Page 87 of Burning Daylight

Me:

Hope you had fun at graduation and did something in my honor like break up with Keagan!

Also…maybe we should find a place together when you get back? I thought I could stay at home, but being here makes me feel like a kid again, and it’s suffocating. DON’T say I told you so.

I purposely don’t mention Ryder—Roman—because I feel like a big enough idiot already without her shoving my failures in my face.

Throwing the doors open, I move to the balcony outside and lean against the smooth railing.

It’s quiet, every trace that there was a party earlier gone.

I’ve always loved having my room on this side of the house. It’s separate from all the other bedrooms, and unless someone comes outside for an after-hours swim, it remains the most secluded part of the property once the sun sets.

It’s a clear night, the stars winking at me, and I lean against the pillar that frames the balcony.

I hoped the silence would calm my mind, but it’s having the opposite effect.

A breeze blows across my face, the noise making the ivy-wrapped lattice that runs up the house rustle in the wind.

For the first time since I saw Roman earlier—since I found out who he was—I allow the full breadth of my emotions to unfurl inside me.

My chest is tight, like my ribs are clenching in on themselves and my lungs can’t expand. My jaw is sore from gritting my teeth so hard all evening, and worst of all, my heart falters and sputters every time I chastise myself for being such an idiot.

It’s not like I was in love with the guy, but there was potential there. And I know it for sure now, because being with my ex tonight made me realize how much stronger my immediate connection with Roman was.

“Roman Montgomery,” I murmur. “Why did it have to beyou?”

“I’ll be someone else, if it makes you forgive me.”

I slap my hand over my mouth to keep from screaming, my pulse pounding as I jump back from the railing. There’s a second’s pause, and then I’m leaning over the balcony ledge and looking down, trying to find him.

“Roman?” I whisper-shout, then glance behind me to make sure nobody is coming.

My stomach drops like a lead weight at the thought of him being caught.

“Where are you?” I ask again, not finding him in the darkness. “Wait! Don’t come out, they’ll…they’ll see you if you do.”

I take a deep breath, trying to stay calm.

There’s another noise, and then he appears over my balcony’s ledge, a cocky grin on his face as he hangs onto the lattice.

“They won’t see,” he reassures, but then he pauses. “I don’t think.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” I hiss, wanting to smack the stupid smile from his features.

He frowns. “You’re mad.”

I cross my arms, releasing an agitated breath. “I’d have to care about you to be mad.”

His lips purse, and then one of his hands lets go, his body swinging down, creating a large rattle when his back slams against the wall of the house.

My heart jumps into my throat.

“Be careful!” I demand. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Roman looks at me pleadingly, the skin under his tattooed hand blanching white from how tightly he’s holding onto the trellis. “Say you forgive me.”

I glare at him. “No.”