Five Months Before
September 2018
The gauzy curtains twitched in the breeze, the air breathing life into the nearly translucent fabric. Penny lay curled on the plush comforter with crisp, white sheets draped just so over her naked figure. She watched the curtains dance with whimsy, the doors beyond thrown open to the morning sunlight as another Los Angeles heat wave sent warm whispers down her bare legs.
The door to the bathroom opened with a click. Penny didn’t need to look back to see the striking figure cross the room. She waited until he slid under the covers to join her. Roman slipped his tanned arm over Penny’s shoulders and let his index finger and thumb trace circles on her exposed belly.
“God, I could get used to this.” Penny cuddled against him, basking in the sunlight and the tickle of a long, slow kiss at the nape of her neck. “It’s magic. Pure magic.”
Roman murmured an unintelligible agreement. It’s sort of his thing, Penny thought, rolling to face him. She traced his jawline, thinking when a man looked like Roman, he didn’t need to use English words. His nonsensical mmms and aahs were enough. And what he didn’t say aloud, she could read in the depths of his gorgeous eyes.
“I love you,” Penny blurted.
A silence followed, and though it was somewhat long, it wasn’t awkward. Roman leaned forward and touched a kiss to her forehead.
“You don’t have to say it back,” Penny added quickly. “I completely understand if you’re not ready for that. But…it’s how I feel. I didn’t plan to say it, but the damn thing came out anyway.”
“I’m getting there.” Roman’s kisses worked their way down to Penny’s lips. “Have patience, sweetheart.”
“I waited a long time for this, for us,” Penny said. “I can wait a little longer for you to catch up.”
Roman just smiled and nuzzled against her.
“Tell me about Eliza,” Penny said.
Roman propped himself up on his elbow, his hand stilling on Penny’s belly. “What do you mean?”
“I’m curious,” Penny said. “You were married for a long time.”
“Yes,” Roman said. “We fell in love in college. Or whatever you want to call it. I always thought the two of us had more of a business arrangement than anything. Eliza is…exceptional in the workforce. It didn’t translate to home life.”
“Why’d you marry her?”
Roman’s eyes flickered toward Penny. “I wish you wouldn’t—”
“Indulge me,” Penny said. “I’m not jealous. I just want to understand.”
“We were dating,” Roman said. “We got married fast. Eliza was up for a huge job, but her visa was about to expire. If I didn’t marry her…”
“That’s so romantic!”
“It was borderline illegal.”
“Romantic,” Penny insisted. “You took a risk for a woman you loved. Even if it didn’t work out. I think that’s admirable.”
“Even though we failed.”
“Even though it failed.”
“Yes, well…” Roman winked. “I can be unadmirable, too, if you’d like to see that.”
Penny giggled, wriggling against him. “I saw plenty of that last night.”
“There’s more where that came from.”
“I want to talk,” Penny said. “I want to get to know you. More, I mean. Every inch of you.”
“The past is the past. I don’t want to sit around discussing my ex-wife when we have this beautiful morning ahead of us. Let’s order room service.”
“Sure,” Penny agreed as Roman extended an arm and pulled the menu toward him. He slipped on a pair of thick glasses that she thought made him look exceptionally cute. “Then let’s talk about the future. Our future.”
Roman placed a call to room service, ignoring Penny’s request. He ordered a lavish breakfast spread from the staff at the Pelican Hotel and spared no expense. They’d returned to the scene of their first night spent together time and time again. It’d been weeks since that evening, the evening of the book launch party, and they’d spent many a night together since, each better than the last. Call it nostalgia, call it routine—Penny didn’t care. She loved it. She loved him.
Roman continued his order: sliced grapefruit, full omelet, toast with rose petal jam, fresh figs and dates, and two black coffees with cream on the side for Penny. When she spent the night with Roman, she never went hungry. One of the million perks to dating a man with money.
“Two sugars,” Roman added. “And extra packets of butter for the toast.”
When he hung up, Penny rested her hand on his thigh. He wore nothing but black boxers, and her hand stroked through the dark hair on his leg. “I love that,” she whispered. “This. Us. It’s just so…easy.”
“What’s easy?”
“Us,” Penny repeated. “You know what I like to eat and how I like my coffee. That I need extra butter for my toast.”
“I know the extra butter is so you can stash it in your purse for later.”
Penny laughed. “And you know that, too. I always thought this was what love would be like. Sunny mornings, lazy days, good food, and…yes, great sex,” Penny added when Roman started dancing his fingers down her torso. She smacked his hand away. “Is this what you thought it would be like? Are we different than you were with Eliza?”
Roman withdrew his hand. “Why are you so intent on analyzing my ex-wife? We’re no longer together for a reason. It’s over.”
“I know, I’m sorry. Forget I said anything. I’m just so excited about us, how far we’ve come even though it’s only been a few months since we met. It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
“You’re amazing.”
The cross look on Roman’s face dissipated, to Penny’s relief. She’d have to tone down her mentions of Eliza, curious or not. Understandably so, seeing as she wouldn’t love Roman digging into her past relationships, either.
Almost as if he’d read her mind, Roman winked at her. “I’m sure you have a past, too.”
Penny nodded.
“Did you fuck Ryan Anderson?”
“Excuse me?” Penny recoiled. “What are you talking about?”
“Ryan Anderson,” Roman said. “He’s been ogling you since the day you walked into class. Did you sleep with him?”
“God, Roman. That’s so rude.”
“Well?”
Penny stood. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I meant it when I said you should stay away from him.”
“I know,” Penny said, hugging her arms around her as the warm breeze suddenly felt cool on her body. “You were jealous, even then?”
“He’s a strange guy.”
“He’s boring is all. I went out with him a few times because I thought you were married. What was I supposed to do, be celibate for the rest of my life because you were in love with someone else?”
“I was trying to watch out for you,” Roman said, reaching out to grab Penny’s wrist. He tugged at her gently. “I don’t like the way he looks at you. Maybe I am jealous. Maybe it was my only way of keeping tabs on you before I was ready to take the next step.”
“That’s almost sweet.”
“I just know he’s done it before, dated girls from class.”
“He’s allowed to date. I told him I wasn’t interested. I don’t expect him to wait around for me, nor would I want him to.”
“Oh?”
“C’mon, I’m interested in you,” Penny said, twirling to face Roman. “You idiot. It’s always been you. I only went out with Ryan because I was trying to get you out of my mind.”
“Come here.” Roman’s voice was a quiet instruction. “I’m yours, baby.”
“I know.” Penny let herself be pulled toward him, let their lips meet in a tangle of familiar angst that grew whenever they were apart and calmed the second they were together. “I love you. I’m sorry about Ryan. I’m sorry we argued.”
“That wasn’t an argument.” Roman pulled Penny onto his lap. “But I’ll make it up to you anyway.”