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But Goldyn proved me wrong when she ignored the staircase and kept walking toward the front door, digging around in her bag for something. When she still hadn’t found what she waslooking for once she got to the foyer, she dropped onto the bench near the shoe rack and heaved a shuddering breath.

From my spot by the staircase, I saw her lip tremble.

What the fuck was going on?

A single tear fell and she rushed to swat it away. Like if she didn’t acknowledge it, it wasn’t real.

I tried to keep my distance and watch her until something about this made sense, but then she dropped her head in her hands, shoulders shaking and I couldn’t watch from the sidelines anymore.

Her soft cries filled the foyer, muting my footsteps, so I approached without notice.

Dropping to a squat in front of her, I placed a hand on her lap and waited for her surprised gaze to clash with mine. The heartache in her stare shredded my heart into a million pieces, and I had to swallow past the painful lump crowding my throat.

Forcing a casual tone, I asked, “Going somewhere, G?”

My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.It felt like I was breathing through a soggy paper straw. And my head was about two seconds away from floating off my shoulders, too full of thoughts I didn’t want to deal with.

Logically, I knew I was in the foyer. Sitting on something.

But my head wouldn’t anchor me in reality.

All I could focus on was panic and that made me panic even more.

Breathe, Goldy, breathe. At least make it to the fucking van before you melt into a puddle of over-stimulated nerves.

The more I coached myself, the less calm I felt. I was really fucking bad at this.

Before I knew it, my shoulders were shaking with cries that had clawed up my throat and freed themselves. And I didn’t stop until I felt firm pressure on my shaking shoulders, calming the tremble just a little.

My eyes flew open and collided with Rome’s concerned ones. And that’s how I knew I was out of it. Ialwaysknew when Rome was near. There was no reason I shouldn’t have sensed his closeness.

“Going somewhere, G?”

That deep drawling voice was even, but the worry knitting his brows sent a flurry of dread racing through my stomach. He’d caught me when I didn’t want any of them to know I was leaving.

I tried to stand on shaky legs, but he rose with me and gently pressed down on my shoulders until my knees bent on their own accord.

“Sit down, Goldyn,” Rome commanded, not saying anything about me trying to sneak out.

So I sat down, my eyes fixated on his towering frame. He was shirtless, clearly fresh out of the gym even though no sweat slicked his deep mahogany skin. And then he blurred as more tears clouded my vision.

The cool wood of the bench kissed my thighs and I balled my hands into fists beside me, not knowing what else to do with them.

Quietly, Rome knelt between my parted legs and peered up at me. “What shoes do you want to wear?”

He cast a glance at the shoe rack, awaiting my response.

Guilt and shame sat heavy on my chest, stealing all my words.

“Which shoes, baby?” Rome tried again, his voice softer than before.

More guilt sank into me, weighing down my limbs.

“You’re not gonna say anything about me trying to leave?”

“Not right now. If you wanna leave, you can leave.” He shrugged before quickly adding, “But I’m leaving with you.” His hand massaged my right calf while his imploring eyes stayed fixed on me. “So, which shoes, Goldyn?”

Nodding toward the sandals in front of the shoe rack, I bit back more words and watched him slip them on my feet, concentration clear on his face.