Chapter 37
Roman leaned back in his chair, a slice of chocolate torte sitting ignored on the plate in front of him as he watched Ava
chat with his mom and sister.
He was so fucking happy.
These three women meant more to him than anything else in the world, and seeing them together in his home made him feel settled
in a way nothing ever had before. They were getting along well—not that he’d expected otherwise. Ava fit here. As seamlessly
as if she’d been coming over for years. It was like he was being given a glimpse into the rest of his life, if he could only
convince Ava to give them a real chance.
He was tired of hiding and sneaking around. He understood that she was uncomfortable opening up with her family, but she wasn’t
alone anymore. Didn’t she know he’d protect her from anything that caused her distress? Even her own relatives.
After dessert, Dulce insisted on showing Ava photos from Roman’s childhood. Mikayla took that as her cue to go watch her friend’s
video game livestream.
Roman had told Ava that his wealth was new, but it seemed like, while perusing photos of him as a little boy in the 1980s in different neighborhoods in Brooklyn, she looked at him with deeper understanding in her eyes.
“This is why you work so hard,” she said, coming up next to him after Dulce had excused herself for the night.
He stuck his hands in his pockets and surveyed the apartment around him, as he did so often, still unable to believe it was
his, and that it wouldn’t be going away.
“I had to learn all this,” he said. “How to be a wealthy person in this city. How to manage money and business. I did my MBA
as quickly as I could while bartending at night. I had to learn how the people with generational wealth do it, so I didn’t
screw up, so I could secure Mickey’s future the right way. I was terrified that I’d blow all my money on stupid shit, or that
a corrupt financial adviser would clean me out because they saw me for what I was—a poor Puerto Rican kid from Brooklyn who
didn’t know what the fuck he was doing.”
“You’ve done so much.” Ava took his face in her hands. “When do you get to rest?”
He cupped his hands around hers where they pressed his cheeks. “I’m still that kid, Ava. He’s still with me, in me, every
second of the day. He doesn’t rest.”
He needed her to know this. To see him. He wasn’t just Mr. Roman Vázquez, CEO of VQZ Ltd and the owner of Dulce Hotel Group and Casa Donato Rum. He was Ro,
that kid who would do your homework for five bucks, the guy who worked at the pizza place around the corner, the bartender
who never lost his grin, even after the most chaotic closing shift. He was Román, the college grad who’d stumbled his way
into a short-lived but surprisingly lucrative television career. Every version lived within him, along with the him he’d always felt himself to be at his core, no matter his age, what he wore, or how much money was in his pocket.
“I admire you,” she said softly, her sparkling hazel eyes drawing him in. “You know that? The more I learn about you, the
more I like what I see.”
“It’s one of the things I love about you,” he told her. “A lot of people only see me as I am now. But I think you would have
liked me, even back then.”
She pursed her lips and pretended to think. “The teacher in me isn’t thrilled about your homework smuggling ring, but you
were just a kid, and your intentions were noble. Otherwise, yeah. I think I would have liked you then, too.”
He barked out a laugh and moved in to press a lingering kiss to her lips. It started slow, a gentle slide, then deepened into
something more luxurious, with a simmering undercurrent of passion.
“Come to bed,” he whispered against her mouth. Her lips trembled like she was inhaling his words.
“Okay,” she said, sounding almost shy.
He understood. Something about this night felt different. It wasn’t just the two of them anymore, existing in a little pocket
of pleasure and romance, contained by the shifting boundaries Ava set for them. His family was involved now, and he knew that
scared her, but she was here , and she wasn’t running away.
He should be happy with that. Anything she gave him was enough.
But he wouldn’t be him if he didn’t push for a little more.
He waited until they were in his room and she’d changed into a silky periwinkle nightie before he broached the topic. “I’d
like you to consider leaving some things here.”
Her expression turned wary. “What kind of things?”
“Overnight things.” He sat next to her on the edge of the bed and took her hands so she couldn’t get up to pace. “I know I’ve been traveling a lot, but when I’m home, I want you to sleep over.”
She fidgeted the way she did whenever their conversation verged into emotionally intimate territory. He didn’t think she knew
she did it, but it was adorable, and a really useful tell.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure.”
“I don’t know. I feel a little strange staying over when your family is here.”
“We’re adults, and this is my apartment. Besides, they like you. What are you afraid of?”
She squirmed like she was sitting on hot coals. “I don’t want it to seem like I’m getting too comfortable.”
“Ava, I want you to be comfortable in my home.”
She let out a strangled laugh. “I don’t even feel comfortable in my own home.”
His brows drew together. “Why not?”
“I’ve just... never had a space that was completely mine before. Where I didn’t have to worry about upsetting other people.”
Now they were getting somewhere. “Upsetting who?”
“My mom, my grandmother, and my stepmother, to start with. And the day my parents split up, they’d told me to clean up all
my toys, and I didn’t do it. For a long time, those two things were connected in my head, like I was sent away to live with
my grandparents because I was messy. Even though I know now that it’s irrational, and their divorce wasn’t my fault, I still
can’t go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink, no matter how tired I am.”
Roman cupped her face in his hands. “I promise you, I will never care if you leave dishes in the sink or panties on the floor or—”
“Oh, I’m sure you’d like it if I left my panties around.” Her expression was playful, and he pulled her closer, softening
his tone as he leaned his forehead to hers.
“I’d love it, because it would be a sign that you were here . I want you to feel at home here, Ava.”
She shut her eyes. “I’m scared of how normal this is starting to feel.”
He leaned back and raised an eyebrow. “Would you rather it feel abnormal? I’m sure I can think of ways to make it really weird.”
She sputtered out a laugh. “No, but I appreciate the offer.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel like a hook-up anymore.”
“Because it’s not. I love you.” Maybe if he took every chance he could to say it, she’d get used to it.
She made a frustrated sound. “This is happening very fast for me.”
“I’ll try to slow down.”
Her lips quirked. “I don’t think you know how.”
“That’s true. But for you, I’ll try.”
“Thank you. I think it’s that when we’re alone, anything seems possible. But the more people who are involved, the riskier
it feels.”
“You said you trust me.”
“I know. And I do. I just want to make sure you’re not rushing things with us to distract you from what’s happening with your
family.”
He gave her a direct stare. “You think I’ve fallen in love with you because my mother and sister are moving out. Do I have that right?”
She refused to look at him. “Something like that.”
He suspected it was exactly like that.
“What else?” he pressed. “Maybe I’m asking you to leave a toothbrush here because I’m afraid of being alone?”
She expelled a breath. “The thought did occur to me, yes.”
“I won’t be alone. I have Sinvergüenza.”
Her eyebrows pinched in confusion. “?Quién?”
“That mangy beast.” He gestured to the robotic dog Camille had given him. It sat on his nightstand next to his reading glasses,
looking deceptively innocent. “See? I told you I could make this weird.”
Ava sputtered out a laugh. “You named it Sinvergüenza?”
“It fits. Go touch it.”
Ava patted the dog’s head. With a grinding whine, it threw itself on its back.
“See?” Roman said. “Shameless. Rolls over for everyone except me.”
When Ava petted the dog’s tummy, it waved its legs in the air and let out a mechanical yip. “I see.”
“Ava.” He waited until she met his gaze. “Both things can be true. I love you and I’m worried about my family. Not because .”
It seemed to be the right thing to say. The stiffness in her shoulders eased, and she leaned into him. Her arms wound around
his waist and he pulled them down into the mattress until she was lying beside him with her cheek resting on his chest.
“I should make you negotiate for every item I leave in your bathroom,” she mused. “It’s what you’d do to me.”
“Let’s start with a toothbrush,” he said. “What do you want? Diamond earrings?”
“Don’t you dare!” she said with a laugh. “If that’s what my toothbrush is worth, I can’t imagine what a pair of underwear would net me.”
“A new car,” he said solemnly.
She shook her head and tightened her hold on him. “You can talk to me about it, you know.”
“About what?”
She tilted her chin up to look at him. “Your family moving out.”
He sighed. “They’re going to be fine. My mother’s right. I know she is, but...”
“You’re going to miss them,” Ava said simply.
He opened his mouth to argue, to say that it had more to do with protecting them, or ensuring their needs were met, but...
“Yeah,” he said. “I am.”
Ava kissed his collarbone. It was a sweet, comforting little peck, but Roman wanted more. He rolled on top of her, and soon
he was trailing his mouth in a leisurely path down her neck to her sternum, pulling aside the fabric of her nightgown and
kissing every inch of skin he exposed.
Her breathing became shallow, her chest rising and falling against his lips with increasing speed. When he wrapped his mouth
around her nipple, she let out a soft moan and tunneled her fingers into his hair. Her thighs parted to cradle his hips and
she bucked against his erection.
“Slow, mi amor,” he whispered against her breast, sliding his hands down the length of her body in soothing strokes. “We have
all night.”
This might be the first time they were making love in his bed, but it wouldn’t be the last. Still, he wanted to make it memorable.
With steadfast patience, he worshiped her body from the top of her head to her soles of her feet, treasuring each gasp, each
moan, each sigh. When she was quivering and all but sobbing with need, he filled her in a gradual slide before setting a languid
and leisurely pace. Through it all, he pestered her with soft, tender kisses, refusing to hurry even when she clenched her
inner muscles around him in an effort to snap his control.
“Relax,” he breathed into her hair. “I have you.”
Finally, she calmed, her body going loose and pliant under him as he coaxed orgasm after orgasm from her with the precision
of a master cellist playing a concerto. When she’d whispered, “It’s your turn to let go,” he’d done just that, his climax
overtaking him as profoundly as hers had.
When it was over, Roman lay on his back with Ava’s head on his shoulder, her long legs twined with his. He stroked her hip
as he stared at the ceiling in the dark.
This was what he wanted. No barriers, no boundaries, no rules. Just Ava in his home, in his bed. Every single night, for the
rest of their lives.
Except he was leaving again in two days. The hotel group had a number of deals in the works, acquisitions and expansions and
licensing agreements. Many of them relied on him being physically in the room. And then, of course, there was Casa Donato,
a side project that had previously taken up every second of his already limited free time.
Maybe he could shift some of his responsibilities. Promote some people, so he didn’t have to travel as often, or for as long.
When do you get to rest?
He didn’t know. Up until now, he’d operated under the I’ll rest when I’m dead work ethic. But to spend more time with Ava, he’d have to figure it out.
He fell asleep with his mind full of personnel lists and logistics. When he woke up, he was no closer to an answer than he’d
been the night before.
But Ava was still curled against him, warm and real, and that was more than enough.