And the worst part? I have never thought of Roman as someone who could be alone. He is a force to be reckoned with. He is fire. But then it hits me, he was someone’s baby first.
“That must have been hard,” I reply lamely, kicking myself for not saying something more profound as her eyes search mine.
“He’s not an easy man,” she says plainly and I huff a small laugh, turning back to the ballroom and catching his eye.
“That’s one way to put it,” I respond, shifting my attention back to her as I see her lips twitch.
“He has always been different. Brilliant, of course, but intense and singular.” Her voice softens. “And yes, the autism shapes him. It makes certain things harder, especially touch.”
I nod slowly. “I know.”
“I worry,” she admits, studying me carefully. “I worry that he doesn’t know how to be soft without breaking something, and that he doesn’t always understand the weight of his own edges.”
“He’s careful with me,” I say before I can stop myself, my chest tightening. Fiona’s gaze sharpens at that.
“That’s good,” she pauses. “He’s not a good man, I know that. I’m not delusional. I know what my son is capable of, what he does, and who he is.”
My heart beats faster as she takes my hands in hers, gently squeezing them, so similar to how her son does.
“But,” she adds gently, “I do believe he can be a good partner.”
I smile at that because it’s my exact thought process, said out loud. Nobody can be a good man in The Company, but a good partner… that is like winning the EuroMillions.
“I don’t expect you to fix him, and I don’t expect you to tolerate anything that hurts you. But if you are with him, truly with him, then I need you to understand that loving him will never be simple. It will be deliberate. Every day.”
“I know,” I whisper, and I do.
Fiona’s expression softens completely.
“I’m protective of him,” she admits. “But I’m not blind. I can see the way he looks at you.”
“And how is that?”
“Like you’re the only thing in this entire room that makes sense.”
My throat goes dry as she reaches forward and squeezes my hands.
“And if you ever need someone,” she says gently, “someone who understands him from the beginning… you can come to me.”
The offer hangs between us. It’s warm, but unsettling in a dangerous way, because I don’t know how to trust mothers and I don’t know how to accept kindness without checking for the blade hidden behind it.
Across the room, Roman glances up again, his eyes find mine immediately. Even through the noise, even through the crowd, we are drawn together like twin stars spiralling towards impact, not wondering if we’ll collide, only how much of the universe will survive it.
Fiona thinks loving Roman isn’t simple.
But it is the easiest goddamn thing I have ever done.
CHAPTER 32
ROMAN
Riggs disappears. Of course he does. One second he’s leaning against the column with that feral grin of his, watching the scene unfold like it’s theatre. The next, he’s evaporated into the crowd with a flute of champagne and zero consequences.
Coward.
He always knows exactly when to exit. I watch him go as my jaw tightens. Riggs gets to say whatever he wants and walk free while I remain exactly where I am expected to be.
Son. Heir. Asset.
