if he allowed himself to give in.
We had fucked every single day the last two weeks. And somehow, each time had gotten even more blisteringly hot than the last. Roman seemed like he was on a one-man mission to learn my body, learn what made me tick, learn every place that I couldn’t fucking resist being touched. He also hadn’t spent a single night away from me.
So when I heard his brother making a wink-wink, nudge-nudge comment to him about me, I had no idea what to expect.
Was Roman going to tell his family that we were… together?
Were we even together?
I’d been so lost in the flow of daily life, and so happy every night with Roman, that I hadn’t yet mustered the courage to broach the topic. I knew he cared about me deeply. I knew he’d do anything to make sure I felt good. But I had no idea if he had anything more official in mind.
And despite his brother’s cheeky comments, I knew Roman had never come out to his family before. He’d been assumed straight forever.
I pushed it out of my mind for the time being. What really mattered was that I was happy, and I loved being here with his family.
“All right, we’ve got space here, it looks like,” I said, pushing aside a little vase of tulips that Donna had on the counter. “And I think I’m going to steal one of these right now, because they look so damn good.”
“Thank you,” Logan said. “I researched about five different recipes last night online, and combined two of my favorite ones to end up with this. You’d think pigs in a blanket would be super simple, but it was painstaking to decide the exact right ratio of blanket to pig, you know?”
I puffed out a laugh. “That makes sense. You want it to be exactly right.” I popped one in my mouth, the dough soft but with a wonderful buttery crunch on the exterior. “I’d say you did it perfectly.”
Logan blushed a little, grinning wide, clearly proud of what he’d made. “Thank you again, Mr. Castille.”
I could immediately see why Brody had fallen in love with him. He was clearly nerdy as hell, but he was adorable, in glasses and a nice sweater.
“I still can’t believe you know me from Tales from Ravenna,” I said. “I have such fond memories of filming that first season, even though next to nobody ever saw the show.”
“You were incredible,” Logan said. “I’ve never seen such a realistic portrayal of Byron. Brody makes fun of me because I’m a little preoccupied with historical accuracy in TV shows and movies, but really it’s just fun for me. Can I ask—did you have to do any preparation for the role?”