Chapter Nineteen

A knock sounded on the door, right before it opened. Romilly rushed and jumped on Kaiden, who laughed and kissed her hard on the mouth.

“Ah, baby, I missed you too,” he murmured.

“Whoa. I think your muscles have muscles.”

He bent to kiss her, chuckling as their lips touched. “They’re all for you. Right now, I have this need to fuck you.”

“Afternoon delight,” she murmured with a wink.

They didn’t emerge for the rest of the day.

****

She had no time to prepare for the onslaught of paparazzi the next morning when they headed out to see the three houses she had narrowed down for Kaiden to choose from. They swarmed the gate to the apartment complex, shouting out questions.

“Romilly! Romilly!” one paparazzi called out. The schadenfreude on the so-called reporters’ face looked like some sort of demonic glee. “Is it true Kaiden Demay paid you to be his girlfriend?”

Flashes went off, the click of the cameras like tiny insects crawling up her skin.

“Let us through!” Kaiden shouted.

“Romilly! What do you say about him dumping you as soon as he made the team?”

Somehow that simple question lodged in her brain, spinning like a wheel but somehow moving in slow motion. When they made it to his SUV, he helped her inside before running around to the driver’s side. The glass muffled the shouts and she focused on her hands resting in her lap.

Honking his horn, Kaiden slowly made their way out of the mob. He reached out and placed a hand on top of hers, but she pulled away.

“Hey, look at me,” he ordered, when they caught a red light.

Taking a deep breath, she did as he commanded. A myriad of emotions flittered through his eyes, and she knew in that moment, he was keeping a huge secret.

“Is it true?”

“Don’t listen to them.”

“Is. It. True?” He didn’t answer her, and her heart sank. “Pull over.”

The car behind him honked and he pulled his hand away to drive. Unable to look at him, she turned her head to stare out the passenger-side window. Tears filled her eyes, threatening to spill. Her heart was breaking.

“Which house did you like the best?”

She blinked and had to wipe the wetness from her cheeks. “We’re not house hunting, Kaiden. You’re going to pull over and I’m going to get out of this vehicle. Then you’re going to pack your stuff and get out of my apartment and out of my life.”

“No.”

“This is not up for debate!”

“I love you.”

She shook her head, unsure of what she heard. “What?”

“I love you.”

“If you love me, then answer the question. Was all this bullshit to you?”

“No.”

She didn’t believe him. “You came to find me that day at the dog park. Why?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he continued to drive until he pulled into a parking lot. Then he stopped and turned off the engine, only then facing her.

“What I told you was the truth,” he said. “I was let go from my previous team, and I had one chance to remain in the NFL. The owners wanted me to change my image so I did everything I had to do to make that happen.”

A little sob tore from her throat. She went to open the door, but he reached across her and grabbed her hand.

“But I fell in love with you, Romilly, and all that other stuff fell away. It didn’t matte r— ”

“It does matter because you lied to me.”

“I didn’t. I … omitted things.”

“Which is another way to say you lied.” The tears wouldn’t be held back anymore and they poured down her face. “Damn you, Kaiden.”

She yanked her hand out and opened the door.

“Romilly, please let me explain.”

“The first and third houses are nice, but the second one is the best. I think you’d like that one more.”

Then she left his SUV behind, hurrying away. Part of her was glad he let her go, but the other mourned that he let her leave.