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It’s around the time Roman and his mom come back that his sisters show up, so his mom tells us that she’s going to wait around for them to finish with their visit, then leave for the night.
The goodbye we all share is uncomfortable, but Sofia hugs me with a sincerity that surprises me, even as her dad glowers while watching. When we leave the hospital, Roman has a car waiting outside like earlier today, so we get in and head for his building. I can tell he’s exhausted, and I know for the next few days that things will be hard on him. Even if Diana’s surgery went well, she still needs to recover, and from what I heard his mom saying while trying to prepare her daughters for seeing their grandmother, Diana didn’t look like herself, not while hooked up to all the machines in her room.
After we arrive at his place, I follow Roman into the bedroom and watch him strip out of his clothes, while I do the same and put on the T-shirt I left behind earlier.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask him when he sits on the side of the bed with a groan.
“Not right now.” He tips his head back to look at me as I walk over to him, and he opens his knees. When I’m standing between them, his hands grasp the back of my thighs, dragging me closer.
“How did you get over to the hospital earlier?”
“The doorman stopped a cab for me.” I slide my thighs over his when he urges me even closer to straddle his lap. The position has nothing to do with sex. I know he just wants me as near as possible.
“I’ll program the number for the car company we use and the drivers into your phone, so you’ll have them.”
“Taking a cab worked.”
“I know. I just want you to have options.”
“All right,” I agree softly, sliding my fingers through his hair. “Are you tired?”
“Yes and no. I think I’m still hyped up on adrenaline.”
“That’s understandable.” I lean in and rest my head against his chest under his chin while wrapping my arms around him.
“Did my dad say anything to you when my mom and I left?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“Why didn’t he go visit Diana with your mom?” I ask since he opened that door.
“Because she hates him and lets him know it every chance she gets.”
“Why?”
“When my grandfather died, Ricardo tried to contest his will when he found out that Giorgio left his shares of the real estate business to me instead of him.”
“That’s messed up.”
“It is, but it also wasn’t surprising. The two of them were close, and he assumed that meant my grandfather would trust him with the company.”
“He didn’t?”
“Not enough to leave most of it in his hands.”
“But he trusted you?”
“He’d seen what I had built for myself over the years without a single handout from him or my dad. I don’t know that he trusted me, but he respected my work ethic.” His hands smooth up my back. “Do you want to watch a movie? Maybe that one we started back in Oregon?”
“The Goonies?” I smile.
“Yeah.”
“Sure.” I pull my head back to look at him and frown. “Do you even have a TV? I don’t remember seeing one anywhere.”
“I have something better.” He touches his lips to mine, then stands with me in his arms before sliding me down his body.
