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talking to her.

That was more than Rome could say for most of his classmates.

“I didn"t expect to see you here,” she murmured as she reached for one of the

plates stacked at the end of the long table.

He took the plate from her. “I wasn"t expecting to come.”

She eyed the dish he held. Rome smiled. “Just tell me what you want.”

She glanced down at his hands. “You always were the gentleman. So tell me

why some woman hasn"t snapped you up—or are you still keeping to that timeline?”

He sighed as he thought back to the promise he made himself when he was all

of twelve. A pledge that Rome wasn"t getting married until he was sure he"d found

the love of his life. He also placed an age limit. Rome wouldn"t even allow himself to

be engaged until he was twenty-five. He told Jana both things senior year when she

started alluding to the fact that they could get married after graduation.

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9

“I guess I never really found the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life

with,” he lied. He"d found the woman he wanted to make his entirely. He just hadn"t

figured out how to capture her.

The truth was that Rome was determined to stick to his third and final

stipulation. He"d done everything in his power to make sure he was nothing like his

bastard father. He"d succeeded.

When he left Brushwood, he headed straight for New York City. Rome got a

job as a janitor at one of Manhattan"s premier investment banks. It paid well

enough to support him and his art. Every night, he cleaned until his muscles ached,

but each morning he came home to his true passion. Painting. After three years of

working his ass off, he got a break. One of his paintings caught the attention of a

highly respected art collector. She became his patron. The elderly woman made sure

to tell everyone she knew in the art community about his talent. Within six months,

Rome had sold every one of the paintings he"d created while struggling in the slums

of New York.

He had the prestige. He had the cash. He even had the fame.

The only thing he needed was the right woman to share his life with.

Jana searched his face for several seconds before giving him a slow,

understanding smile. She glanced behind him. “I"m so glad I found you. I was ready

to leave but had to come check when someone mentioned you were actually here.”

She grinned. “I also heard you were here with Sela. Is that right?”

“We danced together.” Rome forced himself not to tense at her seemingly

innocent question. If Jana put one and one together, she might come up with the

conclusion that he was courting Sela.

Which he was.

But he wanted to do things on his own terms. At his own pace. And the one

thing he remembered about living in Brushwood was that it was a small town with

small-town ways.

Before you woke, the whole town knew where you slept.

He wasn"t quite ready to declare his intentions.

She grinned at him. “I"m glad to see you guys are still friends. I take it both of

you patched things up after that summer.”

Rome gave her a smile he didn"t feel. “I wouldn"t say we"re still friends.”

The air around them thickened until awkwardness seemed to thrive between

them. Just when Rome opened his mouth to break the uncomfortable silence, a

woman with dark red hair grasped Jana"s shoulders. “I"ve been looking everywhere

for you, sweetheart.”

Jana glanced at him before looking back at her friend and cocking her head in

his direction. “Rome, this is Marisol, my wife. Marisol, this is Rome, the guy I told

you about.”

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Tuesday Morrigan

Rome gave the woman an honest smile. Looking at the two of them, it was

obvious Marisol and Jana were a very happy couple. “Nice to meet you, Marisol,” he

said as he held out his hand. If possible, Marisol"s grin widened as she shook his

hand.

Unable to help himself, Rome said, “May I ask what has got you so excited? I

think you"re happier than the actual graduates.”

Jana wrapped her arms around Marisol"s waist and hugged the woman close.

“That might be because she"s not an actual graduate. She doesn"t have to catch up

with all the people she spent years avoiding.”

Marisol swatted at Jana playfully. “No, that"s not it. That nice woman, April,

invited us to her party.”

“A party, huh?” Rome said, thoughtfully. After watching Sela cuddle with her

boyfriend, he wasn"t exactly in the mood to stick around for the rest of the reunion

activities. Then again, he didn"t want to head back to his lonely suite. A party just

might do the trick.

Marisol shrugged. “Yes, April says it"s going to be a bunch of people from the

reunion and some locals. I"m sure you guys will have more fun than I will, but at

least I"ll be having some fun.”

Rome couldn"t help but smile at Marisol. She was right. The reunion was

turning out to be as eventless as he"d imagined. Well, if he didn"t count Sela.

“Are you coming?”

Rome followed Jana"s gaze and turned around to see whom she was speaking

with. He froze when he found wide, bottomless brown eyes staring at his in

surprise.

“I was uh…” She pointed toward the hall that housed the restroom. ”I"m not

exactly sure what you guys are talking about,” Sela replied.

Jana disentangled herself from her wife"s arms. “There"s a party at April

Batista"s, and you"re invited.”

Sela glanced from him to Jana and then back to him. “Things haven"t changed

that much. I"m still not much of a party girl.” It was obvious Sela was looking for an

exit strategy. It was equally obvious Jana wanted Sela to join them.

Rome hoped Jana wasn"t playing matchmaker. He had enough marks against

him.

Jana strode up to Sela and put one arm around her. “It"s a grown-up party.

Don"t worry. We"re all going to act our age—grown, sexy, and some of us married.”

Sela"s gaze flicked back to him. “Okay,” she said softly.

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Chapter Three

Sela hated herself.

She truly, utterly hated herself for agreeing to go to April"s reunion party. If

Sela had any sense whatsoever, she would have politely declined Jana"s offer and

taken her ass home to her mother"s.

She glanced at her watch. She could, at the moment, be stuffing her face with

coffee-flavored chocolate-chip ice cream as she watched awesomely bad television.

Instead she was stuck in the backseat of Rome"s car, trying desperately to ignore

the tense atmosphere that swirled in the vehicle. She glanced at the blond head in

front of her. She still wasn"t sure how she and Nick had ended up in Rome"s car.

Everything happened so quickly she feared her head was still spinning. Just

after she accepted Jana"s invite, Nick showed up, looking for her. A short, perky

blonde appeared about the same time. She started to press up on Rome but caught

sight of Nick and made her a beeline for him. Then Nick turned to her and asked if

she was going to April"s.

Up until that moment she had been hoping to use Nick"s presence as an excuse

not to actually show up. Jana answered for her and told Nick she was going. When

he glanced back at her for affirmation, Sela nodded numbly, knowing her fate was

sealed.

And sealed it was.

At least she wasn"t the only miserable person.

Misery sure does like company
. The line came to her as she thought back to

when Rome offered her a ride. One thing had thundered through her mind. Her,

Rome, and an enclosed space.

They tried that once. It didn"t turn out well. To be honest, it turned out too

well. Therein lay the problem. Rome knew how to please her body as well as a

maestro knows how to play an instrument.

Unfortunately she and Nick took cabs to the reunion. As much as Sela hated to

admit it, she needed a ride.

Unfortunately, Rome was the only one offering. He hadn"t been pleased to hear

she would only go if Nick came. Nick hadn"t taken kindly to her demand.

Apparently, he"d been really hoping to catch a ride with the blonde. She practically

dragged Nick into Rome"s car.

Now both men were ticked off with her.

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Tuesday Morrigan

Almost reluctantly Sela"s lips curved into a smile. She could handle their

anger. It meant neither man was talking to her. At the moment she needed the

peace and quiet. She would be sitting pretty if Rome stopped watching her through

his rearview mirror. With every glance, his face got harder, and his eyes burned

brighter. Sela couldn"t help thinking he was slowly peeling away her clothing.

By the time they reached April"s town house, Sela imagined she was buck

naked in his eyes.

She didn"t know whether to be pleased or angry about the smoldering glances

Rome sent her. No one had ever looked at her that way before. She wasn"t exactly

sure how to respond.

She only knew that every glance increased her body temperature until she

couldn"t help wondering if Rome had turned the heater on despite the fact that it

was the middle of June.

“Can you turn up the air conditioner?”

“Feeling hot, Sela?”

She looked up and held his gaze in the mirror. Amusement and something

dark, carnal shone in his beautiful eyes. He knew exactly what he was doing to her.

“No,” she lied. “I just need a little more fresh air.”

He gave her a slick smile that told her he didn"t believe her lie and reached for

the knob. The cool burst of air felt so good on her skin she barely stifled the urge to

sigh her satisfaction.

The car slowed to a crawl. Nick held up the directions and read the sheet

before peering at the brownstone they sat before. “I believe this is it.”

Rome parked the car and turned to first Nick and then her. “Ready?”

She plastered a smile on her face and replied, “Always,” before reaching for the

door handle.

“Wait.”

She paused with her hand an inch from the knob.

Sela watched Rome get out of the car, unfolding his long, muscular limbs from

the vehicle. Nothing that simple should have been so sexy, but it was. She couldn"t

help wondering how those limbs would look coming in and out of her bed.

She licked her lips slowly and tasted her rising desire. Damn, after all he had

put her through, she shouldn"t still want him. But Sela did. She wanted Rome more

than she"d wanted any other man.

Rome reached Sela"s door and opened it for her, stepping back to allow her to

pass. When she stood she realized he hadn"t quite given her all the room she

needed. Her body brushed across his as she left the vehicle. Wildfire licked up her

arm, burst through her chest, teasing her nipples before crawling down her torso to

settle in her pussy.

Just as she gasped in shock, Rome stiffened. She wasn"t the only one who had

felt the jolt.

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Rome stared down at her with awareness and arousal simmering in his

beautiful gaze. Inexplicably Sela felt herself being drawn to him. She leaned

forward as he lowered his head.

“I was beginning to wonder if you guys got lost making your way out of the

car.”

She pulled back, ignoring the fire that burned between her thighs. She turned

and found Nick watching her. Something more than curiosity shone in his eyes. She

glanced away, unwilling to try to decipher what she saw in his gaze. Still, she had

an idea of what he was thinking and was not looking forward to the conversation.

“Come on, sweetheart.”

Nick held out his hand. She slid her fingers into his much larger grasp and

clung to the comfort of his touch. Sela was terribly frightened that her emotions

were written across her face. The problem was that she didn"t know what she was

feeling. Her body was on fire. Her mind was chaotic, filled with thoughts, needs, and

beliefs she could not untangle. She couldn"t desire Rome.

She certainly did not need him.

Yet the way Sela"s body responded when Rome looked at her made her more

than uncomfortable.

She hated his guts and yet she wanted to fuck him blind.

Nick placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her hard against him.

“Breathe deeply and relax,” he whispered into her ear. His soothing words caressed

the shell of her ear. Selena shivered as she did what Nick said.

Behind them, Rome"s heavy footsteps followed.

With his arm wrapped around her shoulder, she and Nick marched up the

steps that lead to the brownstone"s front door. She glanced into Nickolas"s cerulean

eyes when they reached the top. The amusement in his gaze told her he was

thinking the same thing.

“Feel like you"re walking to your death, huh?”

Nick shrugged before grinning at her. “I didn"t party much in high school.