As different as they were in just about every way imaginable, sometimes it was like they were one person split down the middle, with one side being the light, and the other the shade—two men, one heartbeat.
The calming hand did the trick. King pulled his gaze to mine, at the same time reaching for my wrist. He turned his head slightly, but didn’t break eye contact, before pushing my palm to his lips and kissing it gently. I mouthed I love you.
“It’s okay, baby, we’re cool, I got this.” King didn’t move an inch, instead, sliding his focus back to Rome. I really was the third wheel in this situation. “Seriously, take a beat, we’re good.” I lifted onto tiptoes and laid a gentle kiss on his lips.
“Fuck.” He gritted the word out through clenched teeth, then raked his fingers through his hair, so hard, I feared he’d tear it out from the roots.
Finally, with a huge energy-sapping sigh, he stalked to the corner of the room and slapped his palm hard against the wall. I watched him warily for a few more moments as he leaned his head against the forearm that was now resting against the wall. When I was finally sure he wasn’t about to break the place to pieces, I turned to Rome.
“Listen, I know this is hard on you, but you need to know that it’s no picnic for us, either. It’s a fucking minefield for everyone.”
“Yeah, well it’s all well and good for you to say the words, but as tough as you have it, you’re not the one who’s hauling themselves through rehab with bloodied fingernails.” Well, that was a gut-wrenchingly evocative image.
“Don’t you think I know that?” He was staring at the beautifully restored floor, tracing the chevron pattern with the toe of his sneaker as I spoke, resolutely refusing to look my way. I ducked lower so that I could get into his line of vision, then straightened up again when he’d locked his gaze back in with mine. “I know. We know.”
I tipped my head backward in King’s direction. “We’re acutely aware, and if we seem overbearing or overly cautious with you, it’s not because we’re assholes. It’s because we love you, and we want this”—I motioned between the three of us—“to be okay. We want you to be okay. You get that, right?”
Chapter 4
Rome
“I need a fucking smoke.” I paced the kitchen like a hamster in a wheel.
“Look at me.” I continued to pace, staring at the polished concrete floor. King moved to stand in front of me, hands on my shoulders, and shook me until I did as he asked. “You can’t. You know that. You smoke, you’ll want to drink. You can’t risk it.”
“If I don’t smoke, I’m going to drink anyway.”
His expression clouded over, and I read his emotions as clearly as any book—anger, and frustration, but mostly... fear. Jesus.
“I know it’s hard, bu—” I was glad that the ringing phone interrupted him, and he didn’t get to finish that sentence. I was getting so tired of telling him that well-meaning though he was, he had literally no idea what I was going through. Neither of them did. He glanced down at the phone as it rang in his hand, then frowned even harder.
“It’s Mom. She and Dad are in Aspen. Why the hell would she be calling me in the middle of the night?”
“I have no more idea than you. Just fucking answer it before you miss it.”
He did as I said. “Hi Mom, is everythi—” Clearly everything was not all right. I studied him as he listened to the tinny voice at the other end of the line, his brows knitted together. Shit. Something bad was going down, for sure.
“Okay... um... well, I have things... I mean, I’m... No, no, it’s okay, you’re right. I’ll get the first flight out I can in the morning. Okay, bye.” He hung up, looking just about as close to tears as I’d ever seen him.
This time it was my turn to put my hands on his shoulders. “What’s going on?”
“Umm... it’s Maw Maw.” His mother’s mother. “Remember I told you her dementia has been getting worse at a quicker rate this past year?” I nodded. “Well not only that, but now she’s had a massive stroke, and the doctors are not sure she’ll see out the week, if that. The family are trying to get as many of us to her bedside before... I mean, in case.”
“Oh, man, I’m so sorry to hear that. She was always so good to me when we were growing up.”
“She was a battle-axe to everyone.”
“Yeah, but that was part of her charm. She still looked out for me—always gave me extra cake or pastries when you weren’t looking.”
“You don’t think I didn’t know that? You were always her favorite, and you’re not even her grandkid, you asshole. There’s literally no woman on the planet you can’t charm, even though you’re a complete dick.”
I spread my hands out and shrugged. “What can I say? It’s not my fault I’m irresistible to young and old. But enough about me. What do you need? What can I do?”
“Hmmm...?” He seemed genuinely confused by the question.
“How. Can. I. Help. You? For once.”
“Oh, I don’t need anything. I’m just going to book a flight and head out to Florida in the morning. Hopefully, she makes it that long.”
“I’m sure she will, but why are you flying commercial? Why not take the label jet?”
“What? I can’t just—”
“Sure you can. It’s probably just sitting in the hangar, and it’s a motherfucking emergency. Let me make some calls and hook it up. You go pack.”
“But—”
“Go. Pack. A. Fucking. Bag.” It felt good to be the one assisting him for once, not the other way around.
When he came back to the front room about twenty minutes later, it was with Quincy in tow. She’d been in bed when King had gotten the call, and still looked a little groggy with sleep.
My dick twitched in acknowledgment. Something about the half asleep, bed-hair look was beyond sexy on her, even if it really was the most inappropriate time to notice. I focused on King, hoping that would convince my growing boner to go back to wherever the fuck it had come from.
“Okay, I spoke to Dennis, and it’s all arranged. Wheels up in an hour. A car will be here in ten.”
“You called the CEO, so that I could fly out to see my sick grandmother?” The look of incredulity on his face was priceless.
I shrugged. “It’s a family emergency. Why wouldn’t I?”
“Because it’s the middle of the fucking night.”
“Yeah, but it’s also a fucking emergency... so.”
“You sure you don’t need me to come with you?” Quincy snaked her arm around King’s waist.
“No, stay. I have no idea what I’m walking into, and given you haven’t met the Kingstons in your capacity as my girlfriend yet, now probably isn’t the best time. Besides, we have the Sonata Awards on... Shit. I can’t go.”
“So the fuck what? There’s nothing more important than family. Who gives a damn about some stupid awards?” I didn’t care about them at the best of times, let alone when it was a life or death situation.