She nods. “You hit it off?”
There’s no shame in this story. I was single. Elizabeth was too, at the time. She was newly divorced and looking for someone to help her get past the pain of that. I was there, eager and willing.
“We slept together that night,” I confess. “The condom broke, although neither of us thought much of it. I was clean, she assured me she was as well, and she was on birth control.”
“But still…” Bianca’s voice trails.
“Yes.” I tilt my chin down. “We saw each other a few times in the weeks that followed. When we realized we weren’t a good match, we parted ways on good terms.”
I wait for her to comment, but she doesn’t say a word.
“She was a couple of months along when she realized she was pregnant.” I look to the floor. “We talked it through and decided for the sake of our baby that we’d give things another go.”
“Babies,” she corrects me.
I smile. “We didn’t realize that at the time. Once we found out we were expecting twins, things became strained.”
Bianca nods. “It would be a lot for anyone.”
“It wasn’t for me,” I say honestly. “I was over the moon. I’m a twin. I know what a gift that is. I’ve always had Matt on my side. He’s been right there from day one, so to learn that my daughters would have that too…well, it brought me to tears during the sonogram appointment.”
Her hand reaches out to cover mine in my lap. “I understand.”
“Elizabeth didn’t.” I chuckle. “For the remainder of the pregnancy we cycled between talking about marriage and custody agreements because she wanted to break up.”
A frown mars Bianca’s face. “That sounds so stressful at such a special time.”
I toss my head back. “It was hell. We finally decided to commit to each other, but without the legal ties, so I bought the penthouse that she wanted, and we moved in. The girls arrived, and less than two months later, Elizabeth left.”
Bianca shifts her legs. “Left? She moved out and got her own place?”
“She moved to Los Angeles,” I explain. “She was offered a job on the west coast while she was pregnant. She turned it down, but when they circled back and asked again after the girls were born, she accepted it.”
Her face falls. “She didn’t consult you?”
The laugh that escapes me would have been laced with bitterness if not for the fact that I felt nothing but relief when Elizabeth left. That shifted to sadness when I realized that my daughters would never have a solid relationship with their mom.
“Elizabeth does what Elizabeth wants.” I exhale. “She made an effort to see the girls a couple of times before their first birthday, but I was granted full custody shortly after that, and she’s been a ghost since.”
“She doesn’t spend time with them?”
Shaking my head, I squeeze her hand. “No. I don’t expect she ever will.”
“I’m so sorry.” She scoots across the leather of the couch until our thighs are touching. “I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with that, but my heart breaks for your kids.”
Genuine concern swims in her expression as she goes on, “I imagine it hasn’t always been easy for you, but from what I saw earlier today, you have two very happy little girls in your life. You must be an amazing dad.”
“They make it easy.”
Her eyes lock on mine. “I had no idea that I was falling for a hot single dad.”
The corners of my lips curve up. “You’re falling for me?”
“Hard,” she says with a giggle.
“Give me a kiss, and I will be,” I tease.
She takes it seriously as she leans closer, trails her tongue over her bottom lip, and kisses me deeply.
Chapter 44
Bianca
This moment in time will be etched in my heart and memory forever.
Roman dove between my legs when he stripped me as we walked into my bedroom. His clothes were on the floor just as fast, but once I had come under his tongue, he cradled me in his arms and stared into my eyes.
We must have stayed like that, entangled in each other in every way for more than thirty minutes.
We just breathed and studied each other.
For the very first time, I noticed a small mole next to Roman’s left ear. He trailed his fingertip over the freckle that sits to the right of the center of my forehead.
I wanted to save his face to my memory because I fell in love with him tonight.
I may have doubted it until now, but as we shared silence and an intense connection that needed no words, I felt myself open to him.
My heart has never felt this tied to another person before.
I’ve never been as content with today and anticipated tomorrow as much as I do right now.
Roman’s above me now, his sheathed cock slowly thrusting into me. His movements are measured and gentle. There’s no rush for an orgasm. We’re just savoring this – our first time making love with open hearts.