Chapter 55
BELLA
Song- LOVE AGAIN, Dutch Melrose
The house is smaller than I expected: one bedroom, one couch, and a kitchen table with three chairs.
We stand there, three people pretending we’re not thinking about the same thing.
“I’ll take the floor,” I say first, breaking the silence. Staring at the huge bed in the middle of the room.
“No,” both of them answer at once.
I roll my eyes. “Fine. Then what’s the plan, geniuses?”
Rowan glances at Reggie. “We’ll take the floor. You get the bed.”
I narrow my eyes. “Both of you? In the same room?”
Reggie snorts. “Unless you think we should fight for our space next to you, Princess.”
There’s that smirk; it’s tired, bruised, but still somehow him. I almost smile back.
“No. No more fighting.” I shoot a glare at them both.
It eases some of the tension between us.
We drag spare sheets and pillows from the closet. The brothers argue over who gets which side of the bed like boys sharing a tent.
“The floor looks, cozy,” I tease.
Rowan opens his mouth to say something and then snaps it shut. I hate seeing him so not himself. He’s being reserved. His playful side has gone.
“I gotta speak to Drago,” Reggie tells us, looking straight at his brother.
“Be ready to leave in an hour.” With that, he pulls out his phone and leaves.
I glance toward Rowan, who stays rooted to the spot. Fighting himself.
I slip off the bed quietly. “Come with me to the stables,” I whisper.
He blinks, suspicious. “Now?”
“Now.”
Outside, the air is dry and heavy with the smell of dust and hay. The horses lift their heads as we approach, dark eyes gleaming in the sunset.
“They’re beautiful,” I murmur, running a hand down the nearest one’s neck. The tension starts to ease until I glance back and catch him watching me instead of the horses.
“You’ve been grumpy with me since this morning,” I say.
He raises a brow. “Grumpy?”
“Yes. Brooding, quiet, keeping your distance from me. It’s exhausting. I hate it.”
“Maybe I’ve had things on my mind.” He kicks the dirt.
“Then tell me.” I cross my arms. “Better yet, get on your knees and tell me why you’re mad at me.”
He blinks, caught between disbelief and laughter. “You’re serious?”
I nod once. “Deadly.”
I step towards him, closing the distance, grabbing the silver chain around his neck.
“I’ve missed you, rockstar. I really loved our date yesterday, until it all went wrong. You aren’t to blame for any of that.”
He presses a soft kiss to my forehead. That throws me off guard.
“Then why did you hide from me after? Hmm? I don’t like that. You don’t run from me.”
That danger in his voice makes my thighs clench.
“I didn’t want to cause more trouble, Rowan. If I ran to you, that would have just hurt Reggie worse. And I didn’t like that look in his eye when he stormed out.”
Rowan sighs. “Me neither. Killed me fighting with him, let alone seeing him so hurt. If he did touch Lyla, I’ll do it again, Bel. I hate seeing you cry, brother or not, I got you.”
I smile, twisting the chain tighter around his throat.
“I love how possessive you are. But he didn’t fuck her. He swore he didn’t. I believe him. He is hiding something, but it isn’t that.”
Rowan chews on his lip.
“He really likes you, Bel. I’ve never seen him so caught up on anyone before.”
My heart races.
“I like him too,” I admit. “But, I like you too.”
“I really fuckin’ like you, precious. It’s a problem.”
For a long second, it’s a standoff, my stubbornness against his pride.
“Prove it, on your knees.” I grin.
Then he exhales, slowly, like he’s surrendering. He lowers himself to one knee, the dust curling around his boots.
“Happy now?” he mutters.
“Almost,” I say, stepping closer. “I’m sorry I hid away from you last night.
I’ve never been in this position before.
I’ve never experienced a guy actually caring about me.
I self-sabotage, Rowan. I can’t stop myself.
I’m destructive, and when I saw you both fighting, it made me realize how fucked up I am. ”
He looks up, meeting my eyes, and whatever joke was about to leave my lips dies in my throat.
There’s regret there. And want. And something that feels dangerously close to pain.
“I’m mad because I can’t stop thinking about you,” he says quietly. “And I hate that I’m not supposed to. But, Bel. You ain’t fucked up. That isn’t on you, that is on us. I can’t stop, though, precious. I can’t let you go. I don’t know how.”
My breath catches.
For a moment, neither of us moves. The horses shift restlessly, hooves scraping the ground, as if they can feel it too, that wild electricity twisting between us.
Then I grin. “Good answer.”
He blinks. “What?”
Before he can react, I grab the lead rope hanging from the fence and toss it over his shoulders, looping it loosely, just enough to make my point, and then tie it. I have a devious plan to get the brothers speaking again.
His eyes narrow. “Bella—”
I take a step back, admiring my work.
“Be a good boy and wait here for me, I’ll be back.”
His laugh echoes after me.
For the first time in days, it feels lighter, like maybe, just maybe, we haven’t completely broken what we are.