Page 14

Fourteen

Roman

I waited until the end of the day to take my lunch so I could go to the grocery store and be back before Quinn and Rosie got there.

I had picked Trevor’s brain about what kind of foods kids liked to eat, but when neither of us had any idea, we found ourselves on some popular food blog with an abundance of options that looked easy and kid friendly.

I knew that Quinn was already struggling with the thought of staying with me for a while, so I wanted to make it as comfortable for them as possible.

I picked up enough food to last us more than a few days and wondered how I was going to fit everything in the fridge, but that was a problem for another day.

Quinn and Rosie got there a little after six while I stirred the boiling pasta on the stove.

“You’re cooking?” Quinn asked with a smile as she shut the door behind her.

This morning I had given her the spare key even though she fought me on it.

I had also volunteered to pick Rosie up and take her back to work with me until Quinn got home.

She had refused and said that things needed to be as normal as possible for Rosie right now, which meant that Sandra would pick her up when she got out around one, and then Quinn would get her on her way home.

I hated not being there to watch over Rosie while she was with her grandma, but I also knew Sandra almost my entire life and trusted that she was safe there.

Just because Sandra hadn’t known about the van last time didn’t mean she was incapable of protecting her granddaughter.

She had grown up in a life of military and law enforcement officers, so it wasn’t like she was clueless about what was going on.

Mike had gotten her up to date, and Sandra was fully on board with everything that we were trying to do to protect Rosie.

“I cook,” I laughed, grabbing the towel hanging over my shoulder.

“Not often, but I still know what I’m doing.

” I opened the oven door and used the towel to take out the pan of chicken that I had baked.

There were two chicken breasts that I had seasoned for Quinn and me, and then a third breast that I had cut into bite-sized pieces and breaded to make chicken nuggets for Rosie.

I set the pan on the back of the stove and turned the oven off. The pasta was done, so I removed it from the heat and drained it before adding it to the bowl of alfredo sauce that I had already warmed up.

“Go wash up while I help with dinner,” Quinn said to Rosie, gently tousling her hair as she bounced off toward the bathroom.

A few seconds later, we heard the water turn on, and Rosie started singing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

“What can I help with?” Quinn asked, standing beside me at the stove.

I tried not to move, afraid that I would get burned if I did. It wasn’t the heat from the stove that had me worried—it was the chemistry that was sizzling between us that scared me.

“I’m good,” I answered, my voice thick and scratchy.

“You sure?”

She was close—too close—to where I could feel the tingle of goosebumps as her bare arm brushed against mine.

I nodded and muttered an mmmhmm before stepping away to grab the plates from the cabinet. I turned around to set them down when I crashed into her again. This time it was her fingers that grabbed onto my body to hold me steady before they trailed across my ribs.

“Quinn,” I breathed, still holding the plates but not bothering to move away from her touch.

“Yeah?” she asked, her fingers still making delicate trails around my abs.

“When you touch me like that...”

She lifted her eyes and looked into mine as a moment passed between us.

“You make it really hard not to throw these plates to the ground and kiss the hell out of you,” I murmured, closing my eyes while trying to keep my grip on said plates.

Before she could respond, Rosie was heading down the hallway, singing another song.

Quinn yanked her hands away and stepped back, tucking her head as she turned to the stove.

I tried to ignore the way my dick was straining against my briefs but was thankful that my shirt and jeans were enough to hide it.

I put the plates on the counter and then grabbed some silverware while Quinn helped bring the food to the table. It wasn’t a big table, but there was plenty of room for the three of us to sit and enjoy a meal together.

Rosie’s eyes lit up when she saw her chicken nuggets, and I felt relieved that I hadn’t screwed it up.

I set a bowl of steamed broccoli and cauliflower on the table, assuming it would be for Quinn and myself, but I was pleasantly surprised when Rosie asked for some.

I was impressed with how much she ate as she twirled noodles on her fork and giggled every time she made a slurping sound.

Quinn and I talked about random stuff at dinner, in between stories from Rosie about the things that happened at school or while she was with Sandra. Once we were done, Quinn offered to help clean up, but I insisted that she go get Rosie’s bath started, and I would take care of it.

In addition to groceries, I had also grabbed a few things for them at the store that they would need here: shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes, and of course, a bottle of bubble bath with princesses on it that smelled like strawberries.

Rosie squealed when she saw it and asked Quinn if she could take the biggest bubble bath ever as she jumped up and down excitedly.

I had cooked extra for dinner, knowing that there would be enough for Quinn to take some to work for lunch.

I wasn’t sure if she usually packed a lunch, but I hadn’t seen her take anything with her the few days I had gone with her to take Rosie to school.

She didn’t strike me as someone who ate out a lot, so I assumed she had been too busy and was likely skipping lunch while she tried to make up hours.

I didn’t worry about leftovers for myself since tomorrow was Friday, and I was having lunch with Trevor and Max to get some updates on the items he was working on.

It felt like it had already been a long time since we first talked about it when it had only been a few days.

Life was suddenly chaotic, and I was having difficulty getting in the groove with things.

Rosie giggled from the bathroom, and I smiled, thankful to hear how happy and carefree she sounded. I hated that she lived in a world where bad things happened to sweet, innocent children like her, but I was determined to make sure that she never experienced it. Losing her father was tragic enough.

A little while later, Quinn came down the hall and plopped down on the couch beside me.

“I didn’t think I was ever going to get her out of that bath,” she laughed. “Thank you for picking up the bubble bath for her, that was really nice of you.”

“Of course, not a problem. I also grabbed a few other things for you guys and left them on the counter.”

“I saw, thank you for those as well. You don’t have to keep buying us stuff and feeding us. I’m more than happy to help pay for stuff or bring our own—”

“Quinn, it’s okay to let people help you,” I said, interrupting her.

She sighed and sank lower on the couch.

“It’s hard. I had so much help when Justin first died, which was great, but now I feel like I should be able to handle things on my own. It’s been four years. I shouldn’t need anyone anymore.”

“It doesn’t matter how long it’s been. It’s okay to need help still. That doesn’t make you weak or any less of a mother.”

“I don’t know how single mothers do it with more than one kid,” she laughed, resting her head on the cushion. “I only have one, and it feels like I’m always in over my head and drowning.”

“They do exactly what you’re doing—they just keep pushing forward, one step at a time.”

Her phone rang, and she pulled it out of her pocket, smiling as she looked at the caller ID before answering.

“Hey, Mama.”

I thought about getting up to give her some privacy for her phone call, but I got a text message from Max before I could.

Max: Is she with you tonight?

Me: Yes, they’re both here now.

Max: Keep them there and make sure your doors are locked.

Me: What happened?

Max: Someone broke into her apartment. It’ll be a few days before she can go back.

Me: Did they take anything valuable?

Max: It’s more so what they left.

Another text message came through, but this time it was a picture of a seat belt lying on Quinn’s bed.

I was still staring at my phone when Quinn ended her call and was staring at me.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I lied, tucking my phone into my pocket. “You?”

“That was my mom asking if she can keep Rosie tomorrow after school for a sleepover since it’s Friday and we don’t have plans on Saturday.”

“That’s sweet of her; I’m sure she would enjoy that.”

“Do you think it’s okay to let her stay?”

“I don’t see why not,” I shrugged. “But if you’re uncomfortable about it, you can always say no.”

“I already told her yes, so I would feel bad backing out now. Besides, we don’t even know if anyone is still watching her. I haven’t noticed anything weird, have you?”

I wanted to tell her about the picture Max had just sent me but decided that it was better to wait until I could talk to him. I pulled my phone back out of my pocket and sent him a quick text, asking if anyone was going to call and tell Quinn about the break-in.

“I haven’t noticed anything,” I replied, putting my phone on the couch beside me. “But that doesn’t mean that we can stop being vigilant. We have to keep our guard up and make sure we know where Rosie is at all times.”

She chewed her nail and thought about it. Before she could say anything else, her phone rang again.

“Sorry, it’s Mike this time.”

She answered, and I knew he was calling to tell her about the apartment.

“Oh my God,” she whispered, holding her hand to her chest. “Okay, yeah, I understand.”

I hated the look of fear in her eyes right now.

“I’ll see if I can stay with Roman for a few more days,” she said as she caught me nodding my head. It wasn’t even a question of whether she could stay with me. I would make sure that they did, especially now that someone had been in their apartment.

Rosie came into the living room after getting her pajamas on and her teeth brushed. Quinn finished up with her phone call and seemed flustered.

“What’s wrong, Mama?” Rosie asked, curling up beside her on the couch.

“Nothing, sweet girl.” She gently brushed her fingers across Rosie’s forehead, making her eyes flutter as she tried to stay awake.

“I can go by your apartment to grab some clothes and stuff if you want?” I offered, knowing that it was another thing weighing heavily on her mind.

“It’s okay, I can try to go in the morning.”

“Quinn.”

She rolled her eyes and exhaled.

“You wouldn’t know what to pack,” she objected.

“You can tell me. I am pretty smart, you know. I ran some pretty intense operations in the Marines; I think I can handle packing up some stuff.”

“You really want to go through my personal belongings and pick the bras and panties that I’m going to wear for a few days?”

I knew that she was being sarcastic, but there was actually nothing that I wanted more. Although, the thought of her wearing them for me was even more thrilling. Heat spread quickly throughout my body, adding a touch of color to my naturally tanned cheeks.

“What if you had an escort?” I raised a brow, challenging her while also trying to steer the conversation in another direction.

“An escort?”

I nodded.

“Like Mike?”

“I can’t think of anyone better.”

She tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and groaned.

“Ugh. Fine.”

“Do you want to go tonight or tomorrow morning?”

She thought about it for a minute before picking up her phone and rolling her eyes again.

“I’ll see if he can go with me tonight; that way we don’t have to rush as much in the morning.”

I leaned back and smiled, feeling slightly satisfied that she wasn’t fighting me on it.