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Chapter Forty

Roman

I ’m happy that Walker is here. He puts a smile on Eva’s face, and that’s what matters.

However, I’ve been on edge ever since he brought up the idea of her moving to a three-bedroom apartment in this building. It made the smile Eva had carried all night disappear like a magic trick.

I wish I could climb inside her head to figure out what she is thinking. What does she want?

Maybe I’m just imagining things and just want her to be sad about the idea of not living with me. I want her here. I want to be a family. I want to love her every day for the rest of our lives.

The first time I said it and she didn’t believe me hurt. The second time might kill me. It’s terrifying, thinking about putting it all on the line for her, just to be told she doesn’t believe me—or worse, she doesn’t feel the same.

We’ve already played five rounds of Texas Hold’em. I’m sure Eva is tired. Walker grabs the cards and shuffles the deck … the same way Eva does.

“Where did you two learn to shuffle like that?” I ask curiously.

They smile at each other.

“Our great grandma,” Eva says. “She taught us everything we needed to know about playing cards.”

Walker leans back with a huge grin on his face. “She was a feisty one. We hung on to every word she said.”

“Feisty, huh?” I ask. “Is that where the two of you get it?”

Eva eyes me, a look that tells me I will pay for what I just said. “Will you stop comparing me to this guy?” She turns her thumb to the side in his direction. “You do realize how big of an insult that is?”

Walker gasps. “Excuse me? Is that why you followed me around our entire childhood—because you didn’t want to be like me?”

Eva rolls her eyes at the same time a yawn escapes from her. I laugh at the odd mixture while Walker gives her a funny look.

“Are you all right over there? What in the world just happened?”

“She’s tired,” I insert as he goes back to shuffling.

“Does that mean no one else is up for another round?” he inquires.

“Her bedtime has been around seven for the last month,” I tell him.

He whistles. “All right, Grandma, I’ll get out of your way so you can get some rest.”

“Ha-ha,” she replies. “You’re hilarious.”

We all stand up together. Walker slings his arm around her neck and kisses her temple as we head to the front door.

“I’m just messing with you,” he tells her. “Don’t forget to let me know if you need anything. I’m here for you anytime.”

“Thanks. Love you,” she whispers.

He shakes my hand, then opens the door. “Aren’t you guys proud of how well I’m adapting to this situation?” he says as he backs out of the door. “I’m so mature and grown up.”

“Oh my God. Good night, you loser,” she says, then closes the door.

She looks up at me with amusement.

“He’s a special person,” I say.

She laughs. “Thanks for getting rid of him.”

“My pleasure. He would’ve stayed until midnight if I hadn’t shut it down.”

We move back to the family room, and I begin to clean up the cards.

She throws her hand up. “What are you doing?”

“Uh, I’m cleaning up. I figured you were tired.”

“Yeah, tired of my brother. Not too tired to beat your ass one more time before bed.”

“Oh, really?” I take a seat, my heart swelling when I notice her bump as she sits.

I’ve spent the last four weeks hiding my feelings. From not kissing her lips every morning to not touching her body at night. Hiding the way she makes my heart feel like it might burst. How she makes me laugh and challenges me to be the best version of myself.

I can no longer hold it in. I need to claim her tonight. If she says no, that’s her choice. But I am not going down without a fight. I will fight like hell for her love.

“You going to deal the cards anytime soon?” she asks smugly across from me.

I return her quip with a smirk. “Sure thing.”

I deal each of our two cards as I wonder if I should just blurt it out right now.

Before we look at our cards, she pushes in forty dollars’ worth of chips. I match her bet.

I could just stop this game. It doesn’t matter. Not right now. Not with the weight of the words that I need to speak rising in me.

Still, I keep going. We glance at our cards, and she adds twenty. I match.

Then I lay out the three community cards.

She raises me twenty which I match. I watch her face, studying the cards intently. She’s so enthralled in the game. I smile.

It somehow eases my tension.

I suddenly know what to do. I need to throw her off her game, and I know just how to do it.

My back straightens with a sudden burst of confidence.

I have a ten of hearts and a nine of spades. There’s an eight of diamonds and six of clubs in the community cards. If any of the next two hands is a seven, I will have a straight.

The odds aren’t great, but the prize is worth it.

I lay the next card—a three of spades. Dammit. She passes on betting more. I look down at my cards. It’s risky. I could lose everything or win it all.

“I was just thinking maybe we should make it more interesting. Play for something other than money.”

She cranes her head to the side. “What? Sexual favors? Are you trying to turn this into strip poker? I hate to burst your bubble, but my body might not be at its finest.”

“I was thinking something more valuable than that. Something I would treasure for the rest of my life. Something that is worth more than anything I’ve ever had in my life.”

Her eyebrows lift in confusion.

“Your heart.”

She takes a noticeable gulp. “My what?” she whispers.

“Your heart. If I win this, you give it to me. You take a chance on a man who is so head over heels in love that he wakes up in awe every day, knowing he has you in his bed. You give me a chance to show you that I can be the type of man who deserves your trust and love. You stay here with me, and we’ll raise this baby together …

as a family. Your heart is the only thing in this world that I want. ”

Her eyelids flutter rapidly as moisture forms. She looks away for a moment, then back at me. “You want … me?”

“Forever.” I look down at our cards. “So, what do you say? Are you willing to go all in with me?”

She smiles, then chokes on a laugh. “Uh, yeah. I’m all in.”

A breath I didn’t realize I had been holding releases. She’s willing to go all in. I want to stand up right now and kiss her. I grab the deck. At least I have two pair. I just have to hope she doesn’t have anything on her end.

I put my thumb on top of the card and push it up, then flip it over onto the table.

Holy. Shit.

If I had any doubt about whether or not we were meant to be together, it has been decimated. A five of hearts sits in front of me—a perfect sign of our love.

“What do you have?” I ask as I watch her chew on the inside of her cheek.

Her poker face is back. Then she flips her cards over. “Three of a kind.”

She has two fives, and the last five of hearts is the one to give her this hand. I see the fear in her eyes.

I put her out of her misery and smile. “Straight,” I reply as I show her my hand.

Her lower lip quivers. She bites it to stop it.

“I won. Are you going to honor that bet?” I raise an eyebrow as I stand. “Because I’d really like to claim my prize.”

It takes seconds before I’m standing directly in front of her.

She tilts her head back and looks up at me, green eyes shining. “You really want me? Us? Here with you?”

I lean down, placing a hand on the back of her chair and the other on the table. My face is inches from hers. “I want it more than my next breath.”

Her lips find mine. It feels like something inside of me snaps loose.

Her mouth, soft and warm, feels like coming home.

I kiss her like I need her to understand how I feel—like I need her to know everything that I haven’t found the words for yet.

I kiss her hard and possessive. She matches each stroke of my tongue.

I pull her up and into my arms. Her arms swing around my neck.

“I need you …” she whispers against my mouth.

I pull away an inch. “Like … need me , need me?”

She nods her head quickly. I lift her into my arms and carry her into the bedroom. I lay her down onto the bed slowly. I want to worship every single inch of her tonight.

“Before we go any further,” I mutter over her, “I need to know for sure that this is it. Right? I love you for real. Put aside the bet.”

She looks up at me through her lashes. Her hand reaches up, and her fingers glide through my hair. “I love you, Roman. Everything about you. You’re more than I could have ever dreamed.”

All the money in the world could never match what hearing her say those three words does to me. I would never have thought I could fall so hard, so quickly.

The irony of a man who doesn’t believe in love or forever getting knocked in the face with love at first sight. Because there is nothing that could convince me otherwise now.

My body knew immediately that she was forever. It just took my mind a little time to catch up.

It started out as obsession—sharp, consuming, impossible to get enough. But looking down at her now, being on the receiving end of this affection, I know better.

This isn’t obsession anymore. It’s love. The kind you choose.

And now that I know that love is a choice, I’m going to choose her every morning for the rest of our lives.

THE END