LOL: Laugh Out Loud (After Oscar, #2)(65)

Because of Roman.

“Yes,” I told him simply.

His lips pressed together, and he nodded. His hand slid into my hair, fingers curling around the back of my head. The touch was almost possessive in its strength. “Could you be happy with me?”

That feeling in my chest, the wanting and the needing, grew larger, almost swallowing me. “I already am.”

His eyes searched mine. “Don’t leave. Stay with me here. Come home with me after.”

My breath caught in my throat. This was everything I wanted. More than I could have imagined. It was too much, too perfect. And that was the problem.

I looked away, steeling myself to tell Roman the truth. “I have a past.”

“We all do.”

God I didn’t want to tell him this. But I had to. It wouldn’t be fair to mislead him. If he wanted to date me, he had to know what he was getting into. “Mine involves a criminal record.”

He let out a breath of air. “Oh.”

“I was a teen—juvie. It’s sealed. But… it could still get out…”

His hands dropped to his sides, and the absence of his touch felt like a physical blow. “I understand.” He sounded wounded, and it struck at my very core.

I wanted to reach for him, but I was afraid he would pull away and I wouldn’t be able to bear it. “I’m sorry, Roman. If I could change it I would. Trust me. I want nothing more than to be with you.”

“It’s okay,” he said. He looked everywhere but at me. “I understand. You have a right to your privacy. You shouldn’t have to risk having your secrets exposed just to be with me. It’s not fair of me to ask. I’m sorry.”

He started to turn toward the sink and I snagged his wrist, keeping him in place. He had it all wrong. “Wait, it’s not having my past exposed that I’m worried about. I couldn’t care less about that coming out. It’s what it would mean for you if it did,” I told him. “You’d be dating someone with a record, someone whose mother just finished a stint behind bars. The tabloids would have a field day with that information. It would be terrible for your reputation.”

Roman’s eyes finally met mine again. “You’re worried about my reputation?” He seemed genuinely surprised.

“Of course I am! I care about you—I couldn’t stand the thought of your career suffering because of me.”

He took my hand in his and lifted it to his lips, pressing a kiss to the inside of my wrist before placing my palm against his chest. His heart thundered under my touch. “Sweet, sweet Scotty,” Roman murmured.

I swallowed, my throat tight with emotion.

He smiled. “Dating a guy with a record will just add to my street cred when it comes to landing the grittier movie parts. Haven’t you noticed that Hollywood likes a bad boy?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh yeah, and I totally fit the Hollywood image of a bad boy. Straight out of central casting, that’s what I am.”

Roman’s eyes twinkled with humor for a moment before turning serious again. “It’s not easy being with me… the paparazzi… the scrutiny…” He shook his head. There was an edge of pain in his voice when he said, “I can’t ask you to subject yourself to that.”

I pressed a finger to his lips. “You wouldn’t have to ask me. I’d do it willingly.”

“Why?” His voice cracked on the question.

How could Roman even ask me that? Didn’t he understand how amazing he was? “Because you’re worth it.”

“Scotty.” The way he exhaled my name sounded like a prayer, and I closed my eyes, absorbing it into my soul. His breath caught in his throat, as though he was about to say something more, but before he could, the back door slammed open and the sound of Roman’s chattering nieces blew in on a draft of frigid air.

The girls tumbled through the door from the mudroom. Diana deftly snagged them both by their scarves before they could track muddy snow into the kitchen. “Take your gear off in here,” she reminded them. They began de-layering in a flurry of mittens and hats.

Diana draped her coat on a peg and stepped into the kitchen, pausing when she caught sight of us. She looked pointedly at the stack of dirty dishes and the way I still sat on the counter, Roman standing between my legs. “I see you two have been hard at work,” she said with a knowing smirk.

I slipped off the counter, ducking around Roman and moving to the sink. My cheeks blazed with heat. “Right. Yes. We were just ah… discussing strategy. You know. How best to tackle the beast.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “Oh really? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”

Roman threw back his head and laughed. Just then, Sonya burst out of the mudroom, racing straight toward me, her eyes bright. “Uncle Scotty!” she called. “Daddy said his saddle fits Nugget!”

I had to admit being called “uncle” made my own chest pinch a little since I’d never known what it was like to really have family. As an only child, I’d never expected to be anyone’s uncle one day.

I squatted down to Sonya’s eye level. “Really? That’s great, sweetie. Are you going to show me how to ride?”

She nodded firmly. “I promise it’s easy.”

I glanced up at Diana, who’d taken up a position at the sink and was rolling up her sleeves. “No way, you’re not cleaning up.”