Chapter 59
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
ROMAN
“ A re you ready?” I ask.
Chloe slides me a nervous look from the corner of her beautiful eyes.
We’re standing at the back door of Mom’s Westchester estate, about to join my family for lunch on the east lawn. It’s been a week since I proved to this woman that I wouldn’t hide my love for her anymore, but this is the first time we’ll be attending an event as a couple. Even if it’s just lunch with my family.
I cup her jaw, turning her face up to mine. “Do you have any idea how happy they are that you’re coming today? They’ve been waiting a long time for me to find someone, and they already know and like you. You have nothing to worry about. I promise.”
She relaxes into me, and I brush my mouth against hers, savoring the ability to do it whenever and wherever I want. No more hiding, no more pretending. Those days are over.
She loops her arms around my waist and squeezes. “I’m worried about what your mom will think. After your dad…”
I shake my head. “She has to live with her own past transgressions. She doesn’t have room to judge. And anyway, she knows this isn’t anything like what happened with Dad. I’m nothing like him, and you’re nothing like Katherine or any of Dad’s other conquests.”
With one finger, I trace a line down the satin soft skin of her cheek. I’m suddenly overwhelmed by the desire to skip lunch and take her home so I can enjoy her instead. There’ll be another lunch next month. Maybe I should keep Chloe to myself for a little longer.
That thought is derailed when she firms her lips and pulls her shoulders back. “I’m ready. Let’s do this.”
Though I’m slightly disappointed, I can’t help but laugh. “Why do you make having a meal with my family sound like we’re about to go into battle?”
Expression softening, she presses a warm palm to the side of my face. “Do you have any idea how much I love it when you laugh?” Her fingers trace higher. “When your eyes crinkle and I can see your smile lines.”
I capture her hand and press a kiss to her wrist. “Are you calling me old, sweetheart?”
She leans against me. “Never. You’re perfect.”
We’ve never really talked about our almost-fifteen-year age difference. To be honest, once I got to know her—once I stopped fighting the pull between us—it barely registered, except when I worried about how others might see it. But Chloe’s never been defined by her age. Her strength, her maturity, and the way she approaches life make it irrelevant. Now, I don’t give a fuck what anyone else thinks. We’re perfect for each other, and that’s all that matters.
I kiss her again, lingering over it. I don’t much care if we’re late. My brothers have been late or disappeared in the middle of an event more times than I can count since they met Delilah and Violet, so they can’t exactly complain.
Eventually, though, I force myself to step back and take her hand. “Let’s go. The sooner we get in there, the sooner I can get you home.”
Her laugh is light, the nervousness shrouding her expression dissipating.
The table in the middle of the lawn is full, and as we approach, happy chatter and laughter float through the air.
My ribs draw tight. A few short years ago, I never would have dreamed this kind of scene would be possible. That our painfully cold, dreaded monthly catchups with Mom could become this.
Cole, Delilah, Lottie, Tate, Violet, Mom, and Miles. All of them relaxed and smiling, enjoying the sunshine, the good food and wine, the company.
“Roman! Chloe!” Tate calls.
Every head turns our way.
Nervous once more, Chloe blows out a breath.
I squeeze her hand. “See? They’re happy you’re here.”
By the time we reach the table, Cole has already pulled out a chair for her next to Delilah, who’s holding a sleeping Lottie. She thanks him as she sits, and I take the empty seat next to her.
“I’m so glad you came,” Delilah says. Her smile is so warm and genuine, there’s no doubting her sincerity.
Chloe’s posture relaxes. “I’m very happy to be here.”
She turns her attention to Mom. “Thank you very much for the invitation, Mrs. King.”
Mom nods. “You can call me Beverly, dear. And you’re welcome. I’m glad you could come.”
While her smile is more reserved than Delilah’s, it’s real.
My own muscles loosen. Even with all the changes I’ve witnessed in my family over the last few years, it’s still sometimes hard to believe we’ve come this far. That maybe for all of us, the pretense is over.
Maybe our family didn’t really exist until Dad was removed from it.
As Delilah and Chloe chat, drawing Violet and Mom into their conversation, Tate leans close.
“Wine?” he asks, holding a bottle of white.
“Thanks.” I pick up my glass and hold it out to him.
“You look happy,” he murmurs.
My chest is light as I shoot him a grin. “I am. I guess it was time I found out what that felt like.”
He laughs and shakes his head. “So tell me, is it true that the last domino falls the hardest?”
He’s referencing a conversation we had at Cole and Delilah’s wedding. One where I told him I had no desire to fall for anyone.
I watch Chloe laugh, her head tipped back, exposing the slender column of her neck. “Not sure it would be possible to fall harder.”
He nods but thankfully doesn’t dwell on the subject. I’m not sure if I have the words to describe what I feel for her. He knows anyway. Both of my brothers do. They experienced it first.
“Are you looking forward to the Genesis-1 opening next week?” Miles ask from his seat next to Mom. Over the past few months, we’ve seen more and more of him. And I’m glad. He’s a genuinely good man. Not the richest, not with Dad’s looks, but he treats mom with the utmost respect and care.
And she never once looked at Dad the way she looks at Miles. Like she loves him, like she trusts him to love her back, to protect her from the hurts the world can sometimes inflict.
“We are,” I reply. “It’s been a long time coming, but it’s fully sold. We can’t ask for more than that.”
“The groundbreaking on the London Genesis-1 is happening next month too,” Cole says.
“We’ll have to get those VR units sent over quickly, then.” Tate smirks.
“How about you, Violet?” I ask. “Are you ready to expand True Brew internationally?”
She laughs, her eyes dancing. “Not sure I’m quite there yet. Let’s see how things go with two shops to begin with.”
Chloe has gone quieter, though her demeanor is relaxed and her expression is serene. I lay my arm along the back of her chair and run my fingers across her bare shoulder. She startles a little, but no one else around the table blinks an eye.
Being openly affectionate is new for both of us. Even with Katherine, I never behaved this way. Everything about this relationship is different. I’m beyond grateful that Katherine and I didn’t last, and now I can see why I had no desire to commit to anyone else in the years after the divorce. It was because I was waiting for this.
I was waiting for her .
“How’s your father doing, Chloe?” Mom asks. “I adore the painting Roman bought for King Plaza. I thought I might like something similar for the house. Has he started taking commissions?”
Chloe lights up the way she always does when she talks about her dad and his art. “He’s doing really well. He’s been sketching a lot, and just this week, he started his first painting. It’s slow going for now because he hasn’t done it for so long, and he has to make sure he doesn’t push himself too hard. But he’s so happy. I’m not sure when he’ll be ready to take commissions, but I can tell him you’re interested.”
“Please do.” Mom smiles, her normally piercing eyes warm.
Violet leans forward, head tilted. “And what about your own painting?”
When I had Chloe’s dad’s piece hung in the lobby of King Plaza, I told my brothers what it meant to me, and I may have mentioned Chloe’s own aspirations. Apparently, at least Tate has passed that on.
I raise my brow at him, and in return, he gives me an unapologetic grin.
Chloe doesn’t seem bothered, though. “I’ve done a couple of pieces recently, but I’m rustier than my dad.” Her carefree laugh ripples over me. “I’m hoping to eventually find an apartment with a space with natural light that I can dedicate to painting.”
I tense. Before now, she hasn’t mentioned moving. I have some serious thoughts about that. But I’ll have to wait until after lunch to broach the topic.
“You know,” my almost sister-in-law says. “I’ve started featuring local artists on the walls of True Brew. I’d love to display some of your work once you’re ready.”
“Really?” Chloe’s cheeks turn pink. “That would be amazing. Although I’ll need more practice before I’ll have something worthy of showing anyone.”
“Of course. Just let me know when you want to go ahead, and we’ll make it happen.”
As lunch continues on, I sit back and drink in the moment. For the first time I can remember, I’m completely relaxed while being surrounded by my whole family. There’s no distance, no resentment, no regret. Mom, Cole, Tate, me—we’re all exactly where we should be, with people we actually want to be with.
Chloe’s words come back to me. Shared blood may mean two people are related, but love is what makes a family. We may not say it out loud—and in some cases it may even be layered under years of neglect—but right now, I feel it. Love binds this family together.
She also said that love means doing what needs to be done, even if it’s hard. Even if it’s giving up something important.
She was right about that too. Giving up my obsession with proving myself different from— better than —Dad was as easy as opening my hand and letting go. Because I couldn’t hold on to her while holding on to it.
I wrap my fingers around the back of Chloe’s neck and when she turns to me, her warm, bright expression heats my whole body. She mouths I love you , the silent words powerful enough to still my heart.
Somehow, despite all my past mistakes, I have her. I never believed another person could make me smile or laugh or show me what true happiness feels like the way she has. I’ve spent my whole life keeping people at a distance, guarding my heart. But she breached my defenses without even trying.
There was never any guarding against her.