4. Romeo Wilde
The people in my life were too trusting. There was no other way to justify what happened last night. And no other explanation for my uncharacteristically early workout, either. I usually worked out in the dead of night. But after the events of the last ten hours, my schedule was thrown off and I woke up in need of the satisfying burn my muscles were currently enduring.
I knew I was being loud enough to potentially wake Goldyn up, but that didn’t stop me from letting the fifty-pound dumbbell in my grip fall against the floor with a loud bang , either.
She was a guest in my house, not the other way around.
And really, guest was a stretch. She broke in to our house and Sincere and Lorenzo were too soft to turn her away.
And I saw that look in Sin’s eyes when he first picked her up. He was already halfway in love with the woman and she’d barely said two words to us.
Pacing in a tight circle with my hands at my waist, I calmed down from my last set and was about to grab the weight for my next one, when I heard a soft, barely audible click , a few doors down.
It was only because I forgot my headphones upstairs that I was able to hear it.
Workout forgotten, I walked to the slightly ajar door and pulled it open to look into the hall.
On tiptoe, our houseguest made her way down the long hall and turned toward the kitchen.
An involuntary smile touched my lips before I knew what was happening. I reached up and physically wiped it away before I followed in her wake, purposely hanging back to give her a perceived advantage.
A head full of loose golden-blonde ringlets brushed her nape as she walked, moving in a mesmerizing sway as she tried to make her escape. I stood by the stairwell and studied her unsuspecting form while she went through the motions of putting her sandals on.
I’d been the one to put them near the shoe rack last night.
According to the ID we’d found in her bag, Goldyn was five-foot-four. She was slim and toned, if the glimpse of her abs in that shirt was any indication.
I couldn’t see her face right now, but last night I’d had plenty of time to study her while she slept on our couch.
She had a damn near angelic face. Perfect features all around.
Light golden-brown skin, a smattering of dark freckles across her nose and cheeks, full lips and doe eyes I was sure she used to her advantage every chance she got.
They’d certainly worked on my best friends last night.
All they needed to see was the way those eyes rounded with fear when we woke her up and they were fucking goners.
Sad .
Tired of watching her like a creep in my own house, I stepped forward and asked, “Going somewhere?”
Goldyn stilled, her whole body tense. The closer I got, the more a familiar scent overwhelmed me, almost stopping me in my tracks.
She smelled like me .
That’s when I remembered I’d hastily stocked the guest bathroom closest to the gym with duplicates of all my favorite stuff, thinking no one but me would ever use it.
Now, I had regrets.
I tried to shake the thought away and take smaller inhales. “You break into our house, spend the night, and you weren’t even going to say bye first?”
She spun around then, and I might have imagined it but she did a double take when she saw I wasn’t wearing a shirt. I hadn’t even thought twice about following her without one. Sweat still dampened my chest as her eyes found my face. She cleared her throat, looking contrite. “I didn’t want to impose anymore than I already have. The sun is up now, I can find my way back to the other side of the lake.”
My eyes scan her from head to toe again, and I didn’t bother trying to hide my suspicion.
“I never got to ask you last night,” I started, fixated on her shoes. “You went hiking in sandals?”
For the second time in as many minutes, she cleared her throat.
“These sandals are made for hiking. But for your information, the trail to the lake is on a decline. I didn’t expect to get lost,” she replied defensively.
“Right.”
“Is that all?” she questioned, gaze darting to the door.
I ignored her question and asked one of my own. “How do I know you didn’t plan this break-in? It’s very convenient that you picked our house of all houses.”
It was no secret our lake house had been the talk of the town for the past few months. And even though Sin, Enzo and I kept to ourselves, it was also no secret that people were curious and wanted to see it. Some had flat out invited themselves when we were out shopping or running errands. And every time Sincere had politely told them to fuck off. This place wasn’t an exhibit, it was our home . Even though I suspected an even bigger reason people wanted to see it was to understand our relationship. No-one could quite wrap their head around three men in their early thirties living together in the woods.
“Hello?” A small flicker in front of my face caught my attention and I realized it was Goldyn waving her hand.
Shit, I zoned out.
“Look, I don’t know what elaborate scheme you’re trying to unearth, but you won’t find it. It’s simple, I was lost. This is the only house I saw. I told you, I’ve never been on this side of the lake. I just needed a bathroom and a place to charge my phone. I apologize for how it turned out.”
I didn’t speak as I processed her explanation. There was a southern lilt to her melodic voice that made me want to hang on to her every word. She had a storyteller’s voice. One I could get lost in and listen to all day.
“You’re not gonna say anything?”
“What would you like me to say, thief ?”
She laughed dryly and ran her tongue over her front teeth. “It would be nice to acknowledge when someone is speaking directly to you, but I can see now that may be asking for too much decency.”
“Decency is overrated,” I told her, shoving my hands in the pockets of my sweats. “And your parents did you a disservice if you walk around expecting everyone to be just as nice as you are.”
Her tenuous smile fell before she gripped the strap of her bag tighter. Her knuckles turned red before she spoke again and all the forced cheeriness in her voice had vanished. “My parents couldn’t be bothered to raise me. So I guess, in a way, you’re right. They did me a lot of disservices.”
Guilt formed an annoying knot of pressure in my chest.
Goldyn assessed me coolly, her whisky eyes intent before she blinked and looked away.
“Listen, I understand that just because I offer an apology it doesn’t mean you have to take it. The good news is that you never have to see me again. So, if you’ll excuse?—”
Her departure was interrupted by the sound of bounding footsteps. Seconds later, Sincere and Enzo appeared at the foot of the stairs, fingers loosely intwined before they turned around and noticed us in the foyer.
Sincere spoke first, his smile so bright I had to look away as guilt continued to gnaw away at me. I was a fucking dick and now Goldyn wouldn’t meet my eyes, after so brazenly holding contact up until now.
“Is everything okay?” Sincere asked, his gaze ping-ponging between us.
I spoke before Goldyn could, scared she would try to leave again. She couldn’t do that before I got a chance to apologize. In private .
“Everything’s fine.” I infused my voice with levity I didn’t feel. “Our houseguest was just trying to sneak out before breakfast.”