CHAPTER FIVE
“WHAT DO YOU mean Roman was asking about my sex life?” Mila asked Sophie, who was on the other end of the phone line.
This wasn’t exactly a conversation Mila wanted to have while walking across the hospital parking lot, but it wasn’t something she wanted to put off, either. Anything about Roman, especially Roman mentioning her, had a way of capturing her complete attention.
“He heard you talking to Mom about the fantasy stuff,” Sophie explained, “and when I went to see him earlier, he worked it into the conversation.”
“How the devil did he work that in?”
“He asked if you were still a virgin.”
Mila wasn’t sure why that caused her to blush. Everybody in town probably talked about that, but it caused a little tingle inside her to know that it was something on Roman’s mind. It likely wasn’t a deep interest for him, though. More like a curiosity.
“I told him yes, you were still a virgin,” Sophie went on, “and that he was the reason for it.”
Mila gasped and nearly dropped her phone. “You didn’t.”
“No. Just kidding. But it’s the truth.”
In part, and in a very roundabout way, it was the truth. Mila put her hand to her heart to try to steady it. She needed to regain her composure and get rid of the flushed cheeks before she went into Belle’s hospital room.
Where Roman would be.
Mila had wanted to wait to have this conversation with Sophie’s mom until after the woman got home, but Belle had called earlier and asked her to come over on her lunch break.
“Admit it,” Sophie went on, “no man has ever lived up to Roman in your eyes. Though I don’t have a clue why you feel that way. He’s pigheaded and sullen.”
Yes, but he was also alarmingly handsome. The kind of handsome that made a woman stop breathing. Stop thinking. And start feeling warm in all the secret places of her body. The Grangers were all good-looking, but in her opinion Roman was at the top of that good-looking man-heap.
And now he was here. And hurting.
Not just from his surgery but because of what’d happened with Tate.
“How was Tate when you saw him earlier?” Mila asked.
“Changing the subject. You always do that when I talk about Roman. But in this case I’ll give you a pass because I know you’re worried about Tate. So am I. The doctor said the pills didn’t do any harm, but that he’ll need to keep seeing the therapist.”
Mila had expected that. “Did Tate say how the first therapy session went?” She stopped outside the hospital doors since she didn’t want to continue this conversation while she went through the waiting room.
“He grunted when I asked. Have you noticed that Roman’s and his grunts are identical? It’s weird.”
Yes, she had noticed. For some reason, even the little things about Roman jumped into her head and stayed there.
“One more thing, and I’ll let you go,” Sophie said. “If you help Mom set up one of the fantasy dates, give Clay the guy’s name so he can run a background check on him. The way we do for you.”
Clay did indeed do that for her. He’d started it shortly after one of her “dates” had gotten drunk and broken into the bookstore. There’d been no real damage, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Mila assured her that she would, ended the call and made her way into the hospital. The waiting room was packed, making her wonder if these people all needed medical attention or if they were there to find out what was going on with the Grangers. Sometimes, it was tough being the richest family in town. People admired them, wanted to be them, but there were some who would probably like to see Sophie and her family brought down a peg or two.
And they had been.
Only two years ago Sophie and Garrett had nearly lost the family business when one of their accountants got involved in money laundering. It’d been a huge scandal. In part, because at first the main suspect was their CFO, Billy Lee Seaver. Since Billy Lee was also godfather to Sophie and her brothers, it had made the gossip even juicier.
Shortly after that, Garrett’s then-wife had gotten caught having sex with another man. That had fueled the worst of the busybodies for a while, but now that Garrett had divorced her and was engaged to someone else, it appeared that Roman and Tate would be the next up in the gossip barrel.
Mila would do what she could to nip it in the bud.
In part, she could do that just by being seen in public with her mother. Vita had a way of diverting attention simply by showing up. A way of making Mila uneasy, too.
Bad juju, her mother had said. An ill wind blowing.
Well, it had blown, all right. That’s why Mila was visiting three people she cared about in the hospital. She doubted Vita had known what was going to happen, but people did have gut feelings about this sort of thing. But if so, what gut feeling had prompted her to give Mila the condom?
And to say that Mila was going to have her life turned upside down and lose her virginity in thirty days?
Yes, definite unease, considering that Roman was back in town and that he was probably the only man in the universe she’d take to her bed.
Mila made her way to the hall of the hospital ward, and she immediately spotted Belle. Not in her room, but sitting in a wheelchair just outside the door. She wasn’t wearing a gown, but rather a dress.
“I’m waiting for the doctor to say I can go home,” Belle said right away to her. She moved the wheelchair toward Mila, halving the distance between them.
Mila glanced at her watch. “Why didn’t you just wait in bed?”
“Because Tate’s been out of the room most of the morning at appointments, and I’ve already had to use my safe word with Roman three times. My son certainly knows how to start a fight.”
Yes, and so did Belle. Mila kept that to herself, though. And she wondered about safe words. That wasn’t something she’d expected Belle to say, but Sophie’s mother was a little like Vita. You couldn’t be certain what would come out of her mouth.
Like now.
“Why would a man want whipped cream sprayed in his boxer shorts?” Belle asked.
Mila was certain she got a deer-in-the-headlights look. “I’m not sure,” she settled for saying. “Why?”
“Because that’s what Roman was going on about yesterday when he was waking up from surgery.” She took Mila’s hand, pulled her closer. “You think women have been doing that to him?”
Mila suspected that women had done a lot of things to Roman. Probably whipped cream along with other edibles. She might be a virgin, but she wasn’t clueless.
“That nurse, Alicia, has been flirting with him,” Belle went on. “I told her to take care of my bedpan. I didn’t have a bedpan, mind you, but I thought it would remind her that she’s not there to play under the sheets with my son. Will you talk to her about it?”
Mila would rather eat a cactus. But she nodded. If Roman gave her any hint that it was a problem, she would say something to Alicia. What, exactly, Mila didn’t know, but Roman was here to recover. That might not happen if Alicia managed to give him an erection.
“Now, to the fantasy,” Belle went on. “Did you bring me the webpage address?”
Mila nodded and took the paper with the info from her purse. She didn’t hand it to Belle right away, though. She moved the woman closer to some chairs and sat so she could make eye contact with her.
“Are you certain you want to do this?” Mila pressed.
“Of course. Didn’t you hear what I said about wanting to live my life? Lordy, I can hardly wait to get started. I’ve missed so much.”
Mila knew the feeling. But she also knew something else. “The fantasies can be fun, but they shouldn’t be a substitute for a real relationship. If you want to start dating, I’m sure there are several men in town who would love to go out with you.”
One man, anyway. Billy Lee Seaver. Mila didn’t think it was her imagination that the man had stars in his eyes when it came to Belle. Probably the only reason he hadn’t asked her out already was because she’d been his best friend’s wife.
Belle just stared at her. “You let the fantasy dating be a substitute for your life,” the woman pointed out.
“Yes. But I’m not doing that anymore. I’ve put the fantasy dating on hold.” Maybe permanently. It only made her feel even emptier when she went through the motions.
“Does that mean you’re going to date for real? I hope so.” Belle didn’t give her a chance to answer. “That’s why I copied this for you. One of the nurses let me use her computer. Not the one swishing her tushy around Roman. But one of the other ones.” She took a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Mila. “It’s three dating sites.”
Mila recognized them since they were the very sites she’d recommended to Sophie a couple of years ago. Sophie had gone on one date, and it hadn’t worked out so well. Besides, Mila really wasn’t up to going out with a bunch of men with the hopes of finding a prince among frogs.
“I don’t know about this.” Mila couldn’t have sounded more uncertain if she’d tried. But what she really felt was unconvinced, and nothing was going to get her to change her mind.
“Well, how about someone local, then?” Belle asked. She smiled, a sneaky little smile. “There are plenty of men in town who’d love to go out with you.” Belle didn’t add gotcha, but she could have.
“I’m thinking more about a hiatus from dating,” Mila said.
“Or we could double.” Belle suddenly got very excited as if that were a wonderful idea.
It wasn’t.
Mila would rather eat two cacti than double date with her best friend’s mom.
“And there’s Roman,” Belle added a moment later.
Mila silently cursed, wondering if the woman was actually going to start playing matchmaker. But Belle wasn’t looking at her. Instead, her attention was on the room she shared with Tate and Roman.
And Roman was there.
In the doorway.
Mila got another of those tingles again. An especially warm one that went all the way to places that should be no-tingle zones. Because Roman didn’t see her that way. He only saw her as Valerie’s and Tate’s cousin.
“Oh, there’s Twila Fay Betterton,” Belle said. “Yoo-hoo, Twila Fay!” she called out, and waved at the woman. “She’s probably here because her hemorrhoids are giving her fits again,” she added in a whisper to Mila. “Why don’t you go check on Roman while I talk to her?”
Again, without waiting for Mila to respond, Belle took off, wheeling her way toward Twila Fay, who did indeed look as if she were suffering from some kind of anal pain. Or maybe that was her usual expression.
And speaking of expressions, Mila tried to fix hers before she started toward Roman. She went with what she hoped was a friendly but casual smile. It faded quickly, though, when Roman staggered a bit and caught on to the doorframe to steady himself. Mila shoved the dating site list in her purse, hurried to him, and just like that, he was in her arms.
“Dizzy spell,” he snarled.
“Then you shouldn’t be standing. Come on. Let me get you in bed.”
Bad choice of words. Very bad. Because she went stiff, and there’s no way Roman could have missed that since they were touching in several places. Not the tingly place, thank goodness.
He chuckled, all low and husky. It sent out a Texas-size amount of pheromones. Mila quickly tried to rein in any effect that might have on her.
Too late.
The effect was there.
Roman put a stop to that, though, by brushing a kiss on the top of her head. It was the kind of thing a man might do to his sister. Or a friend. It was a kiss of death for any woman wanting romance. Which she wasn’t, Mila assured herself.
She led him to the bed and had him sit. Again, not a bright idea because she ended up between his legs, too close to him and with their gazes practically colliding.
“Thank you again for what you did for Tate,” he said.
Another nail in her kiss-of-death coffin. He felt obligated to her. And he shouldn’t. “Tate wasn’t in any real danger,” she reminded him. Thank God. “Someone would have found him soon enough, or he would have woken up on his own.”
Mila was about to add that when she took those particular meds the drowsiness only lasted a couple of hours, but she really didn’t want to discuss anything to do about the discomforts of her menstrual cycle with Roman.
“So, did you give Mom those dating sites?” he asked.
She stepped back from him. Nodded. And, in turn, Belle had given her a list. “If she goes through with any dates—” she put dates in air quotes “—then Clay will vet the guys.”
“Like he does for you?”
Mila didn’t make eye contact with him. Didn’t confirm what he’d just said, either, but she suspected this had come up in his conversation with Sophie.
“It works,” she answered, trying to sound light and carefree. “I’m in one piece.”
Physically, anyway. Whenever she was around Roman, she felt a little damaged. As if all the pieces were there but not in the right places.
Maybe that’s why there was tingling in her panties.
“You’re too good a person to not have someone in your life,” he added a moment later.
“Pot calling the kettle black.” She hoped that would cause him to chuckle again just so she could hear that pheromone-y sound.
But no. Roman shook his head. “I’m not a good person.”
Mila nearly jumped to argue with that. There were better than good things about him. He’d raised his son on his own. He’d built a business. And he hadn’t been in trouble with the law in years.
All right, that last part wasn’t so much good as it was that Roman had learned to follow the straight and narrow. Or maybe he’d just learned not to get caught.
“I don’t want anyone in my life,” he continued. “I only have room for Tate right now.”
Of course, she’d known that, but it was a little soul-crushing to hear him say it aloud. And this time, the words really sank in. Not just his, but Belle’s, too. And Sophie’s.
Because Mila did indeed want someone in her life.
She always had. She’d just wanted the wrong person, and it was obvious that wasn’t going to change. In fact, it could get worse. After what’d happened, Roman probably was going to spend even more time and energy just being a dad.
Mila glanced down at her purse. It was still open, and she could see the note with the dating sites that Belle had given her. She’d planned to toss it first chance she got, but that wouldn’t happen now.
Maybe it was time to move past the fantasy level and find someone who could fill all these empty places in her life.
Maybe it was time for clothing removal, after all.