Chapter 26 Julianna
TWENTY-SIX
JULIANNA
After the night I tripped over Rome sleeping on the floor outside the bedroom, something has shifted between us. Years of bitter resentment and grudges lifted in one night.
No, wait. Not in one night.
Slow and gradual, the bandages concealing our scars have been removed.
Subtle moments of Rome showing his love for me have come to light, along with mine.
Him confessing he was the one to turn over his father and how that led to him using the Irish mafia for protection.
How he’d never actually slept with Macy that night.
I’ve spent years being angry with my husband, believing our hate was stronger than our love, only to have been proven wrong all along.
My mother used to tell me hurt people, hurt people, and that’s what Rome and I had been doing.
All the years of keeping each other at a distance, only to torture one another with pranks and scores, was our way of dealing with the pain.
Being forced to stay here, though, at our own personal sanctuary, allowed us to face our past and strip ourselves of everything we were programmed to be.
Enemies.
But I’ve learned something over these past few weeks of staying at the cabin.
It’s impossible to be enemies with the love of your life.
Because that’s what Rome is. The love of my life.
He was right. We couldn’t move on from our past without going through it.
Thinking of our daughter has been painful, but I’ve realized I can’t keep running from the pain, because without the pain, I don’t have the memory of her and the hope she brought to Rome and me.
A glimpse into what our future can be, with limitless possibilities.
When I step out onto the back patio, I find Rome stretched out across the lounge chair with his laptop open over his lap.
His black-rimmed glasses are perched at the edge of his nose, and he’s working his fingers over his chin, clearly deep in thought.
He must not be in that deep, though, because his eyes lift the second he sees me approaching him.
The dimple pressing into his cheek with his smile is enough to make me weak in the knees.
“Good morning, Lark.”
“Morning.” I smile in return and stand at the foot of the chair. I study his handsome face and my stomach flutters. “Since when did you start wearing glasses?”
“Oh.” He removes them, folding them closed before setting them down on the table. “Since I started running my businesses. I only wear them when I’m working.”
“Is that what you do on there?” I tease.
“Yes.” His eyes narrow. “What did you think I was doing?”
I shrug. Honestly, I haven’t thought too much about it. Rome has always been mysterious. Up until now he has, at least.
He tilts his head to the side and rests his elbow on the arm. “How was your conversation with Selene?”
A warm sensation fills my stomach. Hearing Rome genuinely interested in how my talk with my sister-in-law went is a strange yet welcomed feeling. Although we’ve been separated for ten years, it’s a conversation I always dreamed of having with my husband.
“It was good.” I nod, crossing my arms. “Her book just went through the final round of edits and she’s now just waiting on hearing back about a release date.”
“And your brother?” Rome’s eyes narrow slightly in a teasing way. My stomach flutters again. I tuck my bottom lip under my teeth, holding back a grin. Bending at the hip, I press my hands to the foot of the lounge chair. “Holt is… Holt.”
Rome chuckles. “What does that mean?”
“He’s happy.” I shrug as he parts his crossed ankles, giving me space. “He has everything he could ever want.”
He nods, watching me with hunger in his eyes as I crawl over his legs. He slides his laptop off his lap, setting it down on the small side table beside his phone and glasses.
I crawl until both hands are on either side of Rome’s hips. Bringing my face close to his, I plant a kiss on his mouth, then pull back to look into his eyes.
“And do you have everything you want?” he asks me.
My heart races. Rome and I have been nothing but honest since we finally revealed all our scars to each other.
Three weeks we’ve spent living in a bubble.
Although someone is still set out to kill us, we’ve used this time at the cabin to get to know one another again, living as husband and wife the way we always envisioned.
But there’s a twinge of sadness impossible to ignore with Rome’s question.
“You’re all I’ve ever wanted,” I answer.
His eyebrows rise. “But…?”
“But…” I look down and sigh. “I miss my best friends, my work, my nephew.”
“I know.” He caresses my cheek, then hooks his fingers under my chin. “I know it’s been hard to be away from your family and friends. You built a life with them, and I’ve torn you away from it all.”
“It doesn’t have to stay this way,” I say, quietly. “Right?”
He grips the back of my head, threading his fingers through my hair, pressing his forehead to mine. “Of course not.”
“Good.”
“It’ll be a difficult transition with letting everyone know the truth about us, but I know we can make it work.”
“Hopefully.” I giggle. “Let’s not even go there with my dad because we already know his reaction. I’m not certain I can make any guarantees about Holt, either.”
“Hey.” He rests his head back on the chair. “He was the one trying to cozy up to me last year, remember? He can’t hate me that much.”
“You sued him and his magazine since then, Rome.” I deadpan. “Oh, and there’s the minor detail that you’ve been secretly married to his sister for ten years.”
“Oh, yeah. That.” He gives me a devious smirk. “We’ll figure something out.”
He sits up slightly, slipping his hand under my silk top, smoothing it over my breast.
I dart my eyes over my shoulder, out toward the expansive backyard. “Careful, Montgomery. Marcus could be watching."
"He’s not here.” Rome’s voice hits my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. I’m immediately soaking wet. “Out running errands.”
His fingers pinch my pebbled nipple. An electric jolt shoots straight through me.
A moan slips from my mouth, and my thighs clench.
“What about your work?” I pant, my lashes fluttering. “I clearly interrupted you.”
“Work can wait.”
“Can it?”
“Like you, Lark…” His voice is velvet against the shell of my ear. “I’m the one in charge, so the answer is yes.”
I bite down hard on my lip as he reaches down to slip his hand between my legs. I gasp, throwing my head back as a burst of pleasure courses through me. I start to unbuckle his belt when his phone rings from the side table.
We stop long enough to both look at his screen and the number calling him.
Unknown caller.
I look back at Rome. His face has gone completely slack. His skin is pale and his eyes are spread wide with fear. He’s completely frozen.
“Hey.” I lift my hand and pull him to look at me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” He clears his throat, unable to look at me long before his eyes are back on his phone. I sit back on my heels when he finally picks it up.
It’s still ringing in his hand when he finally says, “The only people to ever call me from an unknown number has been Rhys and the guy trying to kill us.”
“Oh.” The blood drains from my face.
With his eyes pinned to mine, he places his free hand on my bare thigh and presses the green button with his other, putting the call on speaker.
A chill wraps around my spine when Rome says, “Hello?”
“Montgomery.”
Rome relaxes slightly, his fingers loosening their grip around my thigh. “Rhys.”
Although Rome appears to be relieved it’s Rhys over the man trying to murder us, I can’t say I feel the same.
Nothing good ever comes from talking with the mafia.
Not only did I know about Dominico Montgomery’s crimes from Rome, but I also heard about them from my father long before.
Rhys is dangerous, no matter how charming he is.
“How has the lying low been going?” Rhys asks.
Rome’s attention is still on me as he considers his answer.
I give him a small supportive smile of reassurance.
Rome clears his throat. “Yeah, it’s been okay.”
“Just, okay?” Rhys answers, humor lacing his voice. “I figured shacking up with your old family enemy and estranged wife of ten years would have warranted a little more of a colorful description than that.”
Both mine and Rome’s eyes widen.
“How?” Rome lifts his hand from my thigh to his mouth, running his fingers across it before continuing. “How did you know about my marriage?”
“Come on, now, Montgomery.” Rhys laughs, his Irish accent growing thicker with every word. “You don’t give me enough credit. Like how I know she’s listening to our conversation right now.”
Rome pops up from his seat, and I frantically snap my head in either direction, searching the grounds.
“Don’t worry.” Rhys cackles, amused with himself. “I’m not there spying on you right now. Don’t forget I’m not the one trying to kill you both. As I told your brother, Julianna, I don’t hold with killing family.”
Rome’s hardened gaze shoots for mine. The air leaves my lungs in one swift breath.
“What?” I wet my lips, swallowing my nerves. “What do you mean?”
“Well.” He sighs heavily into the phone. “Turns out, Montgomery, when I told you I was finished with you, I wasn’t being completely truthful. Your business unfortunately became mine when I discovered the Capuleti princess was your wife.”
“I don’t understand,” I choke out.
“I thought Holt would have told you after our encounter about seven months ago.”
“No, he didn’t.” I don’t even know what Rhys is about to tell me but, either way, I plan on killing Holt for keeping this secret from me.
“He blamed me for your mother’s murder, but it turned out it was on my father’s orders, not mine. Nearly killed his then girlfriend to get him to stop pursuing me. That is until I found out she was pregnant. Like I said, I don’t hold with killing family.”