Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 56831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
A look of relief crossed his beautiful face, and he whispered, “Thank you,” before shutting his eyes. He shifted a little, settling in with that raggedy teddy bear, and fell asleep moments later.
I pulled up his blanket a little higher, so it covered his shoulder. Then I sat back and sighed.
What a strange, confusing evening. I really shouldn’t be here…except that something about this man called to me, and I felt compelled to answer. It was a weird mix of attraction and an overwhelming need to protect and take care of him, which was totally unfamiliar to me.
But whether or not I understood it, that need kept me right there at his bedside, watching over Romy while he slept. This definitely wasn’t one of my better ideas. But maybe it would be okay, as long as he never found out I was the man his brother knew as Mario Greco.
3
Romy
It was no surprise that I woke up with a pounding headache, given how much I’d had to drink the night before. What was a surprise? The gorgeous man asleep at my bedside.
In a moment of weakness, I’d begged him to stay, and for some reason he’d actually done it. He must be so uncomfortable too, given the way he was awkwardly folded into my wooden chair. I had no idea how he’d even managed to doze off like that.
Embarrassment washed over me as I set aside my teddy bear. Clearly, I’d made no effort to hide the fact that I was a dork. Then I sat up and studied my visitor. He was probably in his early thirties, with a slightly olive complexion and jet black hair that was long enough to graze his collar. His sideburns were also on the long side and seemed a bit retro, but they suited him somehow. Honestly, a man that good-looking could do just about anything and still be absolutely striking.
He’d taken off his suit jacket and used it as a blanket, and when he shifted it started to slide off of him. Reflexively, I lunged forward and tried to grab it. Some combination of those things woke him and he leapt up, knocking over the chair in the process. He staggered backwards until he ran into my bookshelves, and then he looked around with his fists raised and fear in his eyes.
Good thing I knew how to deal with people who were panicked and disoriented. It was something I encountered pretty frequently on the job, and I’d been trained for it.
“We met last night, Marcus. My name is Romy Russo,” I told him, as I took a seat on the edge of the bed and held my hands where he could see them. “You’re in my mom’s apartment, which is above her bar.”
He focused on me and repeated, in a rough whisper, “Romy.”
I nodded and picked up his suit jacket. Then I stood up slowly and held it out to him. “I’m going to use the bathroom, and after that I’m going to go see if there’s anything to eat. Join me in the kitchen whenever you’re ready.” He took the jacket from me, and I looked up at him and smiled before leaving the room.
By the time he appeared in the kitchen doorway, I’d brewed a pot of tea and searched all the cupboards looking for anything that might pass as breakfast. He’d put on his jacket and combed his hair, and his expression could best be described as sheepish. “Sorry about earlier,” he said. “I was pretty disoriented when I woke up.”
“I’m sure it didn’t help that I was lunging at you just as you opened your eyes. For the record, your jacket slipped off and I was trying to catch it.”
“It’s funny,” he said, as his gaze slid around the vintage yellow and white kitchen. “I was worried you wouldn’t remember last night, so I thought I’d be the one trying to calm you down this morning, after you woke up to find a stranger in your bedroom.”
“No, I remember everything,” I muttered. “I almost wish I didn’t.” I changed the subject by gesturing at the table. “The cupboards were pretty bare, but I made us some tea and off-brand Pop Tarts.”
“Thanks, but maybe I should go. I’m sure you want to call your family if you haven’t already, so you can tell them what happened.”
“Actually, I’m not ready to talk to them about my dad. I’ll call my mom after I take some time to process it, but not now.”
“And your brother?”
“I’m definitely going to wait to tell him,” I said, as I retrieved a bottle of ibuprofen from one of the cabinets. “We had different dads, so this doesn’t directly affect him. But he’s really overprotective of me, so if I call him and seem upset he’ll probably rush back from San Francisco to make sure I’m okay. There’s no need for that right now.”