Chapter XXIX
Roman
I stepped into the cabin late, just to tuck Junie in before heading back to work. I didn’t plan to stay long. But something felt different. Lighter and warmer.
Something felt like Demi.
Then I heard her laughing in the kitchen with my mom and Junie. Old eighties tunes played in the background.
I couldn’t help but smile. Something had changed between us in the last few days.
I couldn’t put my finger on it, but during each morning run, she was just as interested in learning about me as I was about her.
She wanted to know everything from my favorite meal to the last time I’d cried.
That was the moment the midwife laid Junie in my arms.
And Jupiter forgive me, but each run ended with a kiss.
Each time I told myself I would resist her charm, but damn if she didn’t do her best to tempt me, like it was a game for her.
But I always came out the winner. Or loser, since the girl would never be mine.
But I wanted what I could have of her before we found her true love, even though it felt wrong.
But also maddeningly right every time we touched.
I wanted nothing more than to walk into that kitchen and take Demi into my arms. But I paused.
I’d just come from a heated meeting with my crew.
The first episode had dropped, and it was exactly as bad as I had feared.
Every entertainment outlet was calling it a snoozefest. Questioning why we’d even done a surprise season when the only surprise was how painfully boring it was.
The only chatter that wasn’t about how dull it all felt was even worse. People were talking about me. About Demi. About the sparks between us during our interviews.
And while those sparks obviously existed, it wasn’t good news that everyone else had picked up on it.
The studio wasn’t happy. They wanted it fixed—fast. And they wanted me to keep my obvious crush on Demi to myself.
Easier said than done.
So now my team had a plan.
They wanted to bring Jonas—Demi’s ex—on to the show. The idea was that maybe if he showed up, she’d stop playing matchmaker for everyone else and start focusing on her own love life. And if we were lucky, there’d be sparks. Maybe even drama.
Jazzy had even suggested they share a cabin. Said it would “spice things up.”
I had shut that down immediately. I reminded them that we weren’t that kind of show. What if Jonas turned out to be a pig who didn’t care about consent? It would be on us.
I didn’t think he was. But Demi had made it clear—he wasn’t the man she’d once loved. And the last thing I wanted was to watch her play house with some yahoo I already hated for no other reason than he’d had her first.
But while they wouldn’t be sharing a cabin, his appearance was a done deal.
Jazzy had already talked to Jonas, who was apparently thrilled to have a second chance with Demi.
Bastard. He would arrive tomorrow. Along with the exes of Todd, Jessica, Brinley, Diego, and Carter.
The former NBA star actually had several to choose from, and they all wanted another shot at him.
And two of them were what Jazzy called “attention-seeking drama queens.” It was just what the show needed, she claimed.
It sounded like a headache to me, but Jazzy was right. Except it sounded wrong. Cheap and icky, like Demi would say. I was beginning to wonder if I did cheapen love and sell it. But there was no time for me to have an existential crisis.
The clock was ticking, and we were no closer to finding Demi’s true love unless somehow, magically, Jessica or Brinley’s exes or Jonas happened to be it.
Demi seemed more than sure it wasn’t Jonas, but I wasn’t sure she could entirely rule him out.
What if her soul just hadn’t recognized him?
It was worth letting my powers have a go at him.
Even though for the last few days she’d been uninterested in even discussing other possibilities. She said that she and Cassie were working on it. Whatever “it” was.
Which probably should have made me feel like a prop, considering she kept kissing me during her search for her true love.
But I couldn’t help but want to be used by her.
That sounded wrong. However, it didn’t feel like she was using me.
It felt . . . well . . . different. Either that or I was so smitten with her that I’d become a tool without even realizing it.
And oddly, if that was the case, I was okay with it.
Because for once in my life, the void in me didn’t seem so deep.
I wasn’t sure if that was a gift from Eros because he was pleased with my efforts to help Demi, or if it was just the effect Demi had on me.
And if it was the latter, I feared what that would mean for me when she completed this quest and moved on with her true love.
“Roman, is that you?” my mom called.
No more stalling.
With trepidation, I walked in and found Demi dancing with Junie. She twirled my daughter around the kitchen like they’d been doing it for years. Both of them were smudged with flour, laughing, glowing, and the smell of my favorite chocolate peanut butter cookies filled the air.
I stood there watching them. And for a moment, I let myself imagine what it would be like if this weren’t temporary. If this were ours.
What was I even thinking?
I was thinking that Demi looked perfect in her tiny shorts and T-shirt, hair in a ponytail, dancing like she didn’t care and making my daughter smile. It was a vision.
Mom caught my eye, and it was as if she knew what I was thinking, and she nodded like she agreed with me. Demi looked like she belonged with us. But it was impossible.
She twirled Junie one last time before pulling her close, arms wrapped around her, both of them beaming at me.
“Hey there. I hope you don’t mind that I stopped by. This girl here summoned Lady Goldy, and I was told she had a cookie emergency and needed my help.”
“I just really wanted to see Demi,” Junie delivered her line with perfect comedic timing, making us all laugh.
I stepped closer, heart thudding. “I don’t mind at all. Actually, I wanted to talk to you.”
Demi tilted her head, catching the shift in my tone.
She could read me too well. Not that I wasn’t happy to see her, but I didn’t want to break the news to her about Jonas.
About any of it. I just wanted to curl up with her and Junie on the couch and watch a movie, and then after Junie fell asleep, I wanted to .
. . well, wrap Demi up and not sleep. Not think.
I just wanted to feel her and breathe the same breaths as her.
“Okay. Let me grab some cookies first, and then we can talk on the porch,” she suggested.
“Sounds great,” I responded.
“Don’t forget you promised to read to me,” Junie reminded Demi.
Demi squeezed her and kissed the top of her head. “I promise I won’t forget.”
Mom held out her hand to Junie. “Let’s go get ready for bed. It was good to see you again, Demi. Thanks for indulging my love of Toto and for letting me reminisce about old times.”
“I enjoyed it. Maybe I could come by again and we could talk more about my mom and boys?” She gave my mom a knowing smile. Which boys were they talking about? A jealous monster roared in my chest.
“I’d love that,” Mom said as she coaxed a reluctant Junie out of the kitchen.
Demi made a beeline for the platter of cookies and grabbed a few—one of which she immediately shoved into her mouth. With half of it still hanging out, she mumbled, “These are good.”
I laughed and snatched one from her hand. She was more adorable than I’d ever imagined a woman could be. And it was going to be my undoing.
“These are my favorite.”
“I know.”
“I suppose my mom told you.”
“No.” She swallowed. “Remember the year I creepily watched you? Anyway, I just remember from then.”
I didn’t think it was creepy. Honestly, I felt flattered. I just wished I hadn’t screwed up the first time we met.
“If roles were reversed, I would’ve creepily watched you,” I said, trying to make her feel better, and then winced. Not as charming as I’d hoped.
Demi giggled.
“That came out wrong,” I groaned before taking a bite of the cookie.
“I appreciate the sentiment. Should we go outside? Cassie has charmed the place, so we should be safe.”
I was coming to appreciate Cassie’s hexing habits.
I nodded, savoring the cookie as we walked toward the door. I didn’t know what Demi had done to them, but they were the best I’d ever tasted.
“Wow. These are amazing.”
“It’s the extra vanilla,” she said. “Mom always said the secret to the best chocolate cookies is good vanilla.”
“Your mom sounds like a smart woman.”
I opened the door for her.
“She was.”
Demi nudged me gently as she stepped into the still night. Crickets chirped in the background.
We sat on the steps together, close but not close enough. I didn’t want to be forward. And I liked to torture myself and see how long I could go before giving in and devouring her lips and running my hands over all her curves. It was a sick game, but one I loved to fail at.
Demi handed me another cookie. “So, what did you want to talk about? I have a feeling it’s not to ask what my favorite flower is. It’s dahlias, by the way.”
“Duly noted.” I snatched the cookie. “I wish this were another getting-to-know-you session, but those might be coming to a close soon.”
She whipped her head my way, eyes wide. “What? Why?”
I let out a slow breath and stared out at the mountains. Their silhouette barely visible beneath a sky full of stars. And that damn moon—bright, watching, ticking down the days. Come the next full one, if Demi didn’t find her true love, who knew what would happen.
The thought made my chest tighten.
“Demi,” I said quietly.
“Yes.” She scooted closer. Her bare legs brushed against me. Tempting me. Always tempting me.
I gave in and rested a hand on her knee. Her skin rose under my touch, which didn’t help the situation any.
Why now? After all these years of knowing each other, why choose now to light fires we might not be able to put out? There was no version of this where I walked away clean. Regret and longing would be my companions either way.
She placed her hand over mine—soft, deliberate. “Just tell me what it is.”
I turned toward her. All I wanted was to get lost in her eyes, drown in her kiss, forget everything but the way she felt against me.
But I held back. I had to tell her what was coming.
Although according to my contract with the network, it was the last thing I should be doing . . . apart from falling for her.
“As you might have guessed, this season isn’t going well.”
“I know. Cassie told me. And I’m sorry. I feel like I’m to blame. But you have to admit, everyone’s happy.”
I let out a dry laugh. “Everyone but my crew and the studio. The studio is particularly livid. Apparently people are picking up on what some are calling ‘palpable sexual tension’ between us.”
“Palpable sexual tension,” she purred. “I mean, it sounds kind of fun. And isn’t that what you want on your show?”
“Demi,” I groaned. “Not between us.”
“So you’re saying there isn’t any sexual tension between us?” She sounded faux offended.
I glanced at my hand on her thigh. At the little circles she was tracing on my skin.
“You know exactly how you affect me. You’re an emotional radar detector.”
“I know how you feel, and how guilty you feel about it.”
“Yet, here we are,” I sighed.
“Here we are,” she whispered, leaning in closer. Her chocolate-sweet breath tempted me to taste it.
I closed my eyes, fighting the pull she had on me. “Demi, we need to stop this. We need to focus on finding your true love.”
“I told you I’m working on it.”
I opened my eyes. “This is what you call working on it?”
“Maybe,” she said, all mischief.
The only thing she was working on was driving me insane.
“Demi, I’m being serious here.”
“So am I.” She drew closer, her lips already parted.
“Jonas is joining the cast tomorrow,” I blurted before I gave in and consumed her.
“What?” She blinked. “Why? No. Just no.” She put some distance between us, and I immediately felt the loss.
My first instinct was to reach for her, but I fought it and clenched my fists instead. “This is reality TV. The studio and my crew felt like things needed to be spiced up. He’s not the only ex joining.”
She shook her head, horrified. “He can’t come here. Why would you do this?”
Her tone made me worry there was bad blood between them.
Or maybe he really was the guy she’d been in love with and it was a bad breakup and that’s why she didn’t want to tell me it was him.
Except she’d said the man she had been in love with wasn’t in her past. This was confusing the hell out of me.
“It wasn’t my decision. I fought against it, but I had to be careful. People are talking about us. I could get fired. Or worse, lose my reputation. I’m under a lot of pressure here,” I tried to make her understand.
She took a breath, and her beautiful face softened. Her expression, though, was unreadable. Yet something flickered in her eyes. If only I could read her.
“All right,” she said calmly. “We’ll figure out a way to fix this and to help your show.”
That was the last thing I’d expected her to say. I probably looked like I’d been hit by a truck.
“I mean, I’m not going to play the villain or anything,” she added. “I’ll have to figure out a way to deal with Jonas,” she lamented. “I can’t even believe he agreed to come. He hates shows like this.”
“Well, apparently, he still really cares for you.” Like I said, I already hated the guy.
“That just makes it worse. Ugh. I can’t believe this is happening.”
“You never know,” I said, voice flat. “Maybe he’s the one for you.”
She sighed, dramatic and exasperated, then placed her hands on my cheeks and patted them like I was a child.
“You’re such a fool, Roman Archer. All you’re doing is making more work for me.”
She dropped her hands and stood, staring down at me like I was the world’s biggest idiot.
And honestly? I had no idea what the hell she was talking about.
“I’m going to go in and read to your daughter, and then I’m going home,” she said, voice steady but low. “I don’t even know if I should kiss you good night after this.”
But she was already leaning in—lips hovering, breath warm against mine. Close enough to undo me.
“But I do like kissing you,” she murmured.
Her lips barely brushed mine. Just enough to leave me under her spell.
“Good night, Roman.”
She pulled back before I could respond. Before I could reach for her. Before I could say, “Don’t go.”
I just sat there, jaw tight, pulse hammering, watching her walk away. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into with her, but I didn’t want to untangle myself from it. Even if Demi was leading me straight to my downfall, I’d follow.
Hell, I’d run.