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He gives a quick nod and leads Chloe out the door. Ledger says goodbye to his brother and follows them out.
Roman shuts the door and stuffs his hands into his pants pockets. “Why do you and Dev look so serious?”
“I need wine for this,” I say, and head toward the kitchen.
“That bad?” He follows me.
“It’s never too early for wine, right?” I select the Sauvignon Blanc and grab two glasses.
“It’s after one. I think it’s definitely a good time for wine.”
“Want some?” I pop the cork and pour us each a glass. After I’m done, I put the bottle back in the fridge. “I’ve been thinking a lot about visiting my father.”
We settle onto stools at the island.
“Dev doesn’t agree?”
I raise the glass to my lips and take a sip. Roman watches the action closely as he mimics my movements. “He doesn’t.” I set the glass down and trace the stem with my fingertip. “It’s been so hard to think one way about a person’s death and then learn something entirely different happened.”
“I get that. It must have been hard on your father.”
“It was hard on all of us. You remember?” Roman’s family was there for ours when the news of my mother’s suicide came out. Roman and Ledger would spend days talking to Dev about losing our mother. I never really had anyone to help me through it all. I wish I could have spoken to my father about it.
Roman turns toward me. “Yeah, I know. But I meant your father went through a different suffering.”
“What do you mean?”
“Imagine loving somebody, being that person’s soulmate, and instead of just walking away, they feel the only way out is by killing themselves.” He shakes his head. “I know your mother didn’t really kill herself, but it’s what you all believed for many, many years.”
I chew on my lip, contemplating his words. What must it have been like for my father to lose my mother? I was too young back then to understand it all. I was too wrapped up in my head to care about anyone’s feelings but my own. For years, I blamed myself for my mother taking her own life, thinking it was because of the fight we’d had a few days before.
“You’re right,” I say. “I think it’s time we spoke.”
“I want to be there for you when you do. If you want me to go, I will. Or I’ll be here, waiting with a bottle of wine, or hard liquor, whatever you need.”
I give a tiny laugh. “You don’t need to do that, Roman.”
“I want to do that.”
I lift my glass and take another sip. “I appreciate it. What about you? How are your parents? Whenever I go to Magnolia Ridge to visit my father, you could stop by your parents’ house.”
He just nods. “Possibly.”
I know Roman isn’t close to his parents, and I’m not sure why. He and Ledger just always change the subject. “Is everything okay with them?” I ask, wanting to know more.
“Everything’s fine.”
I let it go and we drink our wine in silence for a few minutes, until Roman says, “Well, I guess we need to figure this dating thing out.”
“Oh, yeah.” I stare into the bottom of my wine glass, looking for answers. “I guess we should start by going to dinner at places frequented by Eden and Sadie? They are usually around town doing special appearances.”
“Of course they are. Those women are too into themselves not to want to make a big show anytime they leave the house.”
“I can check their social media.”
He pulls out his phone, tapping away at his screen. “No need. I have a friend who might know.”
“A friend?”
