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“Hmm. I’ve heard good things,” I muttered, wrapping my arms around his torso from the side. Rome tossed his phone on the bed and pulled me fully onto his lap, kissing my face while he breathed me in like it’d been months instead of hours since we saw each other.

“Why didn’t you call me to tell me you were sick?”

His lips hovered over my neck, placing featherlike kisses there until I answered him.

“I didn’t want to bother you. And I had Sin here with me the whole day. He took care of me,” I answered.

Romeo grumbled low in his throat and lifted his head to stare at my profile. The heat of his gaze compelled me to face him.

“You’re not bothering me when you tell me something is wrong, G. I wanna be bothered by you. It made me feel worse to know you weren’t okay all day and I never checked on you.”

“You’re checking on me now,” I pointed out, puckering my lips for a kiss.

He relented, but he still studied me like he didn’t believe I was okay when he pulled away. “Are your periods always this bad?”

Heaving a sigh, I shrugged. “Yes and no. I’m not even on my period yet, but the cramps a few days before are atrocious.”

“And you’re not in pain now?” The earnestness in his eyes melted my heart.

“A little. But it’s nowhere near as bad as it was.”

“How long as it been like this?” He followed up.

“Since I was a teenager. I’ve had bad periods all my life. I have endometriosis and up until two years ago, I had fibroids. But I got them removed after I graduated college. I couldn’t take it anymore.” Bleeding through my clothes wasn’t something I’d wish on anyone, and it took me until my senior year to find a doctor who listened to me about it not being normal.

Rome’s voice sounded tortured when he tried to soothe me. “I’m sorry, G. I can’t imagine how much that shit hurts.”

I shrugged. “I’m used to it. I know it’s fucked up, but I used to see it as a silver lining that I only had to deal with my period a few times a year. But now when I do get them, the pain is so bad that I just want a consistent, normal cycle.”

Rome nodded, still deep in thought as he settled his hand over my abdomen. He apologized again and again, his voice growing more faint with every repetition. “I’m sorry, Goldyn.”

The helpless look on his face sparked a familiar emotion in my chest.

I didn’t know how I’d gotten so lucky to stumble into their lives. Every man in this house made me feel cherished. Seen. Adored more than I ever had in my life.

They were so sweet it made me want to cry.

Too emotional to speak, I laid against his chest. The only person we were missing was Enzo. I felt his absence just as deep as I felt Sincere and Romeo’s presence. And I knew if he wasn’t on his business trip still, he’d be crowded on this bed with us. The thought made me smile, and that smile quickly slipped when I realized the next time this happened, they probably wouldn’t be around to comfort me. And that made me want to cry a little bit too.

I was really gonna miss them. And the only thing I could do about it was soak up the present moment for what it was and be grateful that at least I had right now with them.

Aside from AuntFlo trying to shake the table for the first few days, August started with a little rain and not too much fanfare.

Lorenzo’s quick turnaround trip had turned into a fifteen-day journey, split between King’s Town and Charlotte while he wrapped up negotiations for a longtime client. Thankfully, he was set to fly back in the morning. The energy in the house wasn’t the same without him, no matter how much we tried to distract ourselves with each other. Wemissedhim.

And when my mind selfishly obsessed over how much time he was missing during my last full month with them, I redirected my attention by creating a new routine.

I had lunch with Rome, even on the days I wasn’t working on anything in my shop. I went to Ms. Ruby’s house almost every day to play with the new puppies and check on Lady. I spent every night wrapped in Sincere’s arms because I knew we both missed Lorenzo, and I didn’t want him to be alone.

The routine was simple but peaceful. And it worked. I spent less time ruminating on what was to come and put all that energy into enjoying now.

Life was…good.

And it was better with Romeo’s dick in my mouth.

Which was exactly why I was in the home gym, on my knees, taking him to the back of my throat while he sucked in pleading breaths above me.

Cornering him in the gym had been risky, but the payoff was hearing him whimper while he slid against my tongue, his fingers fisted in my hair.