11. Perry

Babysitting Roman for Sasha is not my idea of a fun night.

The tension between us since I caught him drinking with the hotel guest—the very attractive hotel guest—has been so high I need to learn how to mountain climb just to scale over it. Which is so stupid.

I've been in his shoes. If the guy wants to have fun, he should be able to, and I shouldn't give a single fuck. But tell that to my jealous brain. Every time I see Roman, it's a reminder that he's out of my league and looks down his nose at me. Which is a mind fuck because I don't give those kinds of people a second glance. I never have.

But I can't let it go. Not with him.

I don't know what he's trying to pull tonight. He did shots with a group of couples, including the pair from the lodge. He's cruised the dance floor and, when I thought he might finally slow down for the night, he ends up dancing with a guy who stares me down every time we make eye contact.

And now he's in the men's room with the same guy and I'm so fucking over this.

Turning my back to the area, he and the mystery man vanished into, I signal to the bartender for another water.

When more time passes and Roman still hasn't appeared a stroke of worry flashes. Should I make sure he's okay? Maple is a fairly safe place, but there are so many people here visiting. What if the mystery man wasn't as clean-cut as he appeared? You'd think I'd be more aware of these things after being in law enforcement for so long, but I spent most of my time talking to dead people. You lose some of that sharpness when the other person has no response to read.

Mind made up to go search that he's okay, Roman appears and struts up to me.

"You ready to go?"

Still snappy. Glad nothing has changed.

"I've been ready for at least an hour. You said you had to finish your drink."

I pointedly look at his empty hands.

"Oh, right. Well, I'm definitely finished."

He glances behind him and the man from the dance floor exits the men's room. His dishevelled hair pairs well with the lust-drunk gaze of a man who just emptied his balls with a pretty face.

Roman shrugs with a smirk and heads to the coat check. Hips swaying as he walks like a man on a mission.

Sliding off the bar stool, I stalk after him.

"Did you really need to be that cliché? If you wanted to get laid again, you could have done it in the privacy of your room."

His steps falter and I feel a little bad about the comment.

"You're a fucking cliché, Perry. I didn't want to go to a room." His judgy gaze roams over me. "Do you own anything not plaid?"

"I like plaid."

"I like sex."

The lady at the coat check passes him his giant, puffy white coat and I shake my head. Roman couldn't be a wallflower if he tried. He shrugs into his oversized marshmallow-looking coat and covers his corset, which is white flecked with red and gold. He rolled the arms of his white dress shirt up hours ago and it's a good look on him. Really fucking good. Pity he has to cover the only thing I enjoy about him right now for the ride home.

That damn coat, though. A snort laugh escapes.

"What's so funny?"

"You look like a fucking marshmallow."

He shrugs into his coat with an annoyed huff.

"I don't expect you to understand fashion when you're a walking billboard for an LL Bean ad."

"If fashion involves looking like an oversized cotton ball, then I'm happy to emulate LL Bean. They make great hats."

"Emulate. Such big words tonight."

We've reached my truck, and I don't bother opening the door for him. If he can blow a man in the restroom on his own, he can sure as fuck open his own door.

"I used to play Scrabble a lot. I know some words. But if it's too much for you to keep up, just say so and I'll dumb it down for you."

Starting the truck, we buckle in and I just want to drop him off and go home. Maybe even find someone to call over for once. It's been a long time since I risked someone coming to my place, but right now, I wouldn't mind having someone to hug.

"Your truck is filthy. I'm wearing white. If I have to get this dry cleaned, I'm giving you the bill."

"You could walk if it's that big of a problem. Trust me. I won't mind."

I think he's finally shut up, but he opens his mouth again.

"I could've asked anyone to give me a ride. If it's such an inconvenience to you, drop me off and I'll go back."

"I'm not fucking dropping you off here. Do you even have bear spray with you?"

"What!? Aren't they sleeping still?"

I shrug, totally willing to scare him because he's been nothing but a thorn tonight.

"Maybe. The weather has been warm, so you never know." His complexion matches his coat, and it's really hard to not laugh at him. "You know what to do if you come across a bear, right?"

The truck's headlights cut through the inky black of the night as we leave the streetlights of town behind. I shouldn't be winding him up, but… it passes the time.

"You should play dead, right?"

The quiver in his voice shocks me. I thought he'd not be afraid of a single thing. Man or animal. Maybe I'm wrong about him.

"Well, not really. That only works for grizzly bears and mothers protecting cubs. If it's a predatory bear, you just served yourself as dinner. For the bears around here, it's best to make noise and be big. Never turn your back on it, though. Bear spray can send a curious bear off easily, but when it's springtime and they have cubs, that doesn't always work. It buys you time, but it's not a solution. The best thing you can do is to prevent an encounter. Make a lot of noise out in the bush. Carry a horn or bells. Let them know you're coming, so they get out of the way and you never have to see it."

In the dim light of the truck cabin, I notice how he rubs his palms against his pants and part of me wants to keep egging him on. But I know what it's like to be terrified of something out of your control. I don't want him to feel like that.

"If there are bears around the lodge, we let guests know." I soften my voice. "Don't worry. The odds of you meeting a bear and being injured are pretty low."

"But not zero."

"Nothing is ever zero."

The rest of our drive home is in silence and when I park at the front of the lodge, Roman hesitates to leave the truck.

"You still scared of bears?"

"Are you going to mock me about it if I say yes?"

We stare across the seat at each other and there's a wounded look in his eyes. It's fleeting, but I see it and I recognize it. Because I often see it in myself for different reasons. With a sigh, I do the right thing.

"I'll walk you in."

His breath whooshes out. "Thank you."

The lodge is literally twelve steps away, but if it helps him relax, I'll walk him inside. Besides, I can hit the kitchen for a snack, so it's a win-win.

He exits the passenger side and rushes around the front of the truck, gluing himself to my side as we walk up the steps. It's not until he steps into the lobby that his shoulders drop.

"Do you want me to walk you to your door, or can you manage that?"

"I can manage."

No thank you or good night. He stalks across the lobby, puffy coat swishing, and disappears down the hall to his room.

Poking my head into the kitchen, I smile when I spot the small plate of cookies off to the side with my name on it. Millie really is the best. Unwrapping the plastic cover, I pop a maple cream cookie in my mouth and grab a glass for milk.

I've barely poured the milk when the sound of feet running carries into the kitchen. The main door opens and closes with a thud before opening and closing a second time.

"Perry!" Roman whisper-yells and reluctantly I abandon my snack to see what's going on.

"What is it this time, Roman?"

His eyes are wild and huge. Without thinking, I clamp my hands on his biceps.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

"There's water everywhere in my room! The floor is soaking and my fabric is still there!"

"Shit."

Without waiting for him, I jog up to his suite while he trails behind. He left the door open and when I step in on my way to the bathroom, the carpet squishes under my feet. Not just a little squish, either. It"s like walking on a saturated kitchen sponge.

"Fucking hell. Leaf is gonna kill me."

There's water in the bathroom, pooling along the base of the wall from the hot water supply and when that water hits the carpet, it's like a giant straw, sucking up all the water in a fast draw.

Fumbling under the sink, I shut-off the water to the taps, then find the shut-off valve for the toilet before jamming my body into the tiny space with the hot water on demand and turning off the main water there. Thankfully, this room is the only one with this system since Leaf hasn't renovated elsewhere yet. It"s also a good thing that this part of the lodge is raised with only storage underneath because there are no spare rooms to allocate to misplaced guests from a flood.

Oh no.

Roman hovers behind me with a scowl and I'm just as unhappy as he is.

"What happened?"

"There's a plumbing leak probably caused by our renovation. You can't stay here."

"What? Where am I supposed to go right now? The town is booked up for this festival and I just got settled here." He runs back into the main room, water squishing as he goes. "My fabric!"

"Roman."

"And I mostly unpacked my things. What if —"

"Roman!"

He snaps his mouth shut and focuses his blue eyes on me.

"Pack a bag. You'll stay with me until we can sort this out."

It's not ideal, but I can't leave him here. It's not safe and he needs water.

"Stay with you!? No. No way."

"You just said you don't have any other options. I have a guest room. You'll have privacy. Hell, we don't even need to talk."

He disappears into his bedroom, and I glance around the bathroom again. He really has moved in here. And how many bottles of lotions and cremes does one person need? Picking one up, I read the label—antioxidant serum.

"Do you mind?"

Roman carries a tiny case and sets it on the counter before filling it with most of what I see. Including snatching the bottle from my hand.

"Do you need all of that for a night? We can come back tomorrow after some sleep and sort this out."

"Yes." He snaps and marches out of the bathroom.

He returns to his bedroom and there's a lot of slamming and muttered curses, which only pisses me off because I'm not sure if he's mad at the water leak or because he has to come home with me.

Finally, he emerges with a giant suitcase and his case full of lotions.

"Okay. Let's go."

"Would you like me to help with that?"

"I'm more than capable of pulling a suitcase behind me."

With a shrug, I hold the door open and make sure it locks behind us. Roman stalks ahead of me, pulling the suitcase along and the smaller case dangling from his hand. He still wears that ridiculous coat, though.

Once outside, I let him carry his giant suitcase to the truck and wonder what his plan is once he reaches it.

"Need help now?"

"Please."

"At least you still have manners."

I open the backseat door and push over some of the clutter there to make room and swing his suitcase up. He slides into the front seat, clutching the small makeup case like a lifeline, and stares straight ahead.

Not the way I was hoping to end the evening. But I'm sure as hell not going to bother my brother and Sasha while they take a much-needed break together. I might not be good at the whole relationship thing, but I know when you make time to step away from work and life stress to wrap yourselves up together and shut out the world, it should be respected.

"Do you have Wi-Fi?"

"Yep. As long as you don't bite my head off, I'll even share the password."

"Any pets?"

"Do dust bunnies count?"

He huffs a small breath.

"Can we call a truce while I'm here? I…I'm actually not that bad, you know."

His quiet voice makes me pause.

"Yeah. Truce."

We change one darkened roadway for another and the headlights cut across the dark road on the way up to my house.

"Where do you live? This seems more remote than the lodge."

"Give it a minute and you'll see."

At the crest of the long climb, we round the corner, where a few streetlights dot the small neighbourhood of exactly three houses. Mine sits off in the corner away from the other two and when I pull into the driveway, Roman turns to me.

"You actually live here?"

"Were you expecting a cave in the forest? Yes, I live here."

"It's gorgeous."

"Wait until you see it in the daylight."

This time on autopilot, I round the truck to get his suitcase and he doesn't complain about the help. Instead, he trails behind as we walk the brick path to the front door.

Opening the door, I motion for him to go ahead of me.

"Hey Google, turn on the lights."

Roman snort laughs, and it's the cutest thing I've ever heard.

"You have Google Home?"

"I'm not a dinosaur like my brother. I have a few things to make life easier."

"Finding a light switch is hard for you?"

It's in jest, I know, but it's all we seem to do. I cock my head.

"I thought we were calling a truce?"

"Right. Sorry. Can you just show me where I'm sleeping and where the bathroom is? It's been a long night."

You're telling me. And it's about to get longer knowing I have to fall asleep in my house with him under the same roof.

Leading him down the hallway, I push open the spare room and flick on the light.

Thank god this room is somewhat decent. Ted is the only one who ever stays here, and he's a neat freak.

"The bed is clean, and the bathroom is across the hall. My bedroom has an ensuite so don't worry about running into me. It's on the other side of the great room. Do you need anything?"

"Um, no, this is good."

With a nod, I turn to leave, and he stops me.

"Perry…thank you."

Roman"s voice is quiet and genuine.

I acknowledge with a nod and close the door behind me.