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"Uh, no."
"Oh. I thought Kelli told you. You're going to be responsible for setting up booths and helping our authors during the event. If they need food, you get them food. You'll basically be a gopher for the two days, but it's a lot of fun and you'll get to meet all kinds of people."
"Okay." I try to smile at her reassuringly, but when she frowns at me again, I don't think I succeeded.
"If you can't go, we can ask someone else…"
"No, no," I hurry to say, and then swallow hard when my voice cracks. My heart feels like it's lodged itself in my throat. "It's no problem." Except for the fact that my best friend lives there, and I think she hates me.
"Are you sure?" Missy asks, watching me carefully.
"I'm looking forward to it," I lie, smiling as brightly as possible.
The rest of the day passes in a blur of activity and information. I miss most of it. My mind is stuck on the fact that I'll be in Sacramento in a matter of days, close enough to force Tahani to talk to me.
By the time I make it home, my stomach is in knots, and I feel like I'm going to throw up.
When I pull up and park, Roman's truck is already in the driveway. He meets me at the door, leaning his big body against the frame.
My heart thumps hard against my ribcage as I walk toward him. He looks so handsome in his black T-shirt and jeans, with a sexy smirk on his lips. The knots in my stomach loosen a little at the sight of him, allowing heat to creep in and steal through me. His text messages from earlier flash through my mind. The two he sent after the dirty ones were both really sweet. He told me that he couldn't stop thinking about me and that he loved me.
I didn't message him back. I was worried I'd say something about Sacramento if I did, and I wanted to talk to him face-to-face about that. With everything going on, I'm sure he'll probably be relieved that I'll be out of town for a few days. But I don't know how he'll feel about me trying to see Tahani while I'm there. She still isn't responding to texts, though. It's time for drastic measures…like showing up on her doorstep out of the blue.
The thought makes another wave of nausea roll through me.
"Hi," I whisper when I reach him, swallowing hard to push the queasy feeling back.
His gaze rolls over me, and his smile slips. "What's wrong?" he asks.
"Nothing."
Those gorgeous hazel eyes narrow on me, but he doesn't say anything. He just takes my bag from me and leads me into the house.
As soon as the front door closes behind us, he resets the alarm. When it beeps, he drops my purse to the floor and pulls me into his arms, holding me tightly.
I rest my head against his chest and sigh. God, he smells good. Some of the knots in my stomach loosen as he hugs me.
"I missed you today," he says softly, his lips against my crown.
"I missed you too." I tilt my head back to look up at him.
He tips his forward and kisses me, nibbling at my lips in sweet little bites until I open for him. As soon as I do, his tongue twines with mine. He kisses me like he's got all day, soft and sweet. By the time he breaks away, my nipples are hard and my mind is hazy.
"How was your first day, baby?" he asks, pulling me into the living room.
"It was good," I murmur as he pushes me down on the couch and then sits beside me. "Everyone was really nice and friendly. I think I'm going to like it there." I hesitate for a minute. "They know what happened with my former boss. She threw a fit when she found out they were going to hire me."
"What the fuck?" he growls.
"They don't like her much either."
"Good. She's a bitch, and they're lucky to have you." He shifts us around until I'm tucked against his chest, one hand splayed across his abdomen. "How do you feel about them knowing what happened?"
I shrug one shoulder. "It's a little embarrassing, but they were going to find out sooner or later, I guess."
"You have nothing to be embarrassed about," he says softly. "Your ex was a fucking idiot, and your boss was a cunt. You're better off without both of them."
"That's exactly how I feel. Fuck both of them."
